Miniature artists of america

DEFINITION

The first invitational organization to honor outstanding practitioners of contemporary American miniature art. Signature members are chosen from the ranks of award winners in major U.S. non-profit miniature exhibits. Other top professional candidates may be nominated by three Signature Members and elected after a jury review of their works. No more than ten candidates are selected in a given year. Since MAA founding in Clearwater, Florida in 1985, sixty-six Signature members from the U.S. and abroad have been elected for life.MAA does not produce open competitive exhibits but has organised an educational juried traveling exhibit of its Signature Members' works. It has visited over 40 museum and gallery sites in the US since its establishment in 1989. In its first excursion outside the U.S. it was invited to exhibit in Clearwater, Florida's "Pavilion in the Sun" at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. It enhances primary goals of MAA - to further the understanding of the public concerning miniature art and to encourage artists and art lovers to join in the miniature art resurgence. MAA played a major role in recent efforts to bring together miniature art societies world-wide, which resulted in the formation of the World Federation of Miniaturists in London in November 1995 Credit:http://www.miniature-art.comWes Siegrist, Member of MAA