The Beaufort County Arts Council’s annual photography show is on the horizon and with the addition of photographer Jerome De Perlinghi as its juror, the competition may just be ramping up.

“From what I can tell from his website and what he’s done, he’s pretty fabulous,” said Joey Toler, executive director of the arts council.

De Perlinghi’s work has appeared internationally in newspapers and magazines, and he’s published six books. His photographs can be seen at the Library of Congress, La Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and le Musee de la Photographie of Charleroi in Belgium. Perlinghi is currently working on three new book projects: The Rust Belt Cities, a two-year reportage of the decay of the once powerhouse towns of the midwest; The Portraits, a series shot from 1996-2010 of artists from Conductors to Bluesmen, from Writers to Actors; and a book about Chicago where he lived for ten years, referred to as a ballad of the Windy City in black and white, according to Toler.

De Perlinghi spends part of the year living in Wilson and when his name was thrown out as a potential juror, Toler gave him a call.

“I called and left a message saying, ‘I know this is a longshot, but…’ and he came back within a half hour and said he’d been honored to be the juror for our show,” Toler said.

Entries for the show are being accepted at the arts council through 4 p.m. on June 7. This marks the sixth juried photography show held by the arts council, and its first at the nonprofit’s Turnage Theater gallery.

Categories for the show include Documentary/People, Landscapes/Places, Nature/Wildlife, Mixed Media/Alternative Process and a special Youth Division for photograpers under 18 years of age. Each category will receive a $100 first-place and $50 second-place cash award. Other cash awards include the Washington Daily News Award for best example of photo journalism ($100), and the Jeff & Helen Sommerkamp Inman History Award for work best depicting a sense of history ($100). ASAP Photo & Camera of Greenville is sponsoring two awards: Best Color digitally enhanced and Best Color non-enhanced. The ASAP awards are a 16” X 20” print of the winner’s choosing that includes a canvas wrap, a $90 value. A special youth category includes awards sponsored by Kevin Scott Cutler: the Ernest E. and Ethel Harding Cutler Memorial Award ($50) and the Jesse Lee and Corinne Mayo Smith Memorial Award ($50) for outstanding work.

Toler said the exhibit’s Best in Show award has gone up from a $150 to a $250 cash prize courtesy of Stewart’s Jewelry Store in Washington.

Toler said the cash prizes, along with De Perlinghi’s acceptance as juror, will likely bring in more entries than ever for a show that has consistently grown over the past six years.

“That’s my hope and I’m really putting the word out there, to a lot of state arts websites, so people do see who the juror is,” Toler said. “Every year we get more entries, and this juror can only increase that.”

Up to four entries will be accepted per person. The entry fee is $20 for one or two works and $7.50 for each additional entry. Photographs may be submitted as actual prints—framed or unframed—or on CD, in .jpg format with a resolution of 300 dpi.

“Get your entries, we’re looking forward to a big show and a nice opening reception,” Toler said. “Again, it’s one of our annual shows that I can’t wait to see what it looks like in our gallery at the Turnage.”

For more information about Jerome De Perlinghi, visit www.jeromedeperlinghi.com. For a complete show prospectus including additional entry requirements and guidelines, call the Beaufort County Arts Council at 252.946.2504 or email info@beaufortcountyartscouncil.org.