Two Georgia Artists Share Honors in AMA’s 2nd Annual Call for Artists
Two solo exhibitions will open in late May at the Albany Museum of Art in the museum’s 2nd annual juried open call for Georgia and Alabama artists. Jessica Ambadipudi, of Leesburg, Ga., and Rylan Steele, of Columbus, Ga., were selected by the panel of judges.
Steele’s exhibition, The Middle Way, will be in the upstairs McCormack Gallery. Ambadipudi’s work will be shown in The Home of Birds in the West Gallery. Both exhibitions open on May 21 and will continue through Aug 29. Emerging and mid-career artists from Georgia and Alabama were eligible to apply.
“This was a thrilling second year for our open call proposals,” Director of Curatorial Affairs Katie Dillard said. “We were pleased to receive about 20 submissions, and were especially pleased to see so many artists from Alabama apply, which means the word is getting out the way we had hoped. This was another challenging year for our judges to come to a conclusion regarding the winner, and, through unique circumstances in our exhibitions calendar, the museum was able to award two winners of equal standing the opportunity for exhibition.
“As many of us are aware and anticipating, this summer marks the semiquincentennial anniversary of the United States of America. In honor of this nation’s landmark celebration, we are pleased to add more diverse artistic expressions to the overall message being shared this summer.”
A native of India, Ambadipudi began working in animation before transitioning into illustration and visual storytelling. “The dynamics of her beginnings in graphic design and illustration have deeply informed her practice and the creation of works like those exhibited in The Home of Birds,” Curator of African Art and African Diasporic Art Sidney Pettice said. “She thinks about the deeper symbolism of the bird, a migrating being that’s able to create a home anywhere.”
After coming to the U.S. to pursue her MFA at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), she was drawn to the notion of homesickness and questioning what exactly home is after moving away from hers, Pettice said.
“Through immersive exploration of the star, bird, and home motif, textural color, and dynamic worldbuilding, the artworks in The Home of Birds encourage close looking and reflection,” she said.
Steele is a photographer and an associate professor of photography at Columbus State University. The body of work for The Middle Way came to fruition after he reread the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The Southern Gothic novel, which spawned an Oscar-winning movie, explores race, gender, and class while also telling the story of childhood and the pivotal parts of growing up.
“That led Steele to his project of photographing his son Owen over the past nine years,” Pettice said. “Each image offers a glimpse into his boyhood, what his room looked like, who his friends were, and what his responsibilities were.”
Rereading To Kill a Mockingbird with the perspective of a father made Steele question who his son would become as an adult. “These images documenting his childhood almost act as a recounting, things that can be revisited, re-remembered,” she said.
“We are pleased to share these two unique exhibitions with visitors this summer, and promote the immense talent that lives and thrives within our nearby communities,” Dillard said.
The 3rd annual open call for a summer 2027 exhibition will start on July 1. In addition to Georgia and Alabama artists, the invitation to apply will be extended to emerging and mid-career artists working in Florida. Information on how to apply will be posted this summer on the AMA website.
AMA EXHIBITIONS
Familiar Rhythm: Time, Nostalgia, and Memory, featuring works of Maiya Lea Hartman, Larry Cook, and Kimberly Anderson, is Jan 22-May 2, 2026 in the Haley Gallery.
Wadsworth & Jae Jarrell: Art Making / World Making is Jan 22-May 2, 2026 in the East, Hodges and McCormack Galleries.
Still Waters, works from the permanent collection, is Jan 22-April 25, 2026, in the West Gallery.
ABOUT THE ALBANY MUSEUM OF ART
The Albany Museum of Art is located at 311 Meadowlark Drive in Albany, Ga., adjacent to Albany State University West Campus just off Gillionville Road. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Albany Museum of Art is open to the public 10 am-5 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free.
For more information about the AMA please visit our website, www.albanymuseum.com, or call 229.439.8400. Be sure to follow AlbanyMuseumOfArt on Facebook and AlbanyMuseum on Instagram.
