Awards, Artists on Fire 2025

Patricia Busso

CURATORS’ CHOICE AWARDS

PATRICIA BUSSO

There’s a moment—quiet but absolutely electric—when you stand before a piece of art and feel it excite your eyes and your mind before you understand it. Patricia Busso’s landscapes, alive with the delicate melting chaos of encaustic, offer that instant pull. Her work in Artists on Fire doesn’t ask for permission, it arrests you with its easy and calm layered depth, its soft edges dissolving into memory. They are familiar and dreamlike at the same time. That kind of instant connection, that intuitive “yes,” is what the Curator’s Choice is all about. It's not about consensus or logic—it’s about being moved, unexpectedly and all at once. That’s the mark of something true, something unforgettable. Patricia has won 1st Curators’ Choice.

SIMONE SCHOLES

Simone Scholes has that rare ability to stop viewers in their tracks—especially those who know what they’re looking at. Her portraits have a kind of magnetic tension: thick, expressive brushstrokes balanced with an intuitive abstraction that keeps you looking, wondering, feeling. Time and again, our audience—many with trained, discerning eyes—share their admiration with us, often with a sense of reverence. Simone delivers every time: complete submissions, thoughtful execution, and work that resonates deeply. We’re honored to recognize her once again with a Curators’ Choice. Her voice is confident, evolving, and absolutely unforgettable. Simone also scored very high with our Viewer’s Choice voting! It is one thing for the curators to recognize impactful work, but yet another to have the public also cast votes for your work. Congratulations Simone and thank you for trusting us to exhibit your work once again.

KRISTIN PETRILLO

The artwork of Kristin Petrillo brought a lot of questions from guests this year, wondering how she paints with such accuracy. Also, comments about he choice for the three paintings with steel structures being a masculine choice, but the colors feminine. Brava to Kristin and to the guest for sharing — your work someone think about these differences and the juxtaposition. You never know what experiences people have that make them see art the way they do. That is the beauty of art. We applaud Kristin Petrillo for all 5 of her pieces once again for her extraordinary artwork—this time for her fearless commitment to precision, complexity, and intricate subject matter. Her gradients are seamless, almost meditative, shifting tone with a kind of quiet brilliance that speaks to her mastery. We love that the light shines from the bottom, giving the heaviness of steel a light, floating quality. Her line work is razor sharp yet deeply expressive, capturing structural subjects—like steel bridges—with an elegance that transcends the industrial. Choosing a triptych of such a subject isn’t just bold, it’s demanding—and Kristin absolutely knocks it out of the park. It’s this kind of rigor, vision, and willingness to take risks that makes her work stand out time and again.

Stay tuned for in-depth articles that will be shared here about all three of our Curator’s Choice artists.

Nancy Wright, honorable mention and 4th for viewers’ choice

HONORABLE MENTIONS

These artists display complete professionalism in their work, submissions and in their absolute talent to bring high-level work to our shows. We also applaud each one for planning thinking and generating beautiful work that we are proud to exhibit, some make work specifically for this exhibition. Not only were these choices our honorable mentions, but they were tops on our viewers’ choices. So that says loudly to us that we managed to do some great curation.

ANN-MARIE GILLETT

PATTI KELLY

TIM GANNON

NANCY WRIGHT

DANA HAIGH

Abu and friends—these kids wanted to vote for his work. We told them Abu was there, so of course they wanted to meet him. We tracked him down and of course, rock star treatment followed. It was a highlight of the night.

VIEWERS’ CHOICE AWARD

ABU MWENYE

At Artists on Fire 2025, we asked viewers to vote for their favorite artist. Abu’s work was a stand out to all of the viewers again this year. Congratulations Abu for earning our Viewer Choice Award, celebrating your art and bringing all the cool vibes to the openings.

"Hi, my name is Abu Mwenye. I am a Tanzanian American artist living here in the US. I enjoy many different art forms including music, mechanical engineering, and visual art. My areas of specialty are: acrylic paintings, oils, commission works, and really anything which challenges my creative mind. My interest in Art was inspired by my Uncle's sketches. As a teenager I took formal art classes to hone my artistic abilities. Later, during my college years I studied sketching and watercolor painting. Now my passion is to paint with oils, acrylic and have been learning and exploring with them for quite awhile. My art depicts all aspects of African life. My work depicts many cultural scenes ranging from realistic portraits of Masai children to more abstracted tribal figures, and also includes realistic African landscapes."

Abu Mwenye’s artwork pulses with the rhythm of heritage, memory, and vibrant cultural pride—each piece a declaration that presence matters. His fearless commitment to sharing the richness of his identity through form, pattern, and palette creates a powerful visual language that speaks where words are not needed. In a country where cultural narratives are often flattened or misunderstood, Abu’s work insists on complexity, beauty, and belonging. It is both a celebration and a challenge—inviting viewers to engage with the depth of his experience and the traditions that shape him. To share one’s culture through art is an act of generosity and resistance, and Abu does so with clarity and grace, reminding us that identity is not static—it is very much alive, layered, and worth honoring.

We are planning something special with Abu, if he will let us.

If you have not seen this exhibition, we strongly encourage you to swing through!

Artists on Fire, Curated by Juniper Rag

WORCESTER CENTER FOR CRAFTS

25 Sagamore Road, Worcester

WCC is open 10-5 Tuesday - Saturday.

Closed Sunday and Monday