The Huntington Museum of Art had an opening reception for Exhibition 280 on Saturday. Exhibition 280 is a regional, juried art exhibition that features textiles, sculptures, paintings and video installations.

The exhibition required artists to be 18 years or older. Artists must also live within a 280 mile radius of Huntington, West Virginia. Artists were allowed to submit one to three pieces.

This year’s juror, Patterson Sims, worked his way through over 430 submissions by 159 artists. Sims narrowed it down to 69 pieces of art.

From the 69 pieces, three were given the Award of Excellence and one was given the Purchase Award. Elise Schweitzer and Robert Sulkin of Roanoke, Virginia and Vernon Howell of Barboursville were the recipients of the Award of Excellence. Schweitzer also won the Purchase Award.

Although not all of the artists who submitted works of art were able to attend, those in attendance were taking pictures and talking to visitors about their art. Artist Denise Roberts of Albright, West Virginia, spoke about her piece, Exchanges #10.

“I’ve been studying for 10 years and developing and finding my voice,” Roberts said.

Roberts, a former Huntington resident, also has pieces of art in exhibitions and shows in Germany, Ohio and New York.

“I’ve worked really hard for a very long time, but I wanted to be fully developed and have a strong body of work and a large body of work before it came out,” Roberts said.

Roberts walked around to view other artworks and talk to other artists. Christopher Hatten, senior curator and library director, was making sure the event was running smoothly.

Hatten said the HMA staff didn’t see the pieces selected for the exhibition until a few weeks before the event. There were a few last-minute changes, but ultimately Hatten said the event was a success.

Exhibition 280 will be at the HMA until Feb. 14, 2016.

Taylor Poling can be contacted by [email protected].