By Mary Ellen Stancill
Energen Corporation is well-known in the Alabama business community as the parent company of Alagasco, the largest distributor of natural gas in the state. But over the last decade, the Alabama art community has come to know Energen as well. Since 1999, Energen has sponsored “Wonders of Alabama Art,” the largest art competition of its kind in the state of Alabama. As in the past, from March 23 through April 5, the auditorium of Energen’s downtown offices will be transformed into a gallery where the 2009 entries will be displayed. During business hours, the public is invited to browse and purchase artwork. At a closing reception on April 5, five purchase awards will be announced and become part of Energen’s permanent collection, including a $7,500 grand prize winner and a $3,000 employee choice winner, voted on by Energen employees.
The idea for the competition began when Energen Corporation moved into a new building in 1998. As employees organized and packed art for the move, they realized that many of the paintings in the Energen collection were by Alabama artists and suggested building upon the collection. With the help of then-CEO Jack Mann, a committee was formed to develop a competition with the goal of supporting and learning more about the arts community as well as growing Energen’s collection of Alabama art. Each year a different non-profit is also selected to receive a portion of the proceeds from the competition. This year’s charity is The Foundry.
The competition has grown tremendously over the years, from 29 entries the inaugural year to 183 paintings last year. Every floor of the Energen building now proudly displays work by Alabama artists. “The Cotton Picker” by Arthur Stewart, a major inspiration for starting the competition, holds a prominent spot on the top floor of the building and many recent winners greet employees as they enter from the parking garage each day. Around every corner it seems you’ll find another work of Alabama art but Sandra Behel, chair of the Energen art committee, assures me she has plenty of empty wall space just waiting to be filled. “We’re hoping eventually all Alabama artists that are working in the two dimensional field will know us and want to participate,” she says.
For more information please visit art.energen.com
