COLUMBIA, SC.- About Face, artists’ group and Columbia Museum of Art membership affiliate group, hosts their fifth annual Face-Off on Saturday, February 7 from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The competition randomly pairs artists who capture each other’s portraits through the medium of their choice. The public is invited to observe, and admission is free courtesy of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina.

Artists ages 18 and older compete to win prizes and do not have to be a member of About Face to enter. First prize is $500, second prize is a $250 City Art gift certificate and two third prizes are $25 gift certificates for the Museum Shop and catalogues from the Museum’s collection. Registration is limited to the first 20 applicants who pay the $30 entry fee by the January 30 deadline.

“The face-off is a wonderful opportunity to challenge yourself with other artists who have similar interests in art and portraiture. We try to better our chances to win and to one up through the friendly competition. This is the fifth year for me to participate, and everyone who enters has a chance to win,” 2008 winner, Barbara Younge, said.

Bruce Nellsmith will judge the competition, which consists of four-rounds, each lasting one-and-one-half hours. He received his BFA from the University of Georgia in Athens and his MFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the art department chairman and has been a professor of art at Newberry College for 18 years. He has is the recipient of local and national awards in painting and drawing competitions and has been listed in Art in America's International Index to Artists since 1985. His work is included in many private, state, and public collections in Columbia, SC, New York, NY, Chicago, IL, Hilton Head, SC, Atlanta, GA, Charleston, SC, Athens, GA, Chapel Hill, NC, Raleigh, NC and others. Nellsmith served as exhibition chairman for the South Carolina Watercolor Society, juror for exhibitions across the state, and conducted workshops and evening courses on life drawing and superficial anatomy for the artist.

Official rules and registration forms are available at www.columbiamuseum.org or by calling 803.343.2208.