Know anybody who could enter the LDS Art Competition?

If you've gone by the lds.org website recently you'll notice they have been promoting the 8th International Art Competition.  I think it's great that the church is encouraging art from the international body of the church.  (I would love to see them do the same thing with music but I'll save that conversation for another post).  

I have enjoyed watching the expanding gallery of LDS art and commend the church for promoting it.  My generation grew up with such a limited spectrum of depictions of  the Book of Mormon peoples or images of Christ, it is nice to see the church commissioning works from a wider range of artists including international artists such as Jorge Cocco.  I would also say that FARMS has played a significant role in expanding the artist representations of the Book of Mormon by their publishing decisions, particularly the use of art by Minerva Teirchert as their cover art.

When I came home from Ghana I did a little investigating on behalf of some artists I met there and ended up talking to a person at the Church History Museum associated with these

 competitions.  Over the last couple competitions they have received an increasing number 

of submissions by international artists but overall it still remains low, especially compared to the relative percentage of members by country.  Most international or ethnic entries in the past have actually been from artists who live in the United States. participants are responsible for their own shipping which excludes many, if not most, of member artists outside of the United States, certainly my friends in Ghana and it is a relatively well-off country for Sub-Saharan Africa.  Perhaps the church could encourage regional competitions and sponsor the winners to be showcased in Salt Lake. 

Many of you are well traveled, have you come across members of the Church who are artists and are creating LDS themed art, particularly mixing their cultural or ethnic art traditions with their newfound faith?  I would even consider sponsoring a piece or two if they were of a very high quality.