By Tim Binnall
A museum at an Illinois college is calling on artists with an affinity for cryptids to submit their work for possible inclusion in an ambitious exhibition later this summer. Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Sharp Museum reportedly announced the forthcoming showcase, titled 'Spooks or Spoofs,' on Wednesday. Artists throughout the United States are invited to enter the "national juried exhibition" which will run from August 21st to December 11th and is open to all forms of media, except AI-generated images
In announcing the showcase, which will feature around 50 pieces, the museum marveled at the various cryptids said to be "lurking in the dark woods of the Shawnee Forest and remote regions of Illinois," such as the Bigfoot-like Murphysboro mud monster and the "man-eating Piasa bird" said to have once feasted on residents of what is now the city of Alton. That said, organizers stressed that submissions "need not be focused" on just mysterious animals that might be found in the area and, instead, "is open to all cryptids."
The museum's celebration of mysterious and unusual creatures is particularly fitting as legendary cryptozoologist Loren Coleman studied at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in the 1960s and went on to found the International Cryptozoology Museum, which is now located in Bangor, Maine. Serving as juror for the exhibition will be artist, philanthropist, and amateur cryptozoologist Jeremy Efroymson. The deadline to submit artwork for possible inclusion in Sharp Museum's ''Spooks or Spoofs' exhibition is July 1st with the accepted pieces being announced two weeks later.