The 23rd Annual Art in the Metroplex competition will open in the University Art Gallery in Moudy Building North on Saturday in conjunction with Fall Gallery Night.There were 479 pieces entered in the competition. Of those, 44 pieces by 26 artists were selected, said Ron Watson, chairman of the department of art and art history.

Watson has been there since the beginning, starting the competition along with Beth Lea Clardy, said Karen Weinman, joint coordinator for the event. Clardy died this past year, but her sister, Nancy Vance, remains a joint coordinator of the event.

“(This) is the longest-running exhibition of this type in North Texas,” Watson said. “Artists find it extremely selective. (It) is the most significant annual juried art competition in our region.”

This year’s juror, James Elaine, is a widely respected art museum curator, Watson said. According to the 2005 Art in the Metroplex prospectus, Elaine is the Hammer Projects Curator at the University of California at Los Angeles, and is focused on the work of emerging artists.

The artists in the competition are primarily emerging, but some are established, Watson said.

There are a variety of works, including painting, drawing, print making, sculpture, photography and mixed media.

Elaine will present seven awards to the winners for a total of $2,000, with The Beth Lea Clardy Memorial Award making up half.

The Raucus Science Club Award is an anonymous donation that has been received for the past four years, Vance said.

“It is from a group of TCU professors who support us just by passing a hat,” Vance said.

The donation amount changes each year, and this year it is for a total of $105.48, Weinman said.

The donors desire to remain anonymous, Weinman said.

“We don’t ask and they don’t tell, “Weinman said.

TCU graduates Vivian Spraberry and Etty Horowitz are among the 26 artists selected. Horowitz also had a piece in last year’s competition.

The gallery will open at 2 p.m., Elaine will speak at 2:30 p.m. and the awards will be announced soon after.

“It is just a really nice collaboration,” Weinman said. “I don’t know of any other competition like this.”

The exhibit will remain in the University Art Gallery until Thursday, Oct. 6.