New downtown Aurora Public Library will feature original artwork by local artists. Works are scheduled to be announcd on March. 6 (Suburban Chronicle photo)

Original artwork by Aurora residents will be unveiled as winners in the Aurora Public Library’s “Art of Technology” competition during March’s First Friday “Art Crawl” event at If These Walls Could Talk (ITWCT) gallery located at 32 S. Stolp Ave. in downtown Aurora.

The winners of the competition will be unveiled in an announcement at 6 p.m. on March 6.

All of the entries are slated to be on display in the gallery, but only the top four pieces in each of four categories will be hung in the new Richard and Gina Santori Public Library of Aurora.

Aurora residents submitted artwork on January 11 for the “Art of Technology” competition sponsored by The Dunham Fund. Entrants were invited to develop unique, high quality, one-of-a-kind, 2-D art pieces that reflected the “Art of Technology” theme.

Judges have chosen a first, second and third place winner in each of four classes: first through fourth grade; fifth through eighth grade; ninth through twelfth grade; and adult.

First place winners will receive $500 Visa gift cards and their artwork will be displayed in the Richard and Gina Santori Public Library of Aurora, set to open this spring. Second-place winners will receive $250 Visa gift cards, and third-place winners will receive $125 Visa gift cards.

Artists submitted pieces in a variety of media, including drawings, collages, photographs, paintings and mixed media.

ITWCT owners Jen Rauch and Tim Frederick said they feel honored to have been asked to host the event which will promote the arts in Aurora. “ITWCT actively encourages all forms of creativity, and since its opening in 2013, has been inspiring the community to take a greater interest in its own betterment, igniting a new awareness of the magnificence that the arts can bring,” Frederick said.

Karademas Management allowed Aurora Public Library to create a pop-up judging gallery in the second-floor mezzanine of Leland Tower at 7 S. Stolp Ave. for several weeks during the judging process. “We needed a large space to showcase all the entries, and Karademas Management was kind enough to allow us to use space in the Leland Tower,” said Special Projects Librarian Bonnie Sebby. “We can’t thank them enough for their gracious hosting of the artwork.” Twenty-five community members served as judges for the competition.

The Dunham Fund also is financing the creation of the “Dream Catcher,” an illuminated sculpture that portrays the written word from its earliest beginnings to the high-tech world of today. It will hang in the John C. Dunham Atrium of the Santori Library.

A sculpture for the plaza outside the new Santori Public Library’s west entrance also is being funded through The Dunham Fund. It is “Deus Ex Machina,” designed by artist Jim Jenkins of Jenkins Arts, Batavia. The work was unveiled during February’s First Friday event at Allen + Pepa Architects.