14th ANNUAL BRONZE BUFFALO FESTIVAL

OCTOBER 8-10

Sponsored by

Swedish Match and Atmos Energy

Invitations have been mailed to artists in Kentucky and surrounding states to enter the 14th Annual Buffalo Festival and Paintout, an outdoor painting event  presented October 8 to 10 at the musem.

The three day event will be highlighted by an exhibition where more than $5,000 in Merit and Purchase Awards will be presented for winning entries. The annual festival is presented by co-sponsors Swedish Match and Atmos Energy Company.

Artists may enter the Buffalo Paintout by completing the registration form at the link below or by calling 270-685-3181.  Registration fee is $20 prior to September 30 and $35 after that date.

The Buffalo theme for the Festival and Paintout was inspired by the two heroic sized bronzes installed in the art museum’s Ryan Sculpture Park on Frederica Street between 9th and 10th Streets 

The bronzes were commissioned by the museum to create the Bronze Buffalo Trace designed to commemorate the origins of Owensboro.  Present day Frederica Street began as a buffalo trace through which settlers made their way to the banks of the Ohio River to establish the settlement which ultimately became Owensboro.

The bronze buffalo sculpture “Into the Wind” and “Meadowlands Pair,” were gifts to the museum and the community from Mary Lou Steele and her late husband, Robert Steele, and former Mayor Ron Payne and his wife Denise.  The bronzes were created by the noted American wildlife sculptor T. D. Kelsey of Texas.

Click here to register for the PAINTOUT

______________________

 

July 22-25

The museum has released the Summer OWENSBORO GRAIN COMPANY FREE ART CAMPS online as a result of restrictions on public gatherings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The camps consist of instructional videos on Facebook and Instagram which demonstrate art projects for children and parents.

The first online camp was released Wednesday, July 22 and Thursday, July 23, and created a small decorative wall hanging simulating an embossed metal design using basic art supplies. The second video was released Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25, and led the viewer in the creation of a paper mobile construction.

Resumption of children’s camps in the museum is planned for Fall contingent upon future lifting of pandemic restrictions. For more information contact the museum at 270-685-3181 or info@omfa.us.

______________________

JUNE 14 - AUGUST 18

The Owensboro Museum of Fine Art has reopened with the exhibition CELEBRATE WOMEN commemorating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution, giving women the right to vote.

Closed for twelve weeks due of the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum will resume its 2020 exhibition season with a showcase of more than 100 works of art by women artists across Kentucky. A brochure documenting the celebration will be published by the museum.

The exhibition, sponsored by US Bank, will feature a community celebration planned for later this Summer that will include a reception for the artists complemented by special performing arts events presented by Owensboro women.

A wide variety of media is represented in the exhibition and includes works by both academically trained and naïve artists. Highlights of the exhibition are paintings by Ellen Glasgow, Frankfort and Helen LaFrance Orr, Mayfield; assemblages by Louisville’s Jacque Parsley; fiber works by Dobree Adams, Frankfort, and former Kentuckian Penny Sisto; and quilts by Kentucky’s leading folk artist Minnie Adkins of Isonville. Also featured is sculpture by Meg White, Stephensport, an artist represented in the City of Owensboro’s public art collection by the horse installed in Riverfront Crossing.

Of special interest to local audiences are works by area artists including Katie Lowing, Rhonda McEnroe, Enid Roach, Selma Wiesenberg, and former Owensboroan Jan Frazier. Artists from the Museum’s Permanent Collection include Margaret Ross (1908-2004), Marion Vasterling (1930-2018), Marie Bensman (1908-1992) and Cynthia Lightner (1937-2017).

Visitors to the exhibition will be asked to observe the current safety procedures mandated by the COVID-19 crisis including social distancing, use of a mask and submitting to temperature checks.

Enjoy a 3D Virtual Tour of the museum's Permanent Collection galleries.

______________________

As a response to the pandemic the museum is expanding its on-line offerings with ON-LINE MINI-EXHIBITS. These excerpts from the museum's Permanent Collection will focus on particular themes or artists of special importance.

The exhibits will include descriptive text that allows the viewer to put the work of art in historical context as well as learn about the artist.

Mini-exhibits are avaiable through email and social media

______________________

The museum is offering this project on-line as a part of its expanded social media response to the COVID-19 crisis. Each post of this project will feature a different image from a coloring book designed by the museum.

As a part of the 100th Anniversary of the founding of Daviess County, KY, the art museum partnered with the Daviess County Bicentennial Committee to create the DAVIESS COUNTY BICENTENNIAL COLORING BOOK: 1815-2015 to teach different aspects of local history. The book was distributed to thousands of Daviess County schoolchildren.

Many of the drawings in the book are based on important works in the museum’s Permanent Collection. The images are sized to be printed out and colored.

Hey kids, make sure you let your parents color too!

The Coloring Book is avaiable through email and social media

______________________

February 29 - April 24

Artists from Kentucky and surrounding states competed for more than $3,500 merit awards in the Owensboro Art Guild’s 58th Annual Juried Exhibition.  One hundred and thirty-nine entries were received by the art guild and judged by Jon Michael Siau, Evansville, IN. Sixty-two works of art in two- and three-dimensional media were selected by him to comprise the exhibition.

Siau received his BA and MA degrees from the University of Evansville. Upon graduating he began a forty-two year career as an art educator at Evansville North High School. Watercolor, drawing, and printmaking are his preferred media. He also has been commissioned to create portraits and illustrations for such celebrities as Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, the Judds, Mickey Mantle, Don Mattingly, Yogi Berra; and the United States Olympic Committee. His creations were published in the usoc's world-wide magazine “The Olympian”.

The Owensboro Art Guild is Kentucky’s oldest continuing visual arts organization operated by artists and sponsors a variety of exhibition opportunities throughout the year.  In addition to the annual juried exhibition, open exhibitions, wherein all entries are displayed, are also organized by the guild.