An opening reception will be 6-7:30 p.m. Saturday and will include the awards, several of the artists, live music, food trucks and a cash bar. Admission is $5 for non-members and free to SMOA members.
“This exhibition is to highlight the talent in our community, and it’s a part of connecting art and community,” said Jessimi Jones, SMOA executive director.
The exhibition will contain 134 pieces by 113 artists, aided by staff reaching out to encourage the members’ participation. Elizabeth Wetterstroem, SMOA’s collections and exhibitions manager, said portraits will be one of the most prominent works.
The guest juror is Ramona Bronkar Bannayan, the recently retired senior deputy director of exhibitions and collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Even she has local ties as her mom, Eunice Bronkar, was an artist and SMOA member, had exhibitions there and taught art at places like Clark State.
“She has an incredible combination with ties to her mom, the museum and the community that makes it a special connection,” Jones said. “We have a special opportunity to have a juror of her caliber and background.”
Wetterstroem said Bronkar Bannayan noted a lot of insight and thought in some some of the exhibition’s works.
The exhibition will also have young blood with the works of six youths from Project Jericho. These students visited artist Lynda Pauley’s Prairie’s Edge studio for pastel painting lessons in June, learning how to use shape, value, temperature and color to create landscape or pet portraits according to Kristi Limes, Project Jericho success coordinator.
The students also learned the importance of protecting natural resources, seeing a 300-year-old tree on the property and one student had never held a dog before and these experiences inspired their art.
Pauley showed the students a portrait she planned on entering in the exhibition and Limes reached out to Wetterstroem about the possibility of the kids gaining membership. Although it’s normally for those over 18, an exception was made.
“We wanted to give that opportunity. The collaboration is a way to recognize Project Jericho as part of the many artists in our community,” said Wetterstroem.
The exhibition will be a way for audiences to learn and appreciating the scope of art today, Jones said. She invites everyone to the opening to experience the joy of art and artists.
“This is our most celebratory event, whether you have a piece or not, it’s to celebrate art in our community,” she said.
Despite construction going on at the SMOA’s north side at this time, the facility and its main galleries are open.
The Juried Members’ Exhibition will be on display through Oct. 15. The SMOA is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 12:30-4:30 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and free for SMOA members and students.
HOW TO GO
What: 77th Annual Juried Members’ Exhibition
Where: Springfield Museum of Art, 107 Cliff Park Rd., Springfield
When: Wednesdays through Sundays through Oct. 15
Admission: $5 non-members; free for members and students
More info: www.springfieldart.net/
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