River City Biennale is an art exhibit and cultural event with the goal of bringing serious attention to artists in Wichita, Kansas. It endeavors to exhibit the most engaged and critically-viable contemporary art in the metro area to a national audience of critics, curators, gallery and museum professionals and collectors.
Opening on May 15th, 2008, RCB hopes that the Biennale will increase the opportunities for Wichita artists to be included in major regional, national, and international exhibitions. RCB will host exhibits in several venues and will include panel discussions and distinguished speakers on topics related to contemporary art. For the first time in Wichita, a concerted effort will be made to connect what's going on here with what's going on elsewhere--and for the first time, artists in Wichita will have the opportunity to present their work to a serious, informed audience of art professionals, critics and collectors.
Each artist chosen for the exhibit went through the same rigorous process of selection--first, an online review, then, after much deliberation by the curator, studio visits. The entire process utilized the internet in unconventional ways by creating an online community for the artists and curator through blogs and communication groups.
The River City Biennale will reappear in 2010.
2008 Artists:
The curator is Stacy Switzer, of Grand Arts in Kansas City, Missouri.
Click here for more information about the curator, visiting critics, and a calendar of events.
To go to Frequently Asked Questions, please click here.
S.U.R. Prize
In collaboration with the River City Biennale, the committee is also endeavoring to initiate an unrestricted granting program, open to visual artists in all media, and is modeled on the highly successful Charlotte St. Foundation Award in Kansas City. Naming rights are currently available, but in the meantime, it will be known as the Studios Under Review Prize, or the S.U.R. Prize.
The mission of the recently established granting foundation is to support and recognize outstanding visual artists in Wichita, by awarding unrestricted grants to artists, based solely on the merits of their work. We hope these awards will be granted annually to active artists living in the greater Wichita area; no applications will be accepted, as candidates must be nominated. The primary purpose of this grant is to create incentive for artists to live, work, and stay in Wichita and draw new artists to our community. Ideally, the prize will communicate Wichita’s appreciation, to each artist, for his/her creativity and hard work.
This program is presented in part by the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National
Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.
Individual Donors:
The Joan S. Beren Foundation
Connie Bonfy
The Chung Family
Toni and Bud Gates
Rebecca Hoyer and Michael Dwyer
Intergalactic Rockets
Eric Ireland and David Mercer
Ann and Bob Martin
Patricia McDonnell
Mira Merriman
Monica's Bundt Cakes
Kevin Mullins
R&J's Discount Liquor
River City Trolley Company
Beverly Steiner
Tanya Tandoc
Jan Twomey
Janet Van Epps and Ted Blankenship
Trish and Bruce VanOsdel
Jeff and Janice Van Sickle
Rich and Marni Vliet
River City Biennale Advisory Board:
David Butler
Craig McPherson
Mike Michaelis
Novelene Ross
To make a tax-deductible donation to the River City Biennale or the S.U.R. Prize Foundation, please click on the link below. A PayPal account is not required. Thank you for your support!