The Salina Art Center will reopen galleries on June 3. Gallery hours are Wednesday – Sunday from 11-5. Visitors are welcome to make an appointment for a private tour outside of business hours by calling (785) 827-1431. Admission is always free.
The 2020 Salina Biennial Exhibition: Contemporary Art from the Mountain Plains States opened April 1 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We really had to adjust how we shared contemporary art with audiences,” said Misty Serene, Interim Executive Director. “We have been sharing these works with an online audience, but nothing will ever replace seeing them in person.”
The 63 artists selected represent a geographic area covering seven states: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas. Looking closely at the individual pieces viewers find a variety of mediums and approaches, from traditional landscape photography to contemporary video. Taking a step back visitors will see the larger themes emerge from the diverse field of work. Issues of identity, the environment, and materiality come forward. This year over 230 artists submitted over 600 works to the Biennial call. Ksenya Gurshtein, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Ulrich Museum of Art, served as juror.
Additional safety precautions are being implemented to create a positive experience. Guests can utilize touchless technology to access artist interviews and additional Biennial content. Social distancing will be enforced and guests are encouraged to wear masks.
The Salina Biennial continues to affirm the power of art making in the Mountain Plains region. The Biennial was established in 2018, in part as a continuation of the regional invitational, an exhibition held at the Art Center from 1979 until 1989, but also to highlight artists that are balancing the traditions and history of our region with a global contemporary practice.
This exhibition is funded through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Salina Art Center Endowment Foundation, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Salina Downtown, a Lighthouse Property, and Bennington State Bank.
For a complete checklist of the 2020 Salina Biennial artists and more information, including artist interviews and programming featuring many of the artists, visit www.salinaartcenter.org or follow us on social media.
