Gallery 1516 celebrates the debut of its Nebraska Artists Biennial with an opening on November 3. This exhibition format, long a staple of 20th-century museum programming, had largely disappeared from the region, and director Patrick Drickey felt it was time for a reintroduction given the gallery’s mission to serve Nebraska artists.
A fast-tracked program, the Biennial was announced in June, accepted applicants in two-dimensional media through September 1, and recently completed its jurying process. Selected artists are being notified as this preview goes to press. Intentionally, suspense remains high.
Drickey expressed his delight with the response to the call for entries, counting close to 500 submissions, from which the 60-65 works in the show were selected. Viewers will be rewarded with a good cross-section of art from across the state, as well as a lively mixture of artists familiar and seldom seen.
At the opening of the show, jurors will assign monetary awards in the following categories: best of show, excellence in drawing/printmaking, painting, photography, and student/emerging artist. Additionally, announced at the exhibition’s closing, there will be both an artist’s and visitor’s choice award.
Nebraska Artists Biennial opens Friday, November 3 at Gallery 1516 and runs through December 30. The gallery is located at 1516 Leavenworth Street and is open Friday — Sunday from 11am to 5pm, and on First Fridays until 8pm.