The Owensboro Art Guild is hoping to strike a chord with its inaugural Bluegrass Music Art Exhibition next month. Timed with the popular ROMP Festival, the exhibit will celebrate Kentucky’s bluegrass roots through the eyes of local artists.
The exhibition will run June 23 through July 5 at the Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Owensboro/Waterfront.
“We’ve tossed around the idea for a couple of years,” said Jamie Kniffen, Vice President of the Owensboro Art Guild. “We took the idea from the WC Handy Blues Festival in Henderson. They have a juried art show every year with a blues theme, and we thought, ‘Why aren’t we doing something for bluegrass music?’ So what inspired us to hold the first exhibit this year.”
Guild members were encouraged to interpret the theme of bluegrass music freely, using a wide range of artistic mediums such as painting, photography, sculpture, collage, and more.
“We give them the inspiration — bluegrass music — and it’s really up to the artist what they want to do with that,” Kniffen said.
With 63 active members, the Guild is anticipating a variety of submissions, though many entries are expected to come in close to the deadline.
“Artists are notorious for entering last minute,” Kniffen said with a laugh. “But we’re hoping at least half of them will enter something.”
The exhibit will be displayed in the lobby of the Hampton Inn at 401 W. 2nd Street, a space that will see a steady stream of visitors thanks to summer events like ROMP, The Great Race, and Friday After 5.
“There will be so many visitors downtown,” Kniffen said. “It’s fantastic that more people will see the bluegrass art. The Hampton has been so gracious to let us use their lobby — they’re excited about it too.”
Some of the artwork will be available for purchase, depending on the individual artist’s preference.
“Some people will not want to sell their piece, and others will,” Kniffen said. “There will be prices attached to all of the pieces that are for sale.”
Looking ahead, the Guild hopes this year’s exhibition will be the start of a growing tradition.
“If this goes well, which we think it will, next year we hope to open it up to artists outside the Guild,” Kniffen said. “We’d also love to turn it into a juried show — that would definitely inspire more people to enter.”
