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Report for America is a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities.

Artists - There's Still Time To Apply For This Year's Midwestern Biennial

Rockford Art Museum

 

  

Due to the pandemic, the deadline for entries has been extended for a juried art exhibition that takes place every two years in Rockford.

The 76th Rockford Midwestern Biennial’s deadline was originally June 15. It is now June 29.

Carrie Johnson is the executive director and curator of the Rockford Art Museum.

She said the museum understands that many artists are caught up in dealing with the effects of COVID-19.

“So, we wanted to give people a little bit of time that maybe has struggled with health issues or with unemployment or anything that's going on in anybody's life,” she explained. “We just kind of wanted to give them a little breathing room to add that two weeks.”

Johnson said if artists are unsure about entering, they should do it anyway.

“But art is so subjective that you should apply to everything you can,” she said. “That means your work's getting out there, you know, even if you don't get in, that's no reason to not apply the next time or to keep applying for other shows.”

Johnson said the Dean Alan Olson Foundation gave the museum money to support artists.

“So not only is it really good for artists to have exposure in the galleries, but your piece could be purchased for the museum's collection," she said. "And because we do that, it means that we're always promoting Midwestern artists.”

The 2020 Rockford Midwestern will be on display from Oct. 9 to Jan. 31. Artists aged 18 or older who live in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio or Wisconsin are eligible.

Jim Dempsey, of Corbett vs. Dempsey, is this year’s juror.

  • Yvonne Boose is a 2020 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project which is a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms.

Yvonne covers artistic, cultural, and spiritual expressions in the COVID-19 era. This could include how members of community cultural groups are finding creative and innovative ways to enrich their personal lives through these expressions individually and within the context of their larger communities. Boose is a recent graduate of the Illinois Media School and returns to journalism after a career in the corporate world.