A uniquely Midwestern art exhibit found a way to crown its winners despite the pandemic.
The 16th annual Farms & Barns exhibit features 82 artists’ original works celebrating country life. Some include photography, wood carving and mixed media. This year, the art show honored eight local and regional artists.
Michael Glenn, the executive director of The Next Picture Show in Dixon, said the process for awarding the artists is different due to the pandemic.
“Normally, when we put the show up, we hold an official awards reception,” he explained. “And we invite the judge who judges the show to come in. We do the reception. We always have a setup with food and live entertainment.”
But this year, Glenn said social media is playing a larger role.
“The fact that we're using the social media platforms to show people they can just go on Facebook, and look at each individual piece sometimes that seems to be drawing them in," he said.
Glenn shared that people are coming to the building in small groups and he said there's no need for an appointment at this time.
The art show continues until Oct. 17 and it is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The winners can be found on The Next Picture Show’s Facebook page.
- Yvonne Boose is a 2020 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
