The South Bend Museum of Art features a full spectrum of historical and contemporary art featured in five galleries. A wide range of artistic traditions are taught in our world-class art studios. Located inside the Century Center in downtown South Bend, Indiana, the SBMA is an architectural delight. Designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, the museum occupies three levels in the northern wing of the building.
Mission
The South Bend Museum of Art affirms the enduring power of the visual arts to reflect and create community, engage minds, and nurture growth through exhibitions, collections and educational programs.
History
Since its founding in 1947, the SBMA has provided insight into the art, history and culture of the region and nation. Since 1987, SBMA has been recognized as achieving the highest level of professional standards in the field, awarded accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums. Accreditation status must be renewed every 10 years and, in March of 2011, SBMA was awarded ongoing accreditation. Accreditation inspires museums to achieve a higher standard. It strengthens the field as a whole, as well as the museums that receive accreditation. The rigorous process leads to sustained organizational improvement and a clearer sense of purpose. Of the estimated 17,500 museums in the U.S., only 750 are accredited.
EXHIBITION DATES: July 27 ‒ September 29, 2019
DEADLINE FOR ALL ENTRIES: April 14, 2019, 11:59 p.m. EST
The South Bend Museum of Art’s all media Biennial 30 will present a diverse look into contemporary artwork in the Midwest and is open to all artists residing in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. The number of exhibiting artists is deliberately limited to allow for the showing of a greater body of work by each artist. $1,500.00 in prizes will be awarded by the juror and up to $1,500.00 in purchase awards will be awarded by the South Bend Museum of Art's Collections Committee. A color brochure of exhibiting artists will also be produced.
JUROR:
This year's exhibition will be juried by Sarah Rose Sharp. Sarah is a Detroit-based writer, activist, photographer and multimedia artist. She writes about art and culture for Art in America, Hyperallergic, Flash Art, Sculpture Magazine, ArtSlant and others.
Sarah was named a 2015 Kresge Literary Arts Fellow for Art Criticism and is a 2018 recipient of the Rabkin Foundation Prize. She is a guest lecturer at several universities in Southeast Michigan and served as a mentor in the NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentorship Program in 2018. Sarah has served as guest curator and juror for institutions including Penn State University (State College, PA), Scarab Club (Detroit, MI), The Terhune Gallery (Toledo, OH), and The Ann Arbor Art Center (Ann Arbor, MI). Sarah has shown her own work in New York, Seattle, Columbus & Toledo, OH, Covington, KY, and Detroit—including at the Detroit Institute of Arts—with solo shows at Simone De Sousa Gallery and Public Pool. She is primarily concerned with artist and viewer experiences of making and engaging with art, and conducts ongoing research into the state of contemporary art in redeveloping cities, with special focus and regard for Detroit.
ELIGIBILITY:
Biennial 30 is open to all artists residing in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. All media are accepted. All artwork must have been completed in the past 2 years (2017‒present) and cannot have been previously exhibited at the South Bend Museum of Art.
TO APPLY, YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING:
- 5–10 images of your work
- Title, year, media and scale for each image
- Artist resume
- Artist statement
- $15 entry fee (used to support the exhibition, the printed publication and related programming)
CONDITIONS OF ACCEPTANCE:
- The juror will select artists for inclusion in the exhibition and each artist will receive approximately 24 feet of running wall space (or the floor space equivalent). Depending on the scale of the work, each artist is usually able to exhibit about 7‒12 works. Exhibited work does not necessarily need to be the same as the work submitted for jurying, but should be consistent with the submission.
- SBMA curatorial staff is responsible for the design and layout of the exhibition. Installation artists are responsible for their own installation and should coordinate with the curator as soon as possible after they’ve been notified of their inclusion.
- SBMA has a limited number of pedestals for use by artists; time based artists need to provide their own equipment and should ensure that their work requires minimal maintenance on the part of museum staff (i.e. video files set to loop, start of day/end of day procedures clearly written out, spare bulbs provided, etc.).
- The SBMA’s Collections Committee uses the pool of accepted artists to acquire new works into its permanent collection with $1,500.00 in purchase awards.
- Five merit awards totaling $1,500.00 will be awarded by the juror.
- SBMA's curatorial staff will document the exhibition and share installation images with exhibiting artists.
- A color brochure of exhibiting artists will be produced.
SHIPPING:
Artists are responsible for the delivery and return of work, including all costs.
INSURANCE:
SBMA will insure the objects on loan while in custody of SBMA. Artists are responsible for insuring their artwork while in transit to and from the SBMA.
IMPORTANT DATES:
- April 14, 11:59 p.m. EST: Deadline for entry
- April 15–28: Jurying of entries
- April 29, 5:00 p.m. EST (no later than): E-mailed notification sent
- July 10: Deadline for the delivery of shipped work
- July 12, 15‒19: Hand delivery of work and installation
- July 27: Exhibition opens
- September 6, 5:00–9:00 p.m. EST: Artists reception
- September 29: Exhibition closes
- September 30–October 3: Pick-up of work
QUESTIONS MAY BE DIRECTED TO:
Mark Rospenda, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections
South Bend Museum of Art
southbendart.org
rospendam@southbendart.org
574-235-9102
