The annual Wyoming Art Show is going virtual for 2021.
From May 14 through May 23, clicking on wyomingartshow.org will allow visitors to view, browse, and purchase art from a broad variety of regional artists. The show will also feature work by Wyoming students of all ages, with and prizes awarded for the best pieces in their respective categories.
“This year you can connect to art from the comfort and safety of your home,” said Kathy Kessler, exhibits chairperson of the Wyoming Art Show. “It’s a chance to see beautiful work of all kinds and make some of it your own while supporting artists from around our area.”
To view the show, visitors need only go to the show’s website. There they will find pages featuring up to 11 works from each artist and links to their online shops or pages where the artwork can be purchased. Students in each grade from Wyoming schools will also have a dedicated page of art, and organizers are working to provide bonus content as well. Rather than a weekend event, the show will run for a full 10 days so patrons can browse at their convenience. Visitors can sign up to have Art Show news delivered via email. In addition, the Art Show has a Facebook page and Instagram account for keeping the public informed.
Like many events, the show was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With vaccination efforts just getting underway and the future uncertain, the board made the difficult decision to take the show entirely online this year.
“We simply couldn’t guarantee the safety of the artists, visitors, or volunteers,” said Becky Miars, who serves as volunteer recruitment chair but works on many aspects of the show. “It was a difficult decision. This is the only way we felt we could proceed.”
Organizers hope the show will provide much-needed business to the artists. “All of the artists invited to the show were selected prior to the 2020 show. They were chosen but never got to participate,” said Laurie Marks, who oversees the jury process. “Artists have been hard hit this past year. They can use extra support from our community.”
Although they expect the virtual show to be smaller in scope, the board promises the Wyoming Art Show will be back, the way it was meant to be. “We’ve been celebrating fine art for 35 years,” said Kessler. “We expect to celebrate for the next 35 as well.”
