2012 was a Great Year for Prairie Center
Here are a Few Highlights
· Our Community Artists in Residence Program grew in
2012 from three artists to nine whereby we provided studio space for local
artists free of charge for periods of three to six months.
· We offered a one year residency for a program
manager. Ron Ray was the successful
candidate and arrived February 1. He has been the “glue” that makes our
residency program a vibrant place for all of the artists involved. Ron has decided to go back to his studio full
time. Good Luck, Ron.
· To rave reviews by visiting artists we began
transporting them between the house in Germantown Hills and the studios in
Peoria.
· In October Prairie Center hosted the CIAO “Vernissage”
exhibition in Warehouse Gallery One. 190+ local artists’ works were shown in
conjunction with the opening of the Riverfront Museum in downtown Peoria. Thanks to Ron, our Program Director, for his
extraordinary work in making this exhibition such a success.
· We also hosted the Mid-Illini Conference Art Show; the
Quest Academy Art Show; and Bradley University BFA Senior Exhibitions in
Warehouse Gallery One.
· Gary Will, a local artist and Bradley University
professor on sabbatical, completed his residency by hosting a final exhibition
of photographs taken while on a mission trip with a Riverside Community Church
group.
· Prairie Center, Joe Richey, and Oscar Gillespie of
Bradley University are featured in a new book published in August, 2012,
titled: Post Digital Printmaking: CNC, Traditional and Hybrid Techniques. This book is co-authored by a past PCA
resident, Paul Catanese. He is the
Associate Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary
Arts at Columbia College in Chicago. http://www.paulcatanese.com/
