Approximately 1,500 invitations have been mailed to artists in Kentucky and surrounding states to enter the 14th Annual Buffalo Festival and Paintout, an outdoor event to be presented Sept. 23-25 at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art.
The 2020 Festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but will resume this year observing all of the precautions required for public gatherings by government health officials.
The three day event will be highlighted by an exhibition where more than $3,000 in Merit and Purchase Awards will be presented for winning entries. The annual festival is presented by co-sponsors Swedish Match and Atmos Energy.
Artists may enter the Buffalo Paintout by completing the registration form found on the museum’s website omfa.us or by calling 270-685-3181. The registration fee is $20 prior to Sept. 15 and $35 after that date.
The Buffalo theme for the Festival and Paintout was inspired by the two heroic-sized bronzes installed in the art museum’s Ryan Sculpture Park on Frederica Street between 9th and 10th streets. The bronzes were commissioned by the museum to create the Bronze Buffalo Trace designed to commemorate the origins of Owensboro.
Present-day Frederica Street began as a buffalo trace through which settlers made their way to the banks of the Ohio River to establish the settlement which ultimately became Owensboro.
The bronze buffalo sculptures “Into the Wind” and “Meadowlands Pair” were gifts to the museum and the community from Mary Lou Steele and her late husband, Robert Steele, as well as former Mayor Ron Payne and his wife Denise. The bronzes were created by noted American wildlife sculptor T. D. Kelsey of Texas.
The Owensboro Museum of Fine Art is open 12-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1-4 p.m. on weekends. Admission is free but donations are encouraged of $3 for adults for $2 for children.
