Bronze Buffalo Festival and Paintout to return after two-year hiatus

Freddie Bourne, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
·2 min read

Jun. 5—The Owensboro Museum of Fine Art has announced the return of its Bronze Buffalo Festival and Paintout on Sept. 22-24.

The annual event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are delighted that we are able to reinstate this program into the museum's activities," said Mary Bryan Hood, OMFA director. "It does have a wonderful tradition of more than a decade of engaging local and regional artists in coming to Owensboro and Daviess County to record and document through the visual arts — the sites and sounds, people and places — of our community."

According to the OMFA, 1,500 invitations have been mailed to artists in the commonwealth and surrounding states to enter into the en plein air event — meaning the process will take place outdoors.

The three-day tradition is a competition that will be juried and will conclude with a public exhibition and finale where community members will be able to view the artwork and meet with the artists from 6-8 p.m. Sept. 24.

More than $3,000 in merit and purchase awards will be presented to the winning entries.

The premise of the buffalo theme for the festival was inspired by the two bronzes that were commissioned by the museum to honor the buffalo trace, which the museum uses to document the historical development of Owensboro from when present-day Frederica Street was used as a buffalo trail.

"It was through that path ... that settlers came here and established a community on the banks of the Ohio (River)," Hood said. "This whole project commemorates and celebrates Owensboro and Daviess County's origins."

The bronzes are located and installed in the museum's Ryan Sculpture Park on Frederica Street between 9th and 10th streets.

Hood said an average of 50 artists enter the festival each year.

"It's just another great program presented by the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art that contributes to the cultural life of the community and benefits the residents and the artists," Hood said.

The festival is sponsored by Swedish Match, which Hood said enables the museum to organize and coordinate the event and give out awards.

The registration fee to enter is $20 prior to Sept. 15, then increases to $35.

Anyone that would like to enter the event can register at omfa.us/2022-bronze-buffalo-paintout-artist-entry/ or by calling the museum at 270-685-3181.