Several Moab artists will be exhibiting their works in Green River for the 16th annual Canyon River Runners Art Show at the John Wesley Powell River History Museum which opens Saturday, March 6. The exhibit will be up through March 27.
The annual art show celebrates the region’s important river running culture and the landscape that inspires it and is open to both professional and amateur artists of all ages. The exhibit includes artworks of various media, relating to river running, desert canyons, local fauna, and Colorado Plateau landscapes. Ribbons and prizes will be awarded to artists in various categories and levels.
Moab artist Serena Supplee said she enters the show every year.
“It’s such a beautiful museum,” she said. Supplee’s piece for this year’s show is titled “Let’s Play Fort” and depicts an Anasazi tower surrounded by the Green River.
Gallery Moab member artist Charlotte Quigley said she is entering the show for the first time, with a watercolor painting titled “Mill Creek, A Closer Look.”
Other Moab artists featured in the show include Janet Buckingham, Joanne Savoie, and Judie Chrobak-Cox.
Green River artist Grace Whatley has submitted linoleum block prints and mixed media pieces for the exhibit for the past three years.
“The show is an awesome opportunity for both locals and regional artists of all experience levels to exhibit their work, and the low entry free makes it accessible and an easy way to support our fantastic museum,” Whatley said. “It’s also a great introduction to the arts for local children.
Children who attend Book Cliff Elementary School in Green River will be displaying their artwork, as well.
Some of the pieces will be for sale, including the students’ art – which in the past children have posted price tags ranging from $1 to $1,000, said museum director Candice Cravins.
“We have lots of tourists that come through; they sometimes will specifically want to buy the children’s work,” she said.
“I look forward to seeing what our school kids come up with each year,” said museum clerk Addison Gee. “In such a small town it is excellent for the kids to have the option to show their art to vacationers and locals alike. It’s also a big confidence-booster when somebody purchases their art.”
Cravins previously worked at an archeology museum in Alabama before moving to Green River in October to direct the river history museum.
“I have lived in Utah before; I was anxious to get back,” she said.
A second exhibit, “Our Rivers is Our Community,” opened in July, and will continue through 2021. The exhibit includes artifacts and panels with text and images that explore the significance of the Green River to the life and culture of southeast Utah. “Our Rivers is Our Community” was inspired by a Smithsonian traveling exhibit titled “Water/Ways” that will come to Green River in April.
The museum is open for in-person viewing Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Masks are required.
Event Information
What: 16th annual Canyon River Runners Art Show
When: March 6 through 27
Where: John Wesley Powell River History Museum in Green River
Cost: Admission: $7 adults; $6 seniors and military servicemembers; $2 children; and $15 families.
Information: johnwesleypowell.com/canyon-river-runners-art-show/
