The ICA is planning its work for the next five years, and is holding Listening Sessions across the state to ensure that the voices of artists and organizations are represented in the new plan. Ideas generated in these sessions will help to shape future funding, programs, and services to support the arts in Idaho.

The Listening Session in Moscow will be held from 10 – 11 a.m. on Wednesday, August 7 at the Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of Moscow City Hall, located at 206 E Third Street. 

The Listening Session will be facilitated by Laura von Boecklin Curry, Executive Director of the Idaho Commission on the Arts. Curry assumed the role on August 7, 2023, succeeding Michael Faison, who retired after 16 years with the agency. 

Curry joins the Commission with over a decade of executive-level management experience with arts and human service organizations. Most recently she was the Executive Director of Ballet Idaho for four seasons, helping successfully guide the company through the Pandemic. Prior to that she was the Executive Director of the College of Western Idaho Foundation. Before moving to Idaho in 2017, she served low-income residents and senior citizens during her tenures as the Executive Director of Lift-Up of Routt County and Routt County Council on Aging in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Curry holds a BA in English with a Minor in Public Relations from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. She is the board vice president of Idaho Concerts in Care (a 501c3 organization that presents professional musical performances to enrich the lives of residents in care homes). 

The Idaho Commission on the Arts is the official state agency for the support and development of the arts in Idaho. The Commission promotes excellence, education in the arts, access to the arts, and community investment in the arts.

**UPDATE as of 7/17/2024**

Lisa Mariam, Grants Management Specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts, will also be onsite on August 7 from 11:15 - 12:15 to present information about the Challenge America grant program. Individuals and organizational representatives interested in NEA grant processes are welcome to attend this session as well! 

PALOUSE PLEIN AIR is an annual painting event that takes place every September, with experiences including painting workshops and a juried exhibition at the Third Street Gallery inside Moscow City Hall.
 

Historic Moscow, Idaho and the beautiful Palouse are the perfect destination for plein air artists, and the annual Palouse Plein Air painting event connects artists with the region’s landscape and arts culture. French for “open air,” the phrase “plein air” (pronounced plen-air) describes the act of painting outdoors. The outdoor experience on the Palouse is particularly rich, as its rolling hills, rivers, mountains, fields, farms, and homes tell the long history of the landscape.
 

Guided by the vision of the Moscow Arts Commission and University of Idaho art professor Aaron Cordell Johnson, Palouse Plein Air began in 2010, and the event continues to grow. A collaboration of community partners makes this growth possible; the City of Moscow Arts Department and the University of Idaho College of Art + Architecture work together to make a great event for artists and art lovers alike.

Important Dates
April 30 – September 5
      Registration will be available online via Submittable. No emailed or paper registrations will be accepted.

September 9 - 17  
      Painting Period in Latah, Nez Perce, Whitman, and Benewah Counties

September 18
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
      Artwork Drop-off at the Third Street Gallery, located inside Moscow City Hall at 206 E Third St.
7:00 p.m.
      Juror Lecture on the UI Campus

September 19
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
      Juror Demonstration at the UI Arboretum
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
      Reception & Awards at the Third Street Gallery

September 19 - October 4
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday - Friday
      Exhibition open at the Third Street Gallery

October 7   
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
      Artwork Pick-up at the Third Street Gallery

Eligibility
Palouse Plein Air is a painting competition open to all artists 18 years-of-age or older. All painting media are eligible for competition, including gouache, watercolor, acrylic, oil, and pastel.

Registration and Fees
      $36 per participant or $31 per student participant (18 years-of-age and older.)
 

Painting and Exhibition Guidelines
 

• Following registration, participants paint out-of-doors at any location of their choosing within Latah, Nez Perce, Whitman, and Benewah counties. Participants have the option to paint on all days of the competition or any combination of the competition days. No use of electronic, pictorial, or other aids is allowed. All work must be done on location by the individual artist.
• Each artist will submit photos of their completed works along with inventory information and images of the painting on location. This submission will be completed using a Submittable form to be provided by City staff following the close of event registration. This procedure not only generates content for the publicly-viewable online gallery, but also authenticates that each piece was made on location during the Palouse Plein Air competition period. 
• Participants are invited to deliver finished entries to the Third Street Gallery inside Moscow City Hall on September 18 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. No early drop-off or pick-up of artworks will be allowed. Artworks that arrive at any time other than the stated drop-off period will not be exhibited. 
• Up to 3 (three) paintings will be accepted. Painting sizes accepted will be up to 72” total unframed perimeter inches or smaller. (e.g. a 16” x 20” has a 72” perimeter: 20” x 2 + 16” x 2 = 72”)
• Artworks must be presented for exhibition in sturdy framing with a wire hanger (no sawtooth hangers). Please see the Third Street Gallery presentation requirements for an illustration of wire installation standards. Works submitted without proper framing and wire hangers will not be exhibited. 
• BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: Best Lil’ Painting. This is a little award category with a big, big, impact. To participate in the Best Lil’ Painting award category, participants must select “Yes” to receive a welcome package. The welcome package will include a little canvas and a little watercolor board. Artists are invited to submit one little painting for this award category, and this submission will count toward the artist’s overall allowed total of up to 3 (three) paintings. The little paintings can be presented without frames or wires, but must be labeled as described below.
• Please label the back of each artwork with the following: artist name, artwork title, medium, and date.
• Event organizers reserve the right to determine suitability of all works shown in the Palouse Plein Air exhibition.
• Works may be offered for sale, and any sales will be handled by Third Street Gallery staff. Artwork sales will be subject to a 20% Gallery commission and Idaho State sales tax.
• Works will remain at Third Street Gallery for the entire length of the exhibition.
• Artists shall release the City of Moscow to use photographs and/or video of them and their exhibited art works, for future publicity and promotional purposes without copyright, use fees, or charges.

Juror and Awards
George Wray is the 2024 Palouse Plein Air juror. Wray is an art professor emeritus from the University of Idaho where he taught painting and drawing for over 30 years. He received his undergraduate degree from Moorhead State College (Minnesota) and an MFA degree from California College of the Arts (Oakland, California). He has exhibited his drawings, paintings and light pieces throughout the Northwest and other areas of the U.S.
 

Wray particularly enjoys teaching drawing outside the formal classroom. For many years he taught on the University of Idaho’s “Workshop on Wheels” which traveled around the State of Idaho during the summers. He has also taught “drawing as seeing” to scientists on the Juneau Ice Fields in Alaska. He has done drawings and rafted on the Salmon River, on an 18-day trip on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, and on the Copper River in Alaska.
 

Wray will adjudicate the exhibition at the Third Street Gallery and will offer a lecture open to all registered participants.

Awards will be announced during the artist reception at the Third Street Gallery. Winning participants need not be present to receive awards. Paintings will be available for sale and are eligible for the following cash and other recognition awards: 

• 1st Place ($500)
• 2nd Place ($250)
• 3rd Place ($125)
• Best Palouse
• Best Downtown
• Best Historical
• Best Lil’ Painting
• Student Awards (2)
• Honorable Mentions (2)
• City of Moscow Purchase Award (1)

Registration Support for Palouse Plein Air
        Megan Cherry
        Arts Manager
        206 East Third Street
        Moscow, ID 83843
        208.883.7036
        mcherry@ci.moscow.id.us

 

The City of Moscow Arts Department invites artists to submit works to be considered for the annual Artwalk season poster art opportunity. Moscow Artwalk is one of many events that foster the region's cultural ecosystem. Since its beginning in 2004, the event has become a highlight of the Palouse by celebrating the wealth of artistic practice in the region. Moscow Artwalk includes visual, literary, performing, and culinary arts offerings at business and non-profit locations throughout the community on the 3rd Thursday of each month from October - May. The Artwalk Season Finale on June 26, 2025 features artist and host location offerings along with music, food, and performances on Main Street. The Artwalk season poster is the visual centerpiece of the event and along with community-wide presence in print materials, the artist and artwork are promoted on the City’s website and social media channels.
 

Original Art Purchase & Exhibition Opportunity
The City of Moscow also welcomes the original selected artwork into the City’s Portable Collection, with a purchase amount not to exceed $600. The selected artist will sign an art purchase agreement with the City of Moscow, which stipulates that the artist will retain the copyright to the artwork, though the City of Moscow will be granted an irrevocable license to reproduction of the winning artwork for promotional needs and fundraising purposes. The original artwork will be featured at the Third Street Gallery, and the artist will have the option to create a one-night-only display of other works from their studio during one of the Third Street Gallery receptions during the Artwalk season.
 

Important Dates (subject to change)

July 3 – August 2, 2024 • Submission Period

August 14 – 23, 2024 • Artist Notification & Contract Completion

October 2024 – June 2025 • Artwork featured on Artwalk 2024-2025 season poster

Eligibility and Selection Process
A selection panel made up of Artwalk community partners and organizers will select one work of art to be featured on the Artwalk 2024-2025 season poster and in social media posts. All artwork submissions must be new work created in the last three years. We are grateful to the Artwalk poster artists from past events, but those featured on the poster in the last five years are ineligible to apply (e.g. the 2021-2022 poster artist may not reapply until 2026).

This call is open to youth and adult artists residing in the Moscow, ID region. Artists are eligible regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital or familial status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, and gender expression or identity. Artist teams are eligible to apply, including teams of artists from multiple disciplines. Selection panelists and their immediate family members are not eligible for participation. No artist sitting on a Selection Panel may submit a proposal for the project for which the Selection Panel was formed.
 

Submission Requirements 

Each artist is invited to submit up to two different artworks, each in a separate online form. Emailed and physical artwork submissions will not be considered. Upon completion of the first submission, the applicant will be provided with a link and invitation to submit a second artwork for consideration. Each form will require the following: 

Artist: Name, Contact Information, Website or Social Media 

Artwork: Image of Artwork, Title, Media, Dimensions, Year Created, Sale Price All artwork image files should be press-ready. Files should be in 300 dpi .png, .jpeg, or .pdf format. 

Please label photo files in the following manner: Lastname, Firstname_ArtworkTitle_DateCompleted (e.g. Mouse, Mickey_PortraitofMinnie_2019)  

When photographing a physical two- or three-dimensional artwork, light the artwork evenly with natural light. Place the artwork square to the camera’s lens so that the selection panel can appreciate its merits without the distraction of skewing, reflected light, or the presence of unrelated objects in background. If submitting a photographic artwork or digital design, please provide detailed information about how the physical artwork will be delivered for accession into the Portable Collection. Archival printing methods are required to preserve the quality of the artwork for the long term. Artists submitting images of three-dimensional artworks may present up to two additional photographs depicting views from multiple angles or details of the work’s surface.

Selection Criteria
1. The artwork reads well from a distance and holds interest up close.
2. The artwork will retain its quality and impact through digital and print reproduction on an 11” x 17” poster with vertical orientation.
3. The artwork is family-friendly and has the capacity to appeal to a broad audience.
4. The artwork is relatively new to local viewers, and has not been reproduced in print editions or shown extensively in the region’s galleries, restaurants, or coffee shops.
5. The artwork provides variety in the overall collection of Moscow Artwalk poster art, particularly in comparison with the artwork featured in the last 2 years. The poster series celebrates a wide variety of style, media, and subject matter to reflect the diversity of the Artwalk event. To view previous Artwalk poster art, please visit: https://www.ci.moscow.id.us/189/Artwalk

Selection Panel Members
Submissions will be reviewed by the Moscow Arts Commission during a regular meeting. Following a majority vote to recommend a submission, City of Moscow Arts staff will notify all artists and complete an art purchase agreement with the selected artist.