June 7 – July 21, 2013

Main Gallery | Unearthed: 12th Annual Art Exhibit for Children

Six artists—five Americans and one Swede—create paintings, sculptures, photographs, and scientific illustrations, all inspired by bugs and their amazing communities, behaviors, and design. Learn More >>

May 3 – August 11, 2013

Front Gallery | Curate This! The genius of Our Age

Curate This! is a mentorship program where students are instructed in the various skills needed to work in a gallery workplace. This year’s class focused on the individual and selected art from the library’s permanent collection to explore this theme. Learn More >>

unearthed exhibit 600 x 280 for LP

Get BUGGED OUT!

Curate This! 2013

Previous Exhibitions

  • Curate This! The genius of Our Age: Curate This! is a mentorship program where area high school students are instructed in the various skills needed to work in a gallery workplace. This year's class focused on the individual and selected art from the library's permanent collection to explore this theme.
  • Consumed: Justin Marable & Juniper Tangpuz: Topeka artist Justin Marable teams up with Kansas City artist Juniper Tangpuz to take aim at environmental awareness, land use, and human history in Pop-Art style.
  • Inspirations: Where Do Artists Get Their Ideas?: When we are stimulated to do or feel something, especially when we’re in the midst of a creative challenge, we call that inspiration. What inspires you?
  • Art Deco Style: Elegance, Innovation and Excitement: In conjunction with the 2013 Big Read book, "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, we are featuring Art Deco work from the Library's permanent collection as well influences on this design style: Art Nouveau from the Wilder Collection and African art from the Hirschberg Collection.
  • M.V.P. — Most Valued Possessions: Hear from our community about some of their most prized possessions, and why they wouldn’t trade them for the world.
  • The Printed Image 4 Competition: This national, juried, printmaking exhibit gives us a chance to see work by artists all over America, people whose work we often don’t get to see.
  • Ink This! Printmaking and Works from the Permanent Collection: When it comes to art we all know what a “painting” is, even if we have never tried to make one ourselves. But when we see or hear the word “print” we are not quite sure what it means. There are many different ways to make a print.
  • Kansas Artist Craftsmen Association: The Kansas Artist Craftsmen Association (KACA) showcases the latest in regional, contemporary work in clay, fiber, metal, wood, enamel, jewelry, glass and mixed media—many of which we associate with crafts. There are two exhibition categories: Materials Mastery and Member Exhibition.
  • Telling Stories: Exploring Book Arts: How many ways can a book tell a story? Words are the most common, with pictures coming in as a close second. But have you ever wondered if the paper itself or the shape of a book might have something to say, too?
  • Fold This! Pop-up Books & Paper Engineering: Pop-up books beg to be explored and played with, and in this exhibit, you’ll be invited to do just that and more. We want you to not only experience their joy and wonder, but also the mechanics of how pop-up books actually work.
  • A Cut Above / 11th Annual Art Exhibit for Children: In a story, anything is possible.