Johnson County Library Exhibitions

Project Overview
Johnson County Library is seeking local visual artists to engage the community through an exhibition of public artwork to coincide with the 2023 Women’s Bike Summit, which the Library will host during the fall of 2023. The theme of this exhibition will be The Art of Biking.

The goals for this special art exhibit are to: 

• Create a family-friendly art exhibit that showcases the many cultural, political, communal and individual aspects of bike riding either locally or beyond our borders.  
• Provide a unique platform for visual artists to create new work that complements the mission of Bike Walk KC and the KC Women’s Bike Summit. 
• Increase public awareness of bicycling. 
• Offer a unique arts experience to the patrons of Johnson County Library.  
• Accept as many submissions as possible. However, due to space limitations and other factors, such as unacceptable content (see below),  

Eligibility 

• All artists must be 18 years of age or older. 
• Open to artists living in Johnson County and the Kansas City metro area.  
• Open to artists at any stage in their artistic career.  

Location 

• Central Resource Library: 9875 W 87th St, Overland Park, KS 66212 

Timeline 

• May 15, 2023: deadline for submissions. 
• September 1 – December 21, 2023: All accepted artwork must be available for display  
• Between August 28 – September 1, 2023: Installation will occur.  
• Between December 18 – 22, 2023: All work must be removed. 

If accepted, artwork must: 

• Be original to the person submitting; 
• Be appropriate for all ages. Art is displayed in highly visible areas of our libraries, viewable by people of all ages. Any submissions containing sexually, verbally, or violently explicit content will be declined. Work that attacks a person or group on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender will also be declined; 
• Be affixed with wire and ready to hang at the time of installation; 
• Have accompanying title cards.  

Honorarium 

• $100 per accepted piece of artwork.
   

Acceptable media 

• We will accept a wide variety of media for the interpretation of the theme. 
• Artists may submit up to two original works of art.  

Selection Process 

• Works will be reviewed and selected by a panel of members of Johnson County Library 

Required for application: 

• Name, address and email address; 
• Artist bio 
• Artist statement 
• A rendering of the artwork(s) to be displayed 

Resources 

• Johnson County Library: https://www.jocolibrary.org/ 
• https://bikewalkkc.org/education/womenbikekc/summit/ 

Please contact Bryan Voell (voellb@jocolibrary.org) with any questions.