Kinsey Institute Juried Art Show

History of the Juried Art Show

The Kinsey Institute Juried Art Show (2006-2015) was an internationally known competition that gave artists the opportunity to exhibit their work at one of the premiere spaces for contemporary art in the Midwest. Paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, videos, sculpture, ceramics, and fiber artworks are submitted by artists from across the country and beyond. The exhibited artworks covered a range of themes, including sex, gender, eroticism, reproduction, sexuality, romantic relationships, the politics of sex and gender, the human figure, and sexual health.

Originally named the Kinsey Institute Juried Erotic Art Show, the competition was inaugurated in 2006 at the Kinsey Institute Gallery. Beginning in 2008, the show was renamed and the parameters of the competition were expanded. By 2009, the exhibition had grown from a small, mostly regional exhibition to a major cultural event, attracting artists from across the country and beyond, prompting the move to the Indiana University School of Fine Arts Gallery. This venue, now known as the Grunwald Gallery of Art, continued to host the Juried Art Show through 2015.

The exhibitions were judged by IU curatorial staff Betsy Stirrat (Director of the Grunwald Gallery of Art at Indiana University), Catherine Johnson-Roehr (former Curator of Art, Artifacts and Photographs at The Kinsey Institute) and Garry Milius ( Special Collections Manager, formerly Associate Curator of Art, Artifacts and Photographs at The Kinsey Institute) and a series of guest jurors including art curator Dr. Jenifer Chan, Dr. Lisa Friedman (Indianapolis Museum of Art), Christopher Bedford (Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University), Nan Brewer (Lucienne M. Glaubinger Curator of Works on Paper at the Indiana University Art Museum), Louise Lippincott (Curator of Fine Arts at Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh), and Jeremy Sweet (Associate Director of the Grunwald Gallery of Art at Indiana University).

Across its' 10-year run, the Juried Art Show exhibited close to 1,000 contemporary works by American and international artists, many of whom chose to donate their artworks to the Kinsey Institute Library & Special Collections.

Videos from the KI Juried Art Shows

2015 Juried Art Show

Interviews with Artists

2014 Juried Art Show

Exhibition Tour


Interviews with Artists

2013 Juried Art Show

Exhibition Tour

2012 Juried Art Show

Exhibition Tour

2011 Juried Art Show

Exhibition Tour

2010 Juried Art Show

Opening Night with Visitor and Artist Interviews

2009 Juried Art Show

Exhibition Tour


Interview with Exhibition Curator Jennifer Cahn


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