A world-class exhibit is now on display, and you don’t have to travel too far from Rexburg to find it.
The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho recently opened its newest exhibit “Art & the Animal,” and it features photo-realistic drawings, sculptures, animal artifacts, an interactive audio tour and more.
Amy Thompson is the development director of the museum. In an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio, she said the art displayed for this exhibit doesn’t come from just any artists.
“First, you have to be invited, and it’s really the best of the best,” Thompson said. “If you’re this amazing artist, you might get invited. They do this annual exhibit that is juried, meaning, just because you made it into the society, you may not necessarily make it into the annual exhibit, so they really take the best of the best of the best, and that’s what we’ve got on display right now.”
The Society of Animal Artists is the group in charge of organizing the exhibit.
The exhibit is so good that many people who have seen it think the portraits are pictures taken with cameras instead of drawings, watercolor and other artistic methods.
“From a distance, it looks like maybe we have a few photographs in the mix, but there’s actually no photography in the entire exhibit,” Thompson said. “Some of it is so photo realistic. The artists have been able to achieve that with colored pencils and watercolor. People get up close and have this mind-blown experience when they realize that it’s not a photograph.”
The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho plans out its exhibits years in advance and have had pieces shipped in from as far away as Australia.
The museum also strives to make a positive impact by interacting with students in the community.
“There’s not a lot of arts in schools right now, so we send teaching artists out to the schools, especially rural schools, and it’s often the only art teaching that they get,” Thompson said. “Often it’s combined with a field trip to the art museum.”
There is a free “community day” on Saturday, Nov. 1.
“We open up the museum for free for the whole community,” Thompson said. “We typically have an art project for younger kids. It’s a great chance to come in and catch the exhibit for free.”
For any BYU-Idaho students, the museum offers a special discounted rate of just $2 for admission.
“Art & The Animal” will be on display until Jan. 3. For more information on tickets and hours for the museum, click here.