The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery Celebrates its 20th Anniversary
by Jaclyn Reynolds
The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery celebrates its 20th anniversary beginning this month. The Riffe Gallery opened on March 17, 1989 with State of the Art: New Works by Ten Ohio Artists, organized by the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. A special photo montage of selected works from past exhibitions will be on view in the gallery starting March 27. Established as a place for the citizens of Ohio to share, join and be part of the arts, the Riffe Gallery has presented 81 main gallery exhibitions and seven lobby exhibitions since its inception. Seventeen of the 81 exhibitions toured internationally, regionally or in-state.
The 4,000 square-foot gallery showcases the work of Ohio artists and curators and exhibitions developed by the state’s museums and galleries. Other Riffe Gallery exhibitions are developed in cooperation with the OAC’s International, Arts Learning and Individual Artist Programs. In addition the Riffe Gallery works in partnership with other organizations statewide and nationally to present a wide range of exhibitions, programming and professional services. Partners have included many Ohio museums as well as Arts Midwest, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Keny Galleries; Koogler McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas; Nacional Museo de Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile; The Museum of Modern Art in Saitama, Japan; Ohio Government Telecommunications; and the Supreme Court of Ohio. To increase public appreciation and understanding of exhibitions, the Riffe Gallery offers a wide range of learning opportunities including family workshops, school tours, curator tours and an interactive Web site. The gallery’s Web site has recently expanded, with the help of Ohio Government Telecommunications (OGT), to include an image gallery for past, current and upcoming exhibitions and a media archive at www.SpotlightRiffeGallery.org. The Riffe Gallery is operated with support from the Ohio Building Authority. Media sponsors are Alive, CityScene, Ohio Magazine, CD101 and Time Warner Cable. The Riffe Gallery is located in the Vern Riffe Center for the Government and the Arts, across from the Statehouse on High Street in downtown Columbus. Gallery hours are Tuesday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.; Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m.- 8 p.m.; Saturday, noon - 8 p.m.; and Sunday, noon - 4 p.m. Closed Monday and state holidays. Visit www.riffegallery.org or call 614/644-9624 for more information. Free group tours are available Wednesday through Friday throughout the run of each exhibition. To schedule a group tour contact Mary Gray at mary.gray@oac.state.oh.us or 614/728-2239. The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.[top]