About Bannister Gallery
Since November 1978, the E. M. Bannister Gallery at Rhode Island College
has been in continuous operation in presenting a yearly calendar of 8 - 10
exhibitions of contemporary art by local, regional, and internationally
renowned artists. The gallery was created by the department of Art and was
literally the center of the department for two decades until its relocation
in September 2000 to the Roberts Hall / Nazarian Center for the Performing
Arts complex. The gallery has presented artworks in all the spectrum of
traditional media, as well as more contemporary site specific, electronic,
and video projects.
The exhibits are selected by department of Art faculty members, who serve
as exhibit curators from time to time on a revolving committee and who bring
in projects related to their particular area of studio expertise. Other
components of the annual schedule are recurring: the annual 'October
Series', organized by the dean's office FAS - a biennial 'Bannister Series',
focusing on African American artists - the Director's Project each year -
and the annual Faculty and Senior shows which begin and end each academic
year.
Exhibits are generally on display for 3 weeks and usually include a
lecture visit by the artist(s) or other related talks and events.
An adjacent hallway display area was created in 2002, and is used as
either an extension of the main exhibit or for separate shows of works on
paper, photos, and small paintings.