In the past year, Midwest Nice Art has grown a vibrant and thriving community of artists. We have worked with over 1,000 artists; each exhibition receives around 500 artworks for submission. With our juried exhibitions, many works were not given the opportunity to be exhibited. Each juror is given the difficult task (by us) to select between thirty and fifty works per show; with this and the show's theme in mind, they have a unique vision for their exhibition. This means only 5 to 10% of the work is accepted. As artists + curators, we know how frustrating this process can be — work being rejected does not mean work does not deserve recognition. So, in the style of the 1863 Salon des Refusés, we (Tim Rickett + Epiphany Knedler) have reviewed all the previously submitted artworks and curated the first annual midwest salon. Each of the works in this show was not initially selected when they were submitted. In an effort to acknowledge the work and energy artists put into their practice, we will continue to create as many opportunities to share work as possible, starting 2024 off with the midwest salon. 

We want to thank our past jurors for their expertise and for taking on the difficult task of selecting the artworks for exhibition, and we want to thank you for being part of our astounding first year! So many more opportunities to come!

featuring work by: Sajad Amini, Awscar, Bridget Bailey, Sara Christensen Blair, Evan Brien, Hana Brock, Marco Yat Chun Chan, Lindsay Cronk, Epiphany Couch, Kyle Dunlap, Benjamin Paul Erny, Lexy Forred, Arron Levi Foster, Emily Fritts, Houston Fryer, Nancy Hart, Cort Hartle, Amanda L Hoopingarner, Luci Hudson, Karlie Joy, Brie Kane, Polly M. Law, Steven Lemke, Andrew Lincoln Nelson, Isabel Malia, Andy Mattern, Derek Meier, Laney Milham, Rob Millard-Mendez, Anthony Naimo, Jennifer Oak, Lorenzo Palombini, Diane Pribojan, Mitchell Riner, Celeste Sciani, Sabrina Skinner, Amanda Smith, Jeremy Starn, Kari Varner, Madison Wareham, Shannon West, Morgan Ford Willingham