BELLEVUE, WA.- The Bellevue Arts Museum announced the artists who have been selected to participate in the inaugural edition of the BAM Biennial. The BAM Biennial is a new, juried exhibition series that brings attention and exposure to the work of contemporary artists and craftsmen in the Pacific Northwest.

More than 170 proposals were submitted to this year’s contest, which is focused on the theme of clay. Submissions were reviewed by a panel of four jurors comprised of Bif Brigman, collector (Seattle, WA); Stefano Catalani, Curator, Bellevue Arts Museum (Bellevue, WA); Akio Takamori, artist (Seattle, WA) and Namita Wiggers, Curator, Museum of Contemporary Craft (Portland, OR). "We were very impressed by the quality and range of the submissions and are excited by the enthusiasm with which the ceramics community has embraced this new opportunity,” says Catalani. 34 applications have been selected to be included in the final exhibition, entitled BAM Biennial 2010: Clay Throwdown!, scheduled for August 28, 2010 - January 16, 2011 at Bellevue Arts Museum. Two cash prizes of $5,000, as well as the opportunity of a future solo exhibition at BAM will be awarded during the run of the exhibition.

The participants in BAM Biennial 2010: Clay Throwdown! are:
Chris Antemann (OR), Nicholas Bivins (MT), Nathan Craven (MT), Daniel Duford (OR), Sean Erwin (MT), Robert Fornell (WA), Carol Gouthro (WA), Damian Grava (WA), Heidi Preuss Grew (OR), Charles Krafft (WA), Cynthia Lahti (OR), Kate MacDowell (OR), Paul Mathieu (BC), Sequoia Miller (WA), Saya Moriyasu (WA), Yuki Nakamura (WA), Richard Notkin (MT), Nicholas Nyland (WA), Arun Sharma (WA), Ken Shores (OR), Mike Simi (WA), Kevin Snipes (MT), Dirk Staschke (BC), Brendan Tang (BC), Timea Tihanyi (WA), Tip Toland (WA), Kathy Venter (BC), Jamie Walker (WA), Jason Walker (WA), Patti Warashina (WA), Ben Waterman (WA), Gwendolyn Yoppolo (MT).

”Fostering both emerging and established artists from the Northwest is a key commitment of BAM,” says Curator Stefano Catalani. “The BAM Biennial is a great opportunity to bring to light some of the most talented artists of our region.”

2010 marks the inaugural edition of the BAM Biennial. The BAM Biennial is a juried exhibition series intended to encourage and recognize innovative work by contemporary Northwest artists and craftsmen. Participation is limited to artists residing, working or studying in the Northwest region, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana and British Columbia. Artists may be of any age and at any level of recognition or stage in their artistic careers. For each edition, Bellevue Arts Museum will designate a new focus, exploring a specific medium, technique, process or theme in art, craft and design. With its geographic and artistic focus, the competition fills a unique niche in the Northwest arts community.