At the Top of Their Craft

The “Great Rivers Biennial” is the Oscars, or at least the Whitney Biennial, for the local art world. Held every other year, the winners, chosen by jurors from outside the region to ensure fairness, are given cash — $20, 000 this year, up from $15,000 – and the opportunity to show their work at the Contemporary Art Museum in one of the most widely anticipated exhibitions of the year. Funded by the Gateway Foundation, it aims to raise the profile of local visual artists.