In 2010, Bellevue Arts Museum launched the BAM Biennial, a juried exhibition which focuses on the work of established and emerging Northwest artists, craftspeople, and designers, with an emphasis on new work. Every two years, Bellevue Arts Museum has designated a new focus of exploration. The fifth edition in the series, BAM Biennial 2018: BAM! Glasstastic, will be focused on glass.

With Seattle being the undisputed center for the development of glass as an art form in North America, it was natural that this medium should have been selected to culminate the Museum's series of purely media-based biennials. In the future, BAM Biennials will be opened to more general themes or techniques in the fields of art, craft, and design.

The simplicity of its composition, the complexity of its production, the many forms it can take—blown, cast, frit, stained—as well as its many uses, from the stained-glass of a medieval cathedral to the modernist skyscraper, from the Venetian goblet to the IKEA tealight, attest to the fact that glass is a paradoxical material, that has inspired the artists of the Northwest for generations.

The Museum called upon Northwest artists, craftsmen, designers, and makers of all kinds working in the medium of glass to join us for a celebration around this most essential of media. 49 artists were selected to participate.

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Participating Artists

Jurors

John & Joyce Price Award of Excellence

Anna Mlasowsky received the 2018 John & Joyce Price Award of Excellence for her Biennial work, Chorus of One.

The winner of this award receives a solo exhibition at BAM and a $5,000 cash prize. The award winner is chosen by the Museum’s curatorial team and was announced at the exhibition Preview Party on Thursday, November 8, 2018.

Samuel & Patricia Smith People's Choice Award

Dan Friday received the 2018 Samuel & Patricia Smith People's Choice Award for his biennial work, Sxwole (Reef Net).

The winner of this award received a cash prize of $5,000 and was announced at an award ceremony on Free First Friday, April 5, 2019. 

About the BAM Biennial

The BAM Biennial focuses on work by Northwest artists, designers, and makers with an emphasis on current and new work. It is a juried exhibition, occurring every two years with a new theme.

Past Biennials

September 02, 2016 - February 05, 2017
BAM Biennial 2016: Metalmorphosis

October 31, 2014 - March 29, 2015
BAM Biennial 2014: Knock on Wood 

October 25, 2012 - February 24, 2013
BAM Biennial 2012: High Fiber Diet

August 28, 2010 - January 16, 2011
BAM Biennial 2010: Clay Throwdown!