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| Established | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Location | Omaha,Nebraska |
| Coordinates | 41°15′09″N95°55′57″W / 41.2525416°N 95.9324457°W /41.2525416; -95.9324457 |
| Type | Art museum Artist cooperative |
| Website | bemiscenter |
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts is located in theOld Market Historic District ofdowntownOmaha,Nebraska, at the corner of 12th Street and Leavenworth Street. In addition to an international artist-in-residence program, Bemis Center hosts temporary exhibitions and commissions and public programs which are free and open to the public.[1]
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts was founded by artistsJun Kaneko, Tony Hepburn, Lorne Falke andRee Schonlau in 1981.[2] In 1984,Ree Schonlau established a consortium consisting of theCity of Omaha, theUnited States Department of Housing and Urban Development, private and corporate foundations and the Mercer family, who owned the vacant 170,000-square-foot (16,000 m2) Bemis Bag Building. The structure had originally been built as a branch of theNave & McCord Mercantile Company.
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts was formerly located at theBemis Omaha Bag Company Building, 614 South 11th Street, which was severely damaged in a fire in 1999.[3]
Today, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts is located in the old McCord-Brady & Co. building on 12th and Leavenworth.