MOSCOW, ID — The City of Moscow and the Moscow Arts Commission present three exhibitions at Moscow City Hall, available for public viewing from October 16, 2025–January 2, 2026.
Everyone is invited to a reception for artists featured in all three exhibitions, which is slated for Thursday, October 23 from 5–7pm. The reception will feature refreshments by Pour Company and Wilder Catering. Participants in the Covering the Palouse exhibition will host a presentation about the history of the publication starting at 6 p.m. inside Council Chambers.
Brooch the Subject
The Box Gallery on the 1st floor of Moscow City Hall presents the work of University of Idaho MFA candidate Chandra Drennen. The artist makes jewelry while also considering its social function. Drennen says:
“Brooches are wearable art that convey ideas and act as a visual introduction to the wearer. This collection uses a variety of materials, from fine metals to embroidery thread. Some were made with a subject and theme in mind and some were made toembroidery thread. Some were made with a subject and theme in mind and some were made to experiment with techniques and materials.”
Covering the Palouse
On the 2nd floor of the Third Street Gallery is an exhibition of artist-designed covers of the publication known at different points as the Moscow Magazine, Palouse Journal, and Northwest Journal. From 1981 to 1995, it was a free tabloid, supported entirely by advertising, published five times a year by Ivar Nelson and Pat Hart. The publication tapped the zeitgeist of the Palouse via wide-ranging commentary, investigation, and musing by mostly local writers and artists willing to work for cheap. These were the days before social media. These were the days before everyone carried a supercomputer in their pocket with access to all the information in the universe. A paper magazine without digital backup is different. The Palouse Journal presented perfect icons for a cultural moment.
The Sweet Controversy
Some topics are so controversial that one hesitates to bring them up in public for fear of causing an argument. In The Sweet Controversy on the 3rd floor of the Third Street Gallery, artists charge boldly into divisive subject matter including licorice jellybeans, circus peanuts, and candy corn. These confections are guaranteed to elicit a love/hate response. Even better, they will generate deep nostalgia and rich conversations. This exhibition features a candy cornucopia of paintings made by University of Idaho students.
The Box Gallery and the Third Street Gallery are located inside Moscow City Hall at 206 E. Third St. Moscow, ID.
Gallery hours are 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays.
