ADVENTURE ART
ON THE MIGHTY MO'

Adventure Art on the Mighty Mo' is a video series about art, adventure, and life along the Missouri River told through the act of painting, storytelling, and paddling all 2,341 miles of it. Each episode takes place at a different site, in which a watercolor painting is created. Painting is the vessel through which larger questions are asked, observations made, and river stories told. The intention of this work is to create an updated portrait of the river, challenge some of the stereotypes associated with it, and inspire broader public engagement and appreciation.

The adventurous component of this project began on June 2nd, 2022 at the headwaters of the Missouri, in Three Forks, Montana and concluded at the confluence with the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri on August 28th, 2022. Periodic river updates were posted on instagram (@stevesnell) throughout the journey and can still be viewed there. Over 100 paintings were created while on expedition and gallery of some of these can be viewed below. The series is now in post-production. The first five episodes can be viewed on YouTube.

Exhibitions:

June 2023: Missouri Dept. of Conservation Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center (Kansas City, MO)

July 2023: Missouri Dept. of Conservation Runge Conservation Nature Center (Jefferson City, MO)

September 2023: University of Missouri-Kansas City Art Gallery (Kansas City, MO)

October-November 2023: Miami University Hiestand Galleries (Oxford, OH)

October-November 2023: Northern State University Art Gallery (Aberdeen, SD)

June 2024: Courtney Collins Fine Art (Big Sky, MT)

This project is generously funded by Mid-America Arts Alliance, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the state arts agencies of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Additionally, this project has been supported by over 43 'adventure patrons' who generously donated to the Kickstarter campaign to get it all started. Thank you for your support and believing in this undertaking.