After combing through a pool of 93 applicants and reviewing 10 semi-finalists, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and the Gateway Foundation have announced their 2026 Great Rivers Biennial Award winners.
Vaughn Davis Jr., Lauren dela Roche, and Vincent Stemmler will present Great Rivers Biennial 2026 exhibitions at CAM from September 11, 2026 to February 7, 2027.
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The 12th biennial, which is dedicated to highlighting and fostering artistic talent in the St. Louis area, has also raised its artist honorarium for the 2026 edition. Selected artists will receive a $25,000 prize to put toward accomplishing their proposed works.
“St. Louis has a vibrant and visionary creative community,” said CAM’s Ferring Foundation Chief Curator, Dean Daderko, in a statement announcing the biennial artists. “Davis, dela Roche, and Stemmler’s practices exemplify this richness. Associate Curator Misa Jeffereis and I look forward to collaborating with the finalists to bring their projects to life.”
READ MORE: 10 art exhibits to catch this month
Meet the Artists
Vaughn Davis Jr.
Creation and destruction exist in tandem in the work of St. Louis-based artist Vaughn Davis Jr. The Webster University grad blurs the lines between painting and sculpture in organic, large-scale works that often use damage to expose beauty. Frequent visitors to Laumeier Sculpture Park will recognize Davis’ work from his 2023 installation and exhibition at the Sappington art space.
Lauren dela Roche
Born in California but raised in the Midwest, where she also lived off the grid for nearly a decade, Lauren dela Roche has now settled in St. Louis, where she explores her self-taught art practice. Dela Roche draws from ancient motifs, folklore, cinema, art history, and more to create works that evoke her queer, punk, feminist ethos.
Vincent Stemmler
Multidisciplinary artist Vincent Stemmler’s found object-laden work has been on view all over the city in recent years. The Kranzberg Arts Foundation and Counterpublic both featured his work in 2023, giving art-lovers plenty of chances to interact with Stemmler’s explorations of what’s left behind by the world and its inhabitants.