The inaugural exhibition of the Great Rivers Biennial Arts Award Program takes place at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis in the summer of 2004. The three selected artists – Jill Downen, Adam Frelin, and Kim Humphries – fill the galleries with new site-specific installation works. Each artist receives a $15,000 grant and group exhibition of their work. This awards program is juried by Lisa Corrin, Deputy Director of Art and Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seattle Art Museum; Debra Singer, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, Whitney Museum of American Art; and Hamza Walker, Education Director, The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and Gateway Foundation. The goal of the program is to identify talented artists from the region and provide them with financial assistance, broader visibility in both the Midwest and national arts communities, and professional support from visiting critics, curators, and dealers.

The Great Rivers Biennial is organized for the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis by by Shannon Fitzgerald, Curator.