The Scenes of Rhode Island Exhibition and Awards was established as a partnership between the Governor’s Office and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, for the purpose of promoting the artistic talent and aesthetic beauty which abounds throughout the State.

The 2009 Best in Show award went to artist Donna Kenny Kirwan for the painting Leave Your Troubles Behind. Ruth B. Dugdale's Great Swamp with Footbridge received second place and Anne P. Considine's Morning at the Towers received the third place prize.

Honorable mentions were made to Barbara Craine, Christine McIntyre, and Nina Hope Pfanstiehl.