Warehouse awarded Wisconsin Arts Board grant
The Warehouse Community Arts Center in Eagle River, announced they have been awarded a Wisconsin Arts Board Creative Communities grant. They will use this funding to partially cover costs for their 2024 summer programming, Hearing Our Northwoods, which aims to expand the connections established over the last three summers, and use the arts to promote conversation and respect for community, local history, tradition, and environment.
Hearing Our Northwoods will center around a Public Art exhibit, touring from the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin. The exhibit “Ergo Sum: A Crow a Day” features 365 small panels of mixed media work by visual artist Karen Bondarchuk. She created a piece 365 days in a row, as a way of marking the time that her mother, who was in the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease, no longer seemed to recognize. “The series is simultaneously a marker for my mother’s lost time and a constant and acute reminder of my own days, my life, and an attempt to visually signal the preciousness and individuality of each day. Although the project seemed sober to me at its outset, quirky cheer and serendipity came to inhabit many of the panels.”
This free exhibit will be on display at the Warehouse from July 9 – August 11. Visit the Warehouse website for hours. There will also be an informal meet-and-greet with the artist on July 19, and a ticketed presentation event on July 20, where Karen will give an in-depth artist talk, with Q&A after. Food and drink will be provided. Tickets can be purchased on the Warehouse website.
Hearing Our Northwoods will also feature a variety of classes designed to draw connections to what can and needs to be heard in our Northwoods.
Ojibwe Native American Music Award winning singer-songwriter Bobby Bullet will be teaching an adult and a youth 5 week songwriting class starting July 2. He is a weaver of stories, teacher of legends, and keeper of traditions, and will lead the groups in creating well crafted stories and songs. The 5 week sessions will cost $25 for each adult and youth.
Kathy Holperin, certified facilitator of the Journal to the Self® methods, will be leading a six week journaling course based on the 18 methods of expressive writing. Starting July 9, this course will provide new and different ways to write in a journal, adding color, perspective, and dimension to reflective writing. The six-week course is $25 plus a workbook fee, and is great for new and experienced writers.
Mary Tyler will be teaching Stained Glass classes, where participants will use the copper foil method, and create a suncatcher themed to their favorite sounds of the Northwoods, whether it’s a chirping bird, a crackling campfire, or a swish of a feather. Classes can be found on the Warehouse website and are $75.
The goal of the public exhibit and related programming is to spur new ways of listening to and hearing our Northwoods, thereby cultivating an appreciation for the uniqueness and majesty of our local context while prompting us to continue to nurture the diverse and valuable treasures found here.
