Awakening: Inspired by Interconnections
Artists from the 2021-2022 "What we Need is Here" Seminar Series
This exhibition explores the close relationship between humans and the natural world and suggests a new understanding of their interdependence. It features new work by artists who participated in the What We Need is Here 2021-2022 seminar series, exploring the role of art and sustainability to create thriving communities. It reflects their shared experiences during monthly meetings at The Phipps and at off-site locations, as well as a two-day summer retreat in the Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area. The theme for the series was “symbiosis”, defined as “a close, prolonged association between two or more different organisms or different species that benefit each member.”
The meetings included:
• a session led by member artists Gloria Adrian and Jan Hayman to understand the complex and emerging concept of the “Symbiocene”, a new era in which the interdependence of humans and the natural world is celebrated and prioritized;
• a workshop with River Falls poet Thomas R. Smith on the relationship between poetry and nature;
• a forest bathing workshop at Willow River State Park led by Twin Cities artist Annie Hejny;
• a presentation by Duluth-based artist Moira Villiard on her exhibit at The Phipps, “Doublethink: The Rights of the Child”;
• a critical response session facilitated by member artist Jill Waterhouse and focused on the work in progress for this exhibit;
• and a workshop organized by member artists Gloria Adrian and Teri Power, using natural materials gathered during the retreat at the Barrens.
“Awakening” includes the group project inspired by the Barrens and participating artists’ individual responses to their experiences throughout the seminar meetings. Through these experiences, the artists have begun to understand more deeply the significance of the interdependence of species throughout the natural world, even those we cannot see and which may be deep underground.
Participating artists are Gloria Adrian, Barb Bend, Vicki Ehlers, Jeanne Friedell, Stephen J. Gates, Deanna Grigus, Theresa Harsma, Jan Hayman, Janet Houck, Patty Kuebker Johnson, Cheryl Maplethorpe, Lynn Pagliarini, Bonnie Ploger, Teri Power, Nan Riegel, Sue Rowe, Theresa Schousek, Judy Smith, Krista Spieler, Laura Tiede, Jill Waterhouse, and Linda Webster.
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