Indiana Green 2021 Invitational at Center for the Visual Arts

I find the art world to be a fascinating ecosystem. An ecosystem that calls for adaptation to life’s challenges and obstacles. What I mean is that is our Indiana Green 2020 Invitational was scheduled to be on exhibit at the Caestaecker Gallery (on the campus of Ripon College) in Ripon. Mid-March of 2020, I received an email from the gallery director stating that the exhibition was cancelled due to, well, you know. Like many of us, I was disappointed to hear this news. I had the choice of either postponing it or seek another venue to host it even though exhibition spaces were closing its doors to the public. Luckily, one of the artists suggested a place in Walker’s Point. We held our 11th segment of Indiana Green at Between Two Galleries (thank you, Josh). The attendance was low. But, what was important was having the artists’ work on view either publicly with allotted time slots or virtual. In the end, everything worked out.

Fast forward to this year’s Indiana Green 2021 Invitational.

The process was non-traditional to a degree. From January through February, I started to reach out to the artists that I wanted to include in this exhibition. Studio visits were done in-person and virtual depending upon their comfort level. As you know, virtual became our daily practice when communicating with people from our homes. The second round was a meet-n-greet via Zoom in late February. It seemed like the logical next step to connect the artists. This meet-n-greet would not have occurred until the day of the installation. What I enjoyed about this is was even though the artists were creating their art from their home studios, being able to connect became more accessible with technology and everyone had the same experience of navigating the virtual world. Before our installation date at the Center for the Visual Arts, the artists were interested in one more Zoom session to share their progress and to learn more about each other and their art.

We met at CVA at 10 am on July 17 to begin the installation process and to finally meet in person. As a bystander, seeing the artists talk to each another and the energy felt in the room seemed as if they have known each one another for years. It was such a neat experience. We were joined by Margret Petrie of Authentic Obsessions Podcast. Margret has been interviewing each of the artists to get a closer look into their studio practice and of course their obsessions. It felt great to photograph that artists, their engagement, and the installation.

Featured artists are Brianna Lynn Hernández Baurichter (Milwaukee), Emma Freeman (Oconomowoc), Chelsea Littman (Sturgeon Bay), Kassandra Palmer (Madison), and Nicole Shaver (Port Washington). Indiana Green 2021 Invitational is curated by Frank Juarez, publisher, Artdose Magazine.

In tandem with this exhibition, Artdose Magazine has partnered with Authentic Obsessions. QR codes will be included in the artists’ placards to make their interview accessible during the reception.

Join us on Friday, July 23 from 5-7pm for our opening reception. Indiana Green is located in the Loft Gallery, 2nd floor.

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If you go

Center for the Visual Arts (CVA)

427 N. 4th Street

Wausau, Wisconsin 54403

Web: cvawausau.org

July 23 – September 11, 2021

Free admission