A conversation about BPSW curation, education as 2019 artist residencies begin

I've always been curious as to how the art and artists are chosen for the Sculpture in the Wild. On a misty Saturday morning, I was able to catch up with Blackfoot Pathways Sculpture in the Wild Curator, Kevin O'Dwyer to talk about this year's artists for the Artist in Residence Program, plans for their work, some upcoming events, and how the park is helping the Lincoln community.

During our walk through the park, O'Dwyer was able to provide a lot of insight to how artists are chosen, what he looks for in artists and their work, and the process of how everything works.

While the Artist-in-Residence Program doesn't start until September each year, the planning and timeline begins far before that. A year or more in advance, O'Dwyer is researching artists who would be a good fit for the park. He selects them based on the quality of their work, along with the aesthetics of their pieces, but that's not all. They are also chosen based on their ability to engage with the community, which is a very important piece.

O'Dwyer refers to these artists as symposium artists and defines symposium artists as storytellers. "What makes them different from other artists is that they tell stories referenced from where they are working and the materials they are working with. These artists come and do a lot of research on the history of the area and then they build from that." O'Dwyer said. While he admits some are very abstract forms of art, he said they have a story behind them that is referenced from where they are working.

In addition, he believes the residency is very important because for a lot of rural communities museums are intimidating or inaccessible. Parents often don't or can't bring their children to one or visit one themselves. O'Dwyer notes that museums often have this big front door and someone inside usually telling them not to touch things, whereas here he invites people to touch and interact with the art, reminding people not to climb on the work unless it's part of it.

"It is about that tactile quality as well as touch, and it's about breaking down barriers that the arts is not for just the upper echelon of people but that it's really for everyone and to come out and enjoy," he said.

Once the artists have been selected, there is a lot of communication between them and O'Dwyer regarding available sites and types of artwork. The site is important so as not to "clash" with other pieces in the park, while also having the artist's work be stand-alone pieces. Once the artists provide sketches, O'Dwyer works with the park's project manager to secure materials and logistics for the artwork. While some public art submissions are very structured and "tight" in their requirements, the direction from O'Dwyer and open conversations with the artists really give them the opportunity and room to expand and try out new ideas.

The year prior to their installation, chosen artists do a site visit with O'Dwyer. The importance of a site visit is that it not only gives them the chance to find a location for their piece, but it also gets them familiar with the area, the people, the history and so forth. An idea of the area's history and heritage is important because that's where the engagement with the community begins. They get to see the place, meet the people and get inspired by the environment.

This year's artists are Stuart Frost and Alison Stigora.

"Stuart is a very prolific artist that has worked all over the world and we're really lucky to have him here," said O'Dwyer, "and Alison is a young artist in the early parts of her career."

When O'Dwyer saw the work Stigora was doing with charred wood, her process and the way she builds, he couldn't help but think it was perfect for what they are doing in the park. "Both artists are very architectural in their work and it's going to be fun to see what they create and how their work plays off of the environment."

During their site visits, O'Dwyer took them both to Garnet Ghost Town, where Stuart was really inspired by the pull saws. The piece he's working on is an architectural piece using pull-saws and wood. Alison works with charred wood, which they will be harvesting from the forest fires of a couple of years ago. Her piece is set to be an enclosure that people can walk into.

Aside from the artwork itself, something the park has done since the beginning is the Education in the Wild Program.

Annette Gardner organizes the program held during the second and third week of the artist's residency. It brings students in from 12-14 schools from within a 60-mile area or so and each day, there are approximately 30 students at the park. They go on a tour, visit with the artists, then use found objects in the park to make some small-scale pieces of their own.

O'Dwyer believes this is extremely important because some of those small rural schools don't have an arts education program, or facility or funding. Education in the Wild is an opportunity to get them out here to be creative in a wide-open space. In his opinion, children don't get to go out and play enough, and they spend a lot of time on their phones and computers. This program enables them to engage with the landscape. The program also gives kids who come through some ownership in the park, and it gives them the incentive to go home and play in their own environment, create some pieces and spark creativity.

"The children just love it and I've never noticed a bored child," said O'Dwyer.

As part of the program, the artists also provide talks at the Lincoln School about their career and their work in the park. The local students then come to the park to watch them at work. O'Dwyer says such engagement is important. "It has been shown that there is less vandalism of the artwork if the students and community really get to know and identify with the artists."

Upcoming programs O'Dwyer wants the community knew about are the artist talks at the library and a free concert at the park.

The artists will be presenting their work to the community in an "Artist Talk" Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Library. On Sunday, Sept. 22, a concert at 3 p.m. in the Teepee Burner features Jondu and his son, who plays blues and fronts a fusion band, along with guest jazz piano player, Steven Gores, the 2019 Music in the Wild curator. The performers are coming from Denver and O'Dwyer would love to see a lot of people there enjoying the concert. Both events are open to all of the community and there is no charge.

"The artists are here, come out and enjoy the park, come out and visit. Attend as much as you can with the projects. It's your sculpture park to enjoy at whatever level you would like," O'Dwyer said.