The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Rick Dunkerley and Marshal Bullis move 'Line Drawing' into position during its installation Sept. 11, 2014. Kevin O'Dwyer's steel's sculpture was the first to be installed at the nascent sculpture park. Now in its 10th season, Sculpture in the Wild is home to more than 20 installations.
LINCOLN, MONT. – This summer marks the 10th season of Lincoln's award-winning sculpture park Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild. BPSW celebrates the rich cultural, environmental, and industrial heritage of the Blackfoot Valley. The 26-acre park hosts 18 art installations by artists from Germany, Norway, Finland, Ireland, Great Britain, Denmark, the USA, and the Northern Cheyenne nation.
Celebratory events will be happening throughout the summer. Below are some highlights as well as the full schedule.
2023 artists in residence will be BPSW co-founder and former artistic director, Kevin O'Dwyer (Ireland), who will create his third sculpture in the park. Mark Jacobs and Sam Clayton(UK) will also be returning to create their second collaborative installation. 2022 composer in residence, Grammy and Emmy-nominated composer Phillip Aaberg (USA), will premiere a new musical composition titled Many Worlds in the Woods on July 8. Friends, community members, volunteers and the public are invited to join in celebrations throughout the summer season including a variety of musical acts from many genres, artist and history talks, and interactive tours of the sculpture park.
Sculpture in the Wild is open 365 days a year from dawn to dusk and is always free to everyone. The rustic paths accessible to all, restrooms and picnic tables are ADA accessible, and dogs are welcome on a leash.
Dates of significance
Sat. July 8 4-7 p.m.
10th season celebration with artists in residence and featuring the premiere of composition created by 2022 musician in residence, special guests, surprise announcements, and light refreshments.
Sept. 5 – 22
Artists will be in residence at the park creating new works, the public is encouraged to stop by and observe, talk with the artists, or even volunteer.
Sat. Sept. 23 noon
Unveiling of new sculptures, artist talks, refreshments and celebration.
Saturday Sessions at Sculpture in the Wild
Music and Talks Saturdays July 8th – Sept. 2nd starting at 4 p.m. (no program Aug. 12th)
July 8 4 to 7 p.m .: Musician in Residence, Grammy and Emmy-nominated composer Philip Aaberg, of Chester, Montana, will premiere new works responding to the large scale sculptures.
10th Season Happy Hour: Meet and Greet the 2023 artists in residence and Jenny Bevill new Executive Director.
July 15 4 to 6 p.m .: David and Dedrie Casey husband and wife, new symphonic indie-folk, singer/songwriters from Helena.
July 22 4 to 6 p.m .: Great Falls Symphony's Chinook Winds
The Chinook Winds is the resident wind quintet of the Great Falls Symphony in Montana. Their programs include classic wind quintet literature, works featuring local composers and artists, and unique arrangements of popular songs-all executed with a captivating sense of energy that keeps audiences riveted.
July 29 Rob Quist and Halladay Quist and special guest.
Rob & Halladay Quist are a father/daughter musical duo from Montana. Taken collectively, their music glides effortlessly over the boundaries of Western, country, bluegrass, folk, pop and blues, and many of their original songs have been featured throughout the rich tapestry of the American Musical Media.
Aug. 5 Saturday Art Walk, an interactive tour for adults led by arts educator and musician Alyssa Roggow.
Slow down and engage your senses with art, nature, and lively discussion in an inquiry-based tour. Experience deep guided looking with sculptures made from natural materials. The park is wheelchair accessible. Accommodations can be provided. All are welcome to bring your own chair.
Aug. 12 Art and Music in the Park Weekend in Lincoln. (No program at Sculpture in the Wild)
Aug. 19 4 to 6 p.m .: Pollo Loco Great Falls band delivers fun, western-hued tunes.
Aug. 26 4 to 6 p.m .: Humanities Montana Series, Finding Montana.
Journalist Ednor Therriault shines a spotlight into interesting but not widely known subjects in every corner of the state, bringing stories from one region to the people of another. Through stories, images and even original songs, he fosters discussion about the differences we celebrate, but also the things we might be surprised to learn we have in common.
Sept. 2 4 to 6 p.m .: Wilbur Rehman Quartet jazz saxophonist and his quartet.
Sam Clayton and Mark Jacobs have been working collaboratively since 2004.
Their work together always begins with a location - a place in which they begin their investigations into the environmental, historical, mythical and social layers of that site.
Immersing themselves in new environments through maps, walking and archive research, they use their collaboration as the testing ground for ideas based on what they find, their dialogue with each other manifesting as an installation - built together, in and about that place. When not making their own work Clayton and Jacobs run their company - Brute Force and Ignorance, working with artists and institutions to install complex installations all over the world. They work regularly with Andy Goldsworthy and David Nash.
The pair created East-West Passage at Sculpture in the Wild during their residency in 2015.
Philip Aaberg, of Chester, Mont., is known worldwide for his compositions that evoke the spaciousness and beauty of the Western landscape. A Harvard graduate, courtesy of a Leonard Bernstein Scholarship, he has performed with the Boston Pops, Peter Gabriel, Elvin Bishop, and at the Marlboro Chamber Music Festival. He has toured solo in Europe and Japan and released
eleven solo albums… “Live From Montana” was nominated for a Grammy. He is also an Emmy nominee for “All-American Jazz” and for his score for “Class C: The Only Game in Town”.
Recipient of a Montana Governor’s Award for the Arts, 2011 Artist’s Innovation Award, an honorary doctorate in music from Montana State University in 2013, and 2015 Montana Governor’s Humanities Award.
Philip Aaberg gained international recognition through a series of successful piano recordings released on Windham Hill Records. Classically trained, he incorporates classical, jazz, bluegrass, rock, and new music elements into his compositions and musical structures.
Although best known for his solo piano work, he is most at home in the chamber jazz genre. His compositions are noted for their “rigorous keyboard technique, diverse influences, and colorful compositional style.”
Aaberg has performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra and has appeared at the Marlboro Chamber Music Festival. As a guest artist, he has performed on more than 200 albums and on PBS’s All-American Jazz program, which earned him an Emmy Award nomination. He has appeared with Peter Gabriel and the Doobie Brothers in concert. In 2000, Aaberg began his own record label, Sweetgrass Music, through which he has since endeavored to produce music that “connects a global audience to the sweeping landscape of the West.”
O’Dwyer’s artwork reflects his strong interests in ancient landscapes, industrial archaeology and architecture. His symposia installations respond to the industrial and environmental heritage of the landscape. Industrial artifacts, historical references, folklore and archival interviews are the building blocks in the development of his installations.
O’Dwyer has had numerous solo exhibitions of his studio-based work as well as representing Ireland in more than 40 international exhibitions. As artist-in–residence at the World Archaeology Conference (2010) he created a site specific sculpture for University College Dublin. His work is in private and public collections including The High Museum (USA),Victoria and Albert Museum (U.K.), Racine Art Museum (USA), The Ulster Museum (N. Ireland), University College Dublin (Ireland), Espace Paul Ricard (France) and the National Museum of Ireland.
In 2002 O’Dwyer initiated and directed the Lough Boora International Sculpture Symposium in a disused peat harvesting site in Ireland. The sculpture symposium led to the development of Sculpture in the Parklands, a 50-acre sculpture park that has commissioned more than 25 site specific installations. O’Dwyer, as artistic director and curator from 2002 until 2011, directed the development of the arts and education programs that won four national awards and received critical acclaim in Ireland, England, USA, China, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands.
In 2014 O’Dwyer and Lincoln knifemaker Rick Dunkerley developed and launched Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild, which is home to two of O’Dwyer’s installation. O’Dwyer served as Artistic Director for Sculpture in the Wild from 2014 through 2021.
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