Rural Women: Voice and Spirit

Midwest Environmental Advocates is sponsoring a free summer event celebrating the debut of Rural Women: Voice and Spirit, a special art exhibition focused on the lives and issues of Wisconsin farm women.

Wisconsin artist Kelly Parks Snider and video producer Jane Bartell have collaborated with Wisconsin farmers to create Rural Women: Voice and Spirit, an artistic exploration and exhibition scheduled to debut Saturday, August 13, at Folklore Village in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. A special gallery opening celebration will be held in the afternoon from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. featuring artist talks, musical performances, informal discussion groups, and local foods of the season.

Funded in part by the Wisconsin Arts Board and the National Endowment for the Arts, this unique multi-media/multi-medium exhibition is the result of an in-depth, year-long artistic exploration by Snider and Bartell of the contributions of Wisconsin’s women farmers.

The exhibit will display a collection of paintings by Snider, corresponding literary selections written by the featured farm women, and a companion selection of video portraits produced by Bartell. Organic metal sculptures by Madison artist Erica Koivunen will also be showcased, along with a musical performance by noted Wisconsin folk musicians, Katie Waldren and Candace Kreitlow, performing as the duo Heartwood.

The opening event and exhibit are designed to provide a comprehensive and integrated portrait of farm production, agricultural ecology and land stewardship, all from the unique and rarely heard perspective of rural women.

The family-friendly exhibition will include children’s art activities, artists’ talks for all ages, and a line-up of speakers including Miriam Brown, OP, editor of the new book Sustaining Heart in the Heartland: Exploring Rural Spirituality, and Mark Kastel, co-founder of the Cornucopia Institute, a progressive farm policy research group.

An additional highlight will be four large-format, mixed-media canvases created by fifth-graders from Edgewood Elementary School in Madison. These impressionistic rural landscapes will be included in a silent auction to benefit Midwest Environmental Advocates.

Complementing the exhibition’s focus on local food production, Madison culinary landmark Marigold Kitchenwill donate seasonal fare for the opening event.

Press Release

Rural Women: Voice and Spirit
Opening Celebration at Folklore Village
Saturday, August 13, 2005 – 4:00 - 8:00 p.m.

4:00-6:00pm Gallery Talks and Exhibition
Artists Kelly Parks Snider, Erica Koivunen and Video Producer, Jane Bartell

4:45-5:15pm Conversations of Women: Sustaining Heart in the Heartland With Courage & Passion
Miriam Bown OP, Editor, Sustaining Heart in the Heartland

5:30-6:00pm Food & Farming at a Crossroads: Looking for Meaning in Your Food
Mark Kastel, Co-Founder, Cornucopia Institute

6:15-7:00pm Communal Gathering
Food, conversation, introductions

7:00-8:00pm Testimonies by Inspiring Farm Women, read byMiriam Hall Musical Reflections, Heartwood

Silent Auction to benefit Midwest Environmental Advocates:
Bidding on multimedia farm scenes by Edgewood School 5 th-Graders begins at 4 p.m. and closes at 7 p.m.

Folklore Village is located in rural southwest Wisconsin , 35 minutes west of Madison and six miles east of Dodgeville. Take Highway 18/151 to County Highway BB, then turn south onto BB. The Folklore Village site is 1/2 mile south at 3210 County BB . For more information, visit www.folklorevillage.org.