Creative Makers Exhibits
“This is the first time the exhibit has been displayed in this multi-venue format, so we’re calling it the Creative Makers of the Pennsylvania Wilds: A Citywide Exposition,” said Abbi Peters, Executive Vice President of Creative Industries at the PA Wilds Center.
The exhibit, which celebrates the artisans and producers of rural Pennsylvania by bringing processes that are often completed behind the scenes, in the rolling hills of the Wilds, to public spaces, will be displayed at:
-- Avenue 209 Coffee Shop, 209 Bellefonte Ave., from September 3 - 30.
-- Lock Haven University's Bentley Gallery, 401 N. Fairview St., from September 3 - October 5.
-- The Station Gallery, home of the Clinton County Arts Council, at 2 E. Bald Eagle St., from September 13 - October 5.
An opening reception will be held at the Station Gallery from 6-9 p.m. on September 13 to kick off the exhibit.
“When spread across the three venues, the entire show will feature more than 330 images of 82 artisans, creative entrepreneurs and cultural events, demonstrating the breadth of skill and talent in the Pennsylvania Wilds,” Peters added.
“The portion of the show exhibited at the Station Gallery will be part of the Clinton County Arts Council's biannual Art in the PA Wilds Exhibit, which typically showcases finished works by artisans from across the 13-county region. This year’s exhibit will for the first time integrate images of Pennsylvania Wilds creative makers in the process of crafting their artworks and products – providing an opportunity for people to see the processes behind a finished piece,” explained Carol Cillo, president of the Clinton County Arts Council.
“Lock Haven University is extremely pleased to participate in showcasing the Creative Makers of the Pennsylvania Wilds exhibit. This is a very welcome and exciting way for us to connect and partner with the greater Lock Haven arts community,” said Ray Heffner, Associate Professor of Art and interim Director of the Lock Haven University Art Collections. “The show is a unique opportunity for our students to see a cross section of dedicated artists and craftsmen actively at work in the region, and be exposed to the excellence and diversity of traditional and innovative practices of Pennsylvania based creative artists.”
The show can be viewed throughout the month, and the goal is to get people moving throughout the community to view the entire show, Peters noted.
Avenue 209 is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. The Station Gallery is open 1-5 p.m. on Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. LHU Bentley Hall Gallery, located on the ground level via the front entrance, is open to the public 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Artisans featured in the exhibit are juried artisan members of the Wilds Cooperative of PA, one of rural Pennsylvania’s largest networks of creative entrepreneurs, which is managed by the PA Wilds Center.
“The Pennsylvania Wilds region covers about 25 percent of the Commonwealth, but only about 4 percent of the population calls it home. A while back, it became a mission of the PA Wilds Center and the WCO to help share the stories of the artisans and makers, as well as how they create their products,” Peters explained. “This is what led to the Creative Makers of the PA Wilds - A Traveling Public Art Show.”
The exhibit features artisans from each of the 13 counties encompassed in the Pennsylvania Wilds region, including: Warren, Forest, Elk, Potter, McKean, Tioga, Clinton, Lycoming, Clearfield, Jefferson, Cameron, Clarion and Northern Centre.
The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) has supported this project for the past two years, helping the PA Wilds Center contract with five photographers from the region to document creative makers, including: Bill Crowell, Doug Bauman, Karen Heltzel, Katie Weidenboerner-Deppen, and Tracy Smith.
So far, the show has been exhibited in five public spaces across the PA Wilds, as well as the Capitol Rotunda Gallery in Harrisburg.
Annual Awards Program
Registration is now open for the 2019 PA Wilds Annual Dinner & Awards, which will take place on November 7 and will celebrate both Champions of the Pennsylvania Wilds Award winners and the Pennsylvania Wilds as a Rural Development Hub.
The Aspen Institute, an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC., released a research brief in early 2019 on Rural Development Hubs, via the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group. The brief presented topline findings from interviews with 40 field-leading Rural Development Hubs in the United States.
In the research brief, the organization noted, “Hubs are a special breed of rural and regional intermediaries, organizations at the heart of positive development-and-inclusion action in rural places, and primary players advancing a fresh approach to community and economic development. They think of their job as identifying and connecting community assets to market demand to build lasting livelihoods, always including marginalized people, places and firms in both the action and the benefits.”
Earl Gohl, former Federal Co-Chairman of the Appalachian Regional Commission and keynote speaker at the 2018 PA Wilds Annual Dinner, was the first to identify the PA Wilds initiative as a Rural Development Hub, sparking a conversation between the PA Wilds Center and the Aspen Institute.
“We think Katharine’s message about rural community and economic development hubs speaks directly to the work that is being accomplished across the Pennsylvania Wilds and will resonate with the many stakeholders we partner with every day, from entrepreneurs and creative producers to community and civic leaders,” said Ta Enos, CEO and Founder of the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., a nonprofit organization that seeks to integrate conservation and economic development within the 13-county region known as the Pennsylvania Wilds.
The 2019 PA Wilds Annual Dinner & Awards will be held November 7 at the DuBois Country Club, 10 Lakeside Ave, DuBois, PA 15801.
The program will spotlight the Champion of the Pennsylvania Wild Awards-- given out annually to individuals, groups, organizations, communities and businesses that in the last year have made significant contributions to help grow and sustainably develop the outdoor recreation economy and nature tourism in the Pennsylvania Wilds in a way that creates jobs, diversifies local economies, inspires stewardship and improves quality of life.
Hosted by the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. in coordination with the PA Wilds Planning Team, the event is the premier annual networking opportunity in the Pennsylvania Wilds, where more than 250 state and regional representatives, business and community leaders and citizens come together to talk about how nature and heritage tourism efforts are positively impacting area communities.
For more information on PA Wilds activities and how you can get involved, visit the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. website. Click Here for information on visiting the PA Wilds (fall foliage season is coming up!).
