(Photo above courtesy of High Desert Museum)
More than $945,000 to support innovative new artistic work throughout Oregon
The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) has awarded $100,000 to the High Desert Museum in Bend to create an interdisciplinary exhibition, Water in the West,” that will connect artists from multiple mediums including visual arts, music and spoken word with scientists to creatively approach the topic of water in Oregon and explore the relationship between art and science. The exhibition will be on display from May 2019 to November 2019.
“This is an incredible opportunity for the Museum to take its exhibitions to a new level of engagement with our community. We are very appreciative of this support and vote of confidence from OCF. It’s an honor to receive the grant and we can’t wait to get started with our curatorial and artistic team,” said High Desert Museum’s Executive Director Dana Whitelaw.
Weaving together multiple artistic mediums with science and natural and cultural history, Water in the West will provide a compelling exploration of water in Oregon. For the exhibition, the Museum will commission four works of art that will explore a variety of topics related to water in the West, including biodiversity in riparian ecosystems, how water has shaped the West’s natural, cultural, and geological history, and contemporary issues, such as water usage, Indigenous rights and the impacts of climate change.
The exhibition will feature:
- A visual art installation by contemporary Klamath/Modoc artist Ka’ila Farrell-Smith. Farrell-Smith uses painting and sculptural art forms, such as basket weaving and drum making, to explore the space in-between the Indigenous and western worlds, and several of her recent works have explored Indigenous water rights.
- A spoken word piece composed by critically acclaimed artist/performer Jason Graham (also known as Mosley Wotta).
- An intermedia art installation created by Harmonic Laboratory―a collective of artists who integrate art, science and the humanities. Visitors will also hear a musical composition based on environmental data. Composer, Dana Reason, and ecologist, Gregg Riegel, will collaborate to develop an original piece of music that uses tree ring data to illustrate water surpluses and deficits, providing new insights into trends in this environmental data.
In addition, the Museum’s Curator of Natural History and Curator of Western History will provide interdisciplinary context for the artwork. Their interpretative panels will explore the natural and cultural history of water in the West from the inland sea and the Missoula floods to contemporary issues.
The museum grant is part of OCF’s Creative Heights initiative which has invested more than $945,000 to 13 Oregon nonprofits. A $4 million, four-year investment by OCF in arts and culture around Oregon, the Creative Heights initiative recognizes the need for non-profits, artists and other cultural creatives throughout the state to test new ideas, stretch their creative capacity, and provide unique opportunities for Oregonians to experience innovative arts and culture. As 2017 marks the end of the initial four-year investment, OCF is in the process of determining next steps for this notable program.
“Through the Creative Heights initiative, OCF is able to support innovative projects that showcase the creativity of Oregonians,” said Max Williams, OCF President and CEO. “We’re also excited that audiences throughout Oregon will have opportunities to experience the creative power of artists in our state.”
For more information about the Creative Heights initiative and other OCF arts and culture strategies and programs, visit http://www.oregoncf.org/ocf-initiatives/arts-and-culture.
The Oregon Community Foundation
The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve lives for all Oregonians through the power of philanthropy. OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds OCF awarded more than $108 million in grants and scholarships in 2016. For more information about OCF, please visit: www.oregoncf.org.
