Art Project
Art Project
RiverSong Music Festival
Cheryl Avenel-Navara: education, Worthington Public Arts Commission chair, SW MN Opportunity council; Justin Beck, chair of Hutchinson Public Arts Commission, president of Hutchinson Center for the Arts, photography, music; Judy Beckman: vocal music, Big Stone Arts Council, Big Stone County Historical Society, Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce CEO; Cheri Buzzeo: theater, music, The Barn Theatre administration, Willmar Main St participant; Jessica Welu: writing, music, SW Regional Development Commission; Anna Johannsen: fiber artist, art teacher, Remick Gallery board, president of Windom Women's Investment group, treasurer of Cottonwood County Animal Rescue, officer of Cotton Quilters; Georgette Jones: literature teacher, theatre actor/director/teacher; David KelseyBassett: visual artist, musician, Hinterland Art Crawl board; Shawn Kinsinger: theater director, actor, musician, Palace Theatre executive director, Green Earth Players vice president, Luverne Street Music board member, Luverne High School Theater artistic director; Darlene Kotelnicki: theater, city council, library board. Cheryl Avenel Navara: education, Worthington Public Arts Commission chair, SW MN Opportunity Council volunteer; Alison Nelson: art, music, and dance teacher, KMS Community Ed director, Kerkhoven Fire Department Auxiliary fundraiser; Michele Huggins: Granite Area Arts Council treasurer and volunteer, member of the Artisan Grain Collaborative, founding member of ACHALA; Betsy Pardick: musician, actor, Dept. of Public Transformation committees; Kristine Shelstad: visual arts, Madison Mercantile art gallery, Madison Arts Council, Lac qui Parle Players; VFW; Gillian Singler, MN West Community and Technical College chair of Humanities and English instructor, Creative Healing Space volunteer, writer, theater director; Michele Knife Sterner: theater (actor), SMSU Associate director for Access Opportunity Success program; Erica Volkir: performing arts, Pipestone Performing Arts Center board, Pipestone Area Chamber of Commerce and CVB director; Mark Wilmes: Lake Benton Opera House board president, actor/director, musician, reporter;
Cheryl Avenel-Navara, arts admin, SMAC board; Mark Bosveld, theater; Beth Habicht music; Janet Olney, visual art, arts admin; Valerie Quist, writing; Sheila Tabaka, theater
Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, Nicole DeBoer (507) 537-1471
ACHF Arts Access
RiverSong has established itself as a premier annual event in Hutchinson. There is nothing else similar to it in our region, and we have developed a strong sense of community through the event. The lineup of state, regional, and local performers (with a renewed focus on MN talent) will bring a high-quality arts experience to the Hutchinson community that wouldn't otherwise be available to the public. This exposure helps to broaden the community and the region's appreciation of music deeply connected to our area's heritage, and brings an educational opportunity to all ages through observation and interaction. In order to gauge our success, we hold on-site evaluations by our intern; online surveys to fans, performers and volunteers; study financial results; and do extension debriefing sessions with all of our committees and Board.
We had nearly 700 people in attendance. The students were very engaged and excited to learn from keynote speaker Kevin Horner, a comedian and ventriloquist. 23 more artists held breakout sessions. We asked participants questions during the conference, and we also observed presenter/student interactions, listened to student questions, and watched students working on their projects. Presenters also provided feedback on student interaction, student comments, etc. All of this demonstrated that students learned new art techniques and had an increased awareness of art forms and careers in the arts. Parents also learned and many commented they would have loved an opportunity like this as a child.
Other,local or private