Artist Initiative
ACHF Arts Access
I will interview and take photos of the hands of south central Minnesota musicians and artists, and I will have an exhibit of my work with the participants present at the opening. There will be an exhibit with the photos and written profiles of the participants. The participants will be present at the exhibit and talk about their project experience and their talents with the attendees.
I wanted to include other artists in this exhibit, so I photographed and interviewed five musicians and five artists. The artists' work is also a part of the exhibit and the musicians will perform at the reception. I learned a lot from the guest master, Andrea Beaton, not only from playing with her intensely for a couple of weeks, but also from her conversations and commentary. And her comments have been most encouraging! I was a bit crestfallen that two of the concert presenters wanted to promote Andrea much more prominently than her Minnesota-based collaborators (see posters). But nonetheless, what people (including one of these same concert presenters) commented on was the seamless ease with which Andrea and I played together, confirming and publicizing my own mastery of the idiom, which was one of my project outcomes. I have already had inquiries from others regarding teaching Cape Breton music, so while it's too soon to quantify, it's obvious that this project has been successful in fostering the teaching of this tradition in Minnesota. And one of the presenters has already offered us a gig for next year.
Other, local or private