February 17, 2021 at 4:43 p.m.
'Pandemic Portraits' on display at Nicolet
Mail-in community art exhibition to run through April 24
'Pandemic Portraits' on display at Nicolet
By Stephanie Kuski-
Late last year, Nicolet College, ArtStart and WXPR kicked off a collaborative effort to collect artist responses to challenges precipitated by the pandemic. ArtStart featured "Quarantine" as the theme for their annual Free For Wall community art exhibition earlier this year while WXPR is continuing to feature a series of virtual concerts to support local musicians suffering income loss as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
As part of that collaboration, the Nicolet Art Gallery is featuring "Pandemic Portraits," a mail-in community art exhibition that invites artists of all skill levels to create art of any kind on the blank side of two pre-addressed, stamped 4x6 postcards.
One postcard is to be mailed back to the college to be hung in the gallery while the other is to be sent to a friend or stranger as a means of creating community connections while practicing social distancing.
"The idea with that is to make even small points of connection, and how fun is it to get a little piece of art in your mailbox from someone you haven't talked to in a long time or someone you don't even know," said Melinda Childs, who holds a collaborative position between ArtStart and Nicolet College as their community and cultural development director. "I think that's the point to emphasize: the situation is obviously not ideal, but we can still connect with one another through art making and connecting through the art itself."
Nate Wilson, an instructor of fine arts at Nicolet College, is hanging the art in the gallery as the postcards come in. The exhibit kicked off in late December, so the gallery space is just beginning to fill up with the pandemic-inspired postcards. Wilson said roughly half of the submissions are traditional portraits, but he noted the exhibit is not limited to visual art.
"A portrait is usually associated with somebody's face, and that's typical, but it doesn't have to be," he said. "If you had a particular experience with hiking, you could tape a leaf to the card and mail it in... There's really no requirements. If that says something to you, that would be perfect."
Wilson noted both the quality and variety of art that has already been hung. He said artists have submitted digital art, collage pieces, drawings, paintings and abstract images, all of which evoke a unique perspective of the pandemic we've all been faced with in the last year.
Although the Nicolet gallery is not open for in-person viewing, due to COVID-19, Wilson is photographing the postcards as they come in and the artwork will be featured on the Nicolet Art Gallery Facebook page for virtual gallery goers to enjoy in the weeks and months ahead.
Once the exhibit comes to a close, all of the postcards will be collected in Nicolet's time capsule, which will be buried later this year and unearthed 25 years from now. This way, the artwork will serve as a visual snapshot of the experiences Northwoods residents have endured throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This is so specific to the moment, I think it will be neat for people to see in 25 years," Wilson said. "They'll open it up and think, 'gosh these people were in the middle of a pandemic, and here's a whole stack of art that expressed how they felt about it.'"
Those interested in contributing art to the Nicolet gallery still have plenty of time to do so. Artwork will be accepted now through the end of the exhibit on April 24. The postcards will not be returned to the artists, however, since they will be buried in the time capsule.
Wilson invites artists of all skill levels to participate. He encourages his own art students to submit work and even invites local art teachers to request enough postcards for their students to participate, as this is a unique opportunity for budding artists to celebrate their art and be featured in a professional gallery. But even those without any artistic background are welcome to submit art of any kind - from poems, portraits, prose and performance art to everything else in-between.
Those interested are asked to email theatre and performing arts coordinator Mike Effinger at [email protected] to receive the pre-addressed, stamped postcards along with instructions for participation. Follow the Nicolet Art Gallery on Facebook to view the art on display and visit www.nicoletcollege.edu/community/nicolet-art-gallery or email [email protected] for more information.
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