WILDLANDS Exhibition Opens 10/12 at the Great Hall

WILDLANDS celebrates public lands and national parks, and the beauty and experiences enjoyed in publicly owned wild spaces. The public is invited to meet the artists at a free, catered reception on Thursday, October 12 at 5:30 p.m. The show's intention is to put a spotlight on preservation and how societies come to value and live in balance with natural resources in a time of climate change, development and political stresses that threaten our wild places. The exhibition runs through March 30, 2018.

Stephanie Kyriazis, Chief of Interpretation, Education, and Visitor Services for Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP and Saint-Gaudens NHS will help introduce the exhibition and will speak briefly about the connection between national parks and art. She will be joined by several of the artists who will share their own travels in the wild and how those experiences influenced their work.

Artists sharing their views include: Joan Hoffmann (S. Royalton, VT) as artist-in-residence at Yosemite and the 2016 artist-in-residence at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, believes that our free spirit and our federal public lands go hand in hand. Jessica Houston (Montreal, Quebec) will share her adventure on a Russian ship through the North West passage of Alaska and Pat Musick, (Manchester, VT) environmental artist, will talk about her artistic goal to express the relationship between mankind and the environment and the tensions we exert upon each other.

Nina Jamison, Director of Exhibitions, says, "I think most of us know intuitively that hiking and walking in the mountains and visiting parklands is calming, rejuvenating & restorative. "WILDLANDS" hopes to convey not only the beauty and diversity of our wild places, but the spiritual sustenance of these places. John Muir, often referred to as the Father of the National Parks, said, "In a changing world we need places "to pray in and play in." Certainly this sentiment rings true today."

The 10 artists in WILDLANDS share a deep love of the land and capture the breadth and feel and temporal fragility of open spaces in their art.

Artists in the show include: Susan Abbott, Marshfield, VT; Rich Cofrancesco, Springfield VT; Walter Cudnohufsky, Ashfield, Massachusetts; Ailyn Hoey, Rockingham VT; Joan Hoffmann, S. Royalton, VT; Jessica Houston; Montreal, Quebec; Charlie Hunter, Bellows Falls, VT; Pat Musick, Manchester Center, VT; Oliver Schemm, Grafton, VT; James Urbaska, Newfane, VT.

The main entrance to the Great Hall is off of Pearl Street, although the entire complex is called One Hundred River Street. The Great Hall can also be entered from One Hundred River Street. A pedestrian bridge crosses the Black River directly into the Center. There is plenty of parking at either entrance.