Artist Wesley Fawcett Creigh’s work to be shown at Otter Tail History Museum

Arizona-based artist, Wesley Fawcett Creigh, spent 6-weeks in Otter Tail County in January and February this year as part of a “Hinge” Artist Residency offered by Springboard for the Arts. The arts organization houses its artists-in-residence in apartments on the Historic Kirkbride Campus in Fergus Falls and provides them with studio space and resources to carry out community projects.

Wesley’s work at this residency focused on telling and contextualizing the experiences of Pelican Rapids and Fergus Falls residents. The initial phase involved collecting audio interviews with residents that range the spectrums of age, culture, religion, race, and gender, centering these conversations around topics of “home” and “belonging”. This research period yielded a series of two-dimensional “felt paintings” and multi-media installations featuring video and audio. One such installation, created by ESL students from the Pelican Rapids High School, examines the intersections of “identity” and “place”. “Model Home”, a collaborative installation by members of “A Place to Belong” social club in Fergus Falls, is the culmination in a series of workshops Wesley led at the club this winter. It features, in the background, an animated video crafted entirely with artwork produced by the club’s members and, in the foreground, a sculpture created by group.

Much of the other work in the exhibition was informed by her research in Pelican Rapids, MN:“As this work evolves I have become increasingly drawn to the visual contrasts that occur in the Pelican Rapids community: the rural mid-west landscape of grain elevators and dairy farms infused with the shelves of the town’s Mexican and Halal markets, multi-ethnic sports teams, smart phones, taco joints, and diversity dinners. For the visual components of this project I am interested in juxtaposing old symbols of progress with
contemporary ones, therein creating a hybrid aesthetic that reflects the story of Pelican Rapids.”

This work will then be shown at the Otter Tail History Museum on June 15th 2018 and will run through July 14th 2018 therefore allowing the story of Pelican Rapids in particular to be better understood and appreciated by the surrounding communities. “I believe Pelican Rapids has experienced an influx of cultural growth and change that many other rural communities may undergo at some point in the future or are experiencing currently. Pelican Rapids serves as an example of a town committed to rising to the challenges inherent in diverse communities, I wanted to create an exhibit that features it as a model of community action, education, and strength.” The artist reception is open to the public and will take place on June 15th from 4 to 7 p.m.

This project builds off of Wesley’s background as a socially engaged artist. She tends to focus on projects with interactive or community components that foster deeper dialogues surrounding social or political issues. To learn more about her work visit her website: www.wesleyfawcettcreigh.com