As part of its 20th anniversary celebration, the Icicle Fund hosted two Artist-In-Residence events to celebrate the Conservation, History and Arts (CHA) of North Central Washington at the Methow River (October 2-4, 2020) and the Wenatchee River (May 21-23 2021). The goal of the residencies was to honor, celebrate and record the unique environmental aspects of each location, inspired by revisiting past work created by poet William Stafford in the Methow Valley (1993) or Watershed Artists in the Wenatchee Valley (2001).

A sense of place is central to the Icicle Fund’s mission. Over the past 20 years, we have worked collaboratively to nurture artistic expression and imagination, an understanding of our past, and appreciation and love for our natural landscapes. Through this culture of respect, trust, and collaboration, individuals and organizations thrive, and the conservation, history and arts of North Central Washington is not only cared for, but flourishes. To date, the Fund has invested more than $40 million in over 100 organizations in North Central Washington.

Up to 10 North Central Washington artists across disciplines were selected for each location, and visited many locations during the weekend. They documented their surroundings through visual arts, writings, music, and other creative mediums, with the opportunity to draw from changed conditions of the environment as illustrated by Stafford and Watershed Artists. A traveling exhibit will be scheduled to showcase the work produced by participating artists. By developing a narrative and displaying the artwork created during the 2020 projects, perhaps in conjunction with artwork produced during the 1993 and 2001 events, the Icicle Fund will tell the story of its three priority areas: Conservation, History and Art (CHA) of North Central Washington.

Find out more information here.

Wenatchee River Artists-In-Residence

Selected Artists: Subhaga Crystal Bacon, Gretchen Daiber, Marlene Farrell, Sarah Horowitz, David Lukas, Merry Maxwell, Jennifer Molesworth, Heather Murphy, Claire Seaman, Jane Zanol.

Dates: May 21-23, 2021

The vast expanse of the Wenatchee watershed extends from the summit of the Cascade Mountains near Steven’s Pass to the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers, covering 1,371 square miles. It is the homeland of the p’squosa people, killed and displaced by settlers who logged, mined, and farmed the area until the industries failed. Leavenworth especially has since turned to tourism, and is a draw for visitors from across Washington and the country. In May, Eleven North Central Washington artists explored this wonderous area, from the glacier-fed White River down to the shrub steppe of Peshastin, in an effort to document it through words, photographs, video, drawing and painting. They visited sites previously documented by Watershed Art, a 2001 project that brought 14 artists from around the world to the Wenatchee watershed to create pieces inspired by their surroundings.

Photo Credit: Heidi Swoboda

 Methow River Artists-In-Residence

Dates: October 2-4, 2020

Selected Artists: Subhaga Crystal Bacon, Sarah Horowitz, Jennifer Molesworth, Heather Murphy, Rod Weagant

On a gorgeous fall weekend in October, five artists gathered in Twisp, Washington to participate in the Icicle Fund’s Conservation, History, and Art (CHA) Artist Residency. For three days, they experienced the Methow River Watershed side-by-side with the words from poet William Stafford, who was commissioned by the Forest Service to write a series of poems about the valley in 1993. Seven of those poems now stand as plaques, spanning the river from the North Cascades that serve as its headwaters to Pateros, where it meets the Columbia. Artists used these sites as a launching point for their own work, sketching, painting, drawing, and writing about this unique watershed. They met each evening to discuss the day and share experiences, drawing information and inspiration from each other. The final day, the group shared their creations, delighted to see the work of their fellow artists and the variety of interpretations of the same areas.

Photos Credit: Stephen Mitchell

Resources:

Map of all the Stafford Sites on the Methow River

Methow Poetry Signs: A movie featuring footage from the Stafford Sites

What the River Says: The Methow River Poem Plaques of William Stafford: Article by Subhaga Crystal Bacon

The valley around us is deep — High Country News – Know the West: A short article written a year after the Stafford Poetry project, including the text of the poems

Email us at chacha@iciclefund.org for more information.

A project of Icicle Fund in collaboration with Icicle Creek Center for the Arts and Methow Arts