Applications are now being accepted for Isle Royale National Park’s 2010 Artist-in-Residence Program, Phyllis Green, park superintendent recently announced.
“This program provides artists the opportunity to become part of a long-established tradition of interpreting the national parks through works of art,” explained Green.
The Artist-in-Residence Program at Isle Royale is open to professional artists whose work can be inspired by the park’s unique character. The program offers writers, composers, and all visual and performing artists the opportunity to capture the moods and magic of Isle Royale through their particular art form.
The selected artist will be given the use of a canoe and a rustic cabin while on the island. The program runs from mid-June through early September. Complimentary transportation to and from the island is provided on the Ranger III, a 165-foot ship operating from Houghton, Mich. Each residency is scheduled for two to three weeks.
The Artist-in-Residence Program is co-sponsored by Isle Royale National Park, Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association and the Copper Country Community Arts Council.
Artists will be enrolled in the National Park Service’s Volunteer in the Parks Program.
During the residency, the artists will be asked to share their experience with the public through art presentations or demonstrations. The artists are required to contribute an art piece that is representative of their Isle Royale residency.
A panel of professionals from various art disciplines and a park representative will choose the finalists. The selection is based on artistic integrity, ability to reside in a wilderness environment, a willingness to donate a finished piece of artwork inspired on the island, and the artist’s ability to relate and interpret the park through his or her art medium. The program is open to all art forms except those that manipulate or disturb the park’s fragile environment.
Picturesque Isle Royale is ideally suited for an Artist-in-Residence Program. There are wavewashed shores, boreal forests of spruce and fir, miles of ridge and valley topography, fascinating wildlife, and a variety of wildflowers and other interesting plants. Isle Royale’s cultural history includes prehistoric copper mining, lighthouses, commercial fisheries, and maritime culture. Ninety-eight percent of the island is federally designated wilderness, and in 1981 the park was designated as a U.S. Biosphere Reserve.
Applications for the program must be postmarked by Feb. 16, 2010; entries postmarked after that date will not be considered. Notification will be made by May 1, 2010.
For more information or to receive an application package, contact: Artist-in Residence Program, Isle Royale National Park, 800 E. Lakeshore Drive, Houghton, Michigan 49931- 1869, or call 906-482-0984.
Isle Royale National Park is one of only 30 national parks offering this program. For further information on other National Park Artist-in- Residence Programs, please visit www.nps.gov/ archive/volunteer/air.htm.
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