By Frances Li, Associate Director
Prairie Ronde Artist Residency gears up for the start of its 8th season, welcoming four artists-in-residence to Vicksburg for the upcoming Spring Session, which runs from March 15 to May 31.
The first two artists of this session will be David Phillips, a painter from London, UK and Adeline Newmann, an interdisciplinary artist from Boise, Idaho. Following this pair will be Karine Locatelli, a multidisciplinary artist who hails from Quebec, Canada, and installation artist Allie E.S. Wist from Troy, New York.
Since its founding, the residency’s mission has been to support artists by giving them time, space, and resources to explore and expand their craft. Artists from across the globe travel to Vicksburg for a 5- to 7-week residency where they’re given housing, a stipend and access to the monumental former Lee Paper Mill, now the redevelopment project of The Mill at Vicksburg.
Artists from a range of disciplines apply to the residency, but almost all who are accepted have work that is in conversation with themes that are echoed in the ethos of the redevelopment project: sustainability, ecology, revitalization, and community building. The only condition is that the artists donate a piece of artwork to the Prairie Ronde collection. Artists are encouraged (and often really enjoy) offering some kind of community “give back” like a gallery show or workshop.
While the residency has become highly competitive with an international draw, Prairie Ronde has also expanded its local arts programming as a way of uplifting artists who live closer to home. In addition to the residency program, Prairie Ronde launched “Come As You Art” a speaker series in collaboration with Vicksburg Arts that brings local artists, authors, curators, and filmmakers to the Prairie Ronde Gallery in downtown Vicksburg for exhibitions, lectures, and Q&A’s.
Last October, the inaugural “Come As You Art” event welcomed award-winning poet Richard Katrovas, founder of the Prague Summer Writing Program. Katrovas read from his work “Off the Road: My Weird Childhood on American Highways” and had a talk and Q&A with attendees.
The success of this first event was followed up February 1 with an ambitious exhibition entitled “26 Years” from artist, curator, and filmmaker Andrew Francisco. “26 Years” presented a time capsule of portraits, interviews, and video about climate change with subjects around Kalamazoo County. The exhibition was well-attended with almost 80 attendees and featured the work of artists Alexander Ness, Nate Hartmann, and Anastasia Hennig. Support generously provided by the Arts Fund of Kalamazoo County, a program of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo.
Prairie Ronde’s reach does not end at the fine arts, however. In 2020, the residency founded a music program that gave musicians an online platform to showcase their work. Since then, the program has expanded into live shows drawing musicians from around the Midwest to perform in Vicksburg.
Now a staple of the Vicksburg music and arts scene, there’s always a new event around the corner. Whether it’s a gallery show with a visiting artist-in-residence, a talk with a local artist, or just a relaxed evening of live music, there’s always something going on at Prairie Ronde.
Friday, February 28, Prairie Ronde was to host Indianapolis guitarist Josh Gillespie to perform in downtown Vicksburg. To stay in touch and be included on the Prairie Ronde events email list, please send an email to info@prairierondeartistresidency.com or visit prairieronde.org.
