2016-2017 BIG IDEA Projects
Idaho Stories
October 21, 2016 – January 6, 2017
Scott Fife, Ernest Hemingway, 2014-16, archival cardboard, glue, screws, ink, courtesy the artist and Platform Gallery, Seattle, photo by Mark Davison
What are Idaho’s stories? Who has told them? How have contemporary artists and writers interpreted those stories? This Big Idea project presents a loose narrative informed by Idaho’s literary history. Key figures are Ezra Pound, born in Hailey; author and illustrator Mary Hallock Foote, who lived in Boise; self-taught artist James Castle, based in Idaho all his life; Ernest Hemingway, who visited the state many times before ending his life in Ketchum; and Marilynne Robinson’s novel Housekeeping, set in northern Idaho.
Associated Events: Idaho Stories
- Museum Exhibition…..Oct 21–Jan 6
- Artist Talk with Scott Fife…..Oct 20, 5:30pm
- Opening Celebration…..Oct 21, 5-7pm
- Teen Workshop: Coptic Bookbinding with Chad Seelig…..Oct 29 & 30, 12–4pm
- Lecture: Jenny Emery Davidson on Mary Hallock Foote…..Nov 3, 6:30pm
- Family Day…..Nov 5, 3–5pm
- Evening Exhibition Tour…..Nov 10, 5:30pm
- Film Night: James Castle: Portrait of an Artist and Hemingway: Wrestling with Life…..Nov 10, 7pm
- Company of Fools Play Reading: Bright New Boise…..Nov 15, 6:30pm
- Evening Exhibition Tour…..Dec 1, 5:30pm
- Lecture: From Idaho Stories to Idaho Novels with Julie Weston…..Dec 1, 6:30pm
- Author Reading: Korby Lenker…..Dec 8, 6:30pm
- Concert: Korby Lenker…..Dec 9, 7pm
- School Outreach: Korby Lenker at WRMS and WRHS…..Dec 8 & 9
Click here to view the Idaho Stories Brochure.
Rayguns, Robots, Drones: Technology’s Peril and Promise
January 13, 2016 – March 25, 2017
Michael A. Salter, Giant Styrobot, 2008, Styrofoam, glue, from the exhibition Too Much, Rice University Art Gallery, Houston, Texas, courtesy the artist
Can any technology ever exist solely for good? Science fiction authors have imagined worlds in which technology becomes a threat. But is this more than the stuff of fiction? This Big Idea project is an opportunity for a look at the role of technology in our real lives as well as our fictional fantasies. Using robots, drones and rayguns as metaphors for technological advances, the project examines the complex nature of technology’s inherent promise and its potential danger.
Associated Events: Rayguns, Robots, Drones
- Company of Fools Theatre: Grounded…..Sept 28–Oct 15
- Museum Exhibition…..Jan 13–Mar 25
- Opening Celebration…..Jan 13, 5:30pm
- Evening Exhibition Tour…..Jan 26, 5:30pm
- Film: Zero Days…..Jan 26, 7pm
- Lecture: P.W. Singer…..Feb 9, 6:30pm
- Evening Exhibition Tour…..Feb 23, 5:30pm
- Artist Talk with Mahwish Chisty…..Feb 23, 6:30pm
- Family Day.….Mar 4, 3–5pm
- Evening Exhibition Tour…..Mar 16, 5:30pm
Click here to view the Rayguns, Robots, Drones Brochure.
Contemplative Practice
March 31 –June 23, 2017
Meg Hitchcock, Shoonya: Vijnana Bhairava Tantra (detail), 2009, letters cut from the Torah (The Book of Deuteronomy), courtesy the artist
What is the connection between art and contemplation? For centuries, artists have created religious objects meant to offer a contemplative or devotional experience. But how do art and contemplation intersect outside established religious traditions? This BIG IDEA project uses work by artists engaged with contemplative practices as the basis for a larger investigation of the role of meditation and mindfulness in our world today.
Associated Events: Contemplative Practice
- Film: Manakamana…..Mar 30, 7pm
- Museum Exhibition…..Mar 31–June 23
- Exhibition Opening Celebration…..Mar 31, 5–7pm,
artists Pegan Brooke and Dana Lynn Louis will speak about their work at 6pm - Company of Fools Theatre Commissioned Performance Piece– High Grass
Fri, Mar 31, during the Exhibition Opening Celebration, 5–7pm
Tue, Apr 11, in conjunction with the Guided Meditation, 4pm
Thu, Apr 13, May 18 and Jun 8, during the Evening Exhibition Tours, 5:30pm - Guided Meditations led by Flourish Foundation…..Tue, Apr 11, 4pm; Thu, Apr 13, 5pm; Thu, May 18, 5pm
- Evening Exhibition Tour…..Apr 13, 5:30pm
- Film: Heart of a Dog…..Thu, Apr 13, 7pm
- FREE Panel Discussion: The relationship between prayer and meditation…..Tue, Apr 18, 6:30pm
- Adult Class/Creative Jump-in: Meditative Drawing & Journaling with Kaleigh Surber…..May 13, 9am–1pm
- Family Day…..May 13, 3–5pm
- Evening Exhibition Tour…..May 18, 5:30pm
- FREE Special Reception & Clearing Ceremony…..Thu, May 25, 5–6:30pm
- Lecture: Arianna Huffington co-presented by the Sun Valley Wellness Festival.….May 26, 6:30pm
- Evening Exhibition Tour…..Jun 8, 5:30pm, Artist Pegan Brooke will speak about her work
Click here to view the Contemplative Practice Brochure.
Video and digital documentation of programs is generously supported by the Wolfson Family Foundation.