A conversation with John H. Hartig, Ph.D, author of the 2022 book Great Lakes Champions, the story of 14 people who loved the Great Lakes so much that they devoted their careers to leading grassroots partnerships to clean up the most polluted of these freshwater seas.
Category: Talks and Lectures
Creativity Q+A with Mary Beth Acosta
A Feral Housewife, an exhibition of collages by Leelanau County artist Mary Beth Acosta, take up residence in the Glen Arbor Arts Center Lobby Gallery January 6 – April 21. View it in the GAAC Main Gallery or on line.
Working under the creative nom de guerre “The Feral Housewife,” Acosta uses simple, familiar tools and a range of recycled, vintage papers to create collages about mid-century housewives, big-finned cars, and “labor-saving” appliances that were promoted as drudgery-busting machines that would revolutionize the modern home.
Please enjoy this conversation with Mary Beth, which was first published in January 2022 — a companion program for the Paper Work exhibition [January 14 – March 24, 2022].
Pictured: Auto Show Housewives, 11″ w x 16″ h, 2017, Mary Beth Acosta
Farm Stories: Leelanau County Poor Farm
As part of the GAAC’s Telling Stories exhibition [January 13 – March 23, 2023], Gallery Manager Sarah Bearup-Neal talked with Michigan residents about stories told in the sky and on the ground.
Farm Stories: From 1901 to 1961, Leelanau County residents who found themselves homeless, and in need of work, found shelter and employment at the county’s Poor Farm – a 120-acre farm, located a mile from Maple City, Michigan on County Road 616. A new documentary is underway about the Poor Farm, its history, and its progressive role in the community. In this video interview, we talk with two of the project’s members, Leelanau County residents Tina Mehren and Barb Siepker.
Enjoy the online version of the Telling Stories exhibit here.
Sky Stories with Mary Stewart Adams
As part of the GAAC’s Telling Stories exhibition [January 13 – March 23, 2023], Gallery Manager Sarah Bearup-Neal talked with Northern Michigan residents about stories told in the sky and on the ground.
Sky Stories: Every Monday morning, at 6:45 and 8:45 on Interlochen Public Radio, Star Lore Historian Mary Stewart Adams tells stories about the night sky, and illuminates the connections between the cosmos and the humans down below. In this video interview, Mary talks about those stories, and why dark skies matter.
Creativity Q+A Video: 99 Clay Vessels Project
Alison Kysia is the creator of the multi-media visual art and storytelling project 99 Clay Vessels.
In 2017, Kysia – a potter and educator living in Maryland – experienced sustained anti-Muslim bigotry. She channeled her anger and sadness into her artwork, and out of that the 99 Clay Vessels project was born.
Kysia’s project uses clay, which is changed through physical touch and fire – and becomes a powerful symbol of transformation. Kysia talks about how she was transformed by the work and process of creating this project; and how visual language is sometimes more powerful than just stating the fact.
GAAC Exhibitions Manager Sarah Bearup-Neal talked with Kysia as part if the VESSELS exhibition. Read more about VESSELS here: https://glenarborart.org/events/exhibit-vessels. Read more about the 99 Clay Vessels Project here: https://www.99clayvessels.com/
