CLICK! gathering kicks off an exciting series of conferences this year in Pinedale

http://wyomingarts.blogspot.com/p/click-conference-details.html 

Sam Luvisi writes in the Sublette Examiner about a series of conferences coming to Pinedale this year. One of them is “CLICK! A Weeked for Wyoming Visual Artists.” It will be held March 30-April 1 at the Sublette County Library and several other venues. Co-sponsors are the Wyoming Arts Council, Pinedale Fine Arts Council and the UW Art Museum. Sue Sommers, Pinedale artist and member of the Pipeline Art Project, was interviewed for the story. Here’s an excerpt:

“The name “CLICK!” suggests that thing that happens when you reconnect with colleagues and get inspired by new ideas, which occurs continually when Wyoming artists congregate,” said Sue Sommers, a local artist who helped organize the event, and is hoping to expand on the visibility and interconnectedness of Wyoming’s art community with those near and far – something she also tackled recently with the Pipeline Art Project.

In a showcase of real ability for local artists to survive a large-scale project, large amounts of both local and faraway support (through a competitive process the group was selected by U.S. Artists for the USA Projects “crowd funding” website) helped send local artists (including Sommers, metal sculptor JB Bond and painter David Klarén) across the country to showcase at the Red Dot Art Fair through “Pipeline to Miami.”

“We learned so much, and gained exposure and some solid ideas for showing our work outside Wyoming over the next couple of years,” she said, adding they do not expect to be “crowd funding” anytime soon – as local supporters “have done more than their share.” 

Like Pipeline, CLICK! is working alongside the Wyoming Arts Council (WAC), who shares a database of Wyoming artists and helps plan and partially fund the project. The Pipeline Art Project was awarded funding by the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund to help expand the WAC’s annual 2012 Fellowship Awards reception with a variety of speakers and topics; there Pipeline artists will share lessons from Miami. 

During CLICK! the Pinedale Library will exhibit artwork by the five Pipeline members, with a re-created Red Dot booth on display in the Labyrinth Room. 

CLICK!, which also is organized and contributed to by University of Wyoming (UW) Art Museum and the Pinedale Fine Arts Council (PFAC), will likely host a free public “kick-off” reception on its Friday evening, as a way to give back to the community. Light food, beverages and discussion will be a part of the night where the art exhibit will be open and the UW Art Museum will host a “20/20” slide presentation featuring artists from all over the state. 

Sommers is excited, not only for the possible impact to downtown Pinedale, but for the discussions and connections to be had by local artists. 

“That dialogue and sharing is as essential for success as having the right paintbrushes,” she said.  

Read the entire article at http://www.subletteexaminer.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=1937