Printmaker Freda Fairchild, ceramist John Hasegawa, ceramist/fiber artist Lily Liu, abstract artist Paul Lorenz, 2D multimedia artist Teri Moore (all of Paducah) and May Wong of Florida were invited to exhibit their work at the Imperial Palace at Innsbruck, Austria as part of Project WIDE WEST. WIDE WEST is an art project for cultural exchange between foreign and local artists in cooperation with the Burghauptmannschaft of Austria, the ceramic association IKSIT and schools in Innsbruck. As part of the program, the Paducah artists were required to conduct 20 hours of workshops for students at various schools in Innsbruck.
Paducah's cultural connection and exchange with Innsbruck, a city deep in the alpine mountains, is a direct result of Paducah's Artist-in-Residence Program. Paul Lorenz met Elisabeth Melkonyan, fiber artists and curator at the Imperial Palace, at an international art event in Innsbruck in 2010 where Lorenz was exhibiting. Their meeting resulted in Melkonyan's participation in Paducah Arts Alliance (PAA) artist-in-residence program in 2011. Melkonyan was enthralled with Paducah and the quality of artists she encountered during her residency. Upon her return to Austria, she maintained contact with her American creative cohorts and facilitated the inclusion of select artists in the WIDE WEST exhibit.
Fairchild, Lorenz, Liu and Moore will conduct the power point presentation as part of Second Saturday. Teri Moore will display an 8 foot wide drawing of the mountains and her view of the Austrian environment during the talk at Yeiser. The City of Innsbruck had voiced interest in keeping the large drawing which was executed on paper and gesso; however, Moore was not satisfied that the drawing was complete. She brought it back to Paducah to put the final touches on it before it returns to Innsbruck.
A sampling of the work that was seen at the Imperial Palace is on display at Miska Studio, 627 Madison and studioMARS, 418 North 7th Street.
For more information, contact Josh White or John Paul Henry at 270-442-2453.
