Seven State exhibit opens at Memorial Union
By Brooke Appe
One of the most exciting celebrations of regional photography is coming back to the Union for it’s seventh year since 2001.
PhotoMidwest, a biennial celebration of the Upper Midwest’s best photography sponsored by the Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Art Commitee, just opened an exhibit in Memorial Union’s Porter Butts and Class of 1925 Galleries. Although PhotoMidwest features an array of exhibits in various galleries around the Madison area, their premier exhibit titled PhotoMidwest: A Seven State Juried Photography Exhibit is currently here at Memorial Union.
The WUD Art Committee always has the honor of setting up the exhibit, whose photographs are submitted by residents of Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan and Missouri. A juror, usually a professional photographer, makes the selections. This year the juror was Sam Abell, a former photographer for National Geographic who chose 49 images from a group of 439 submissions.
Sam Abell, the juror for the exhibit, goes over his selections.
Photo courtesy of David Michaels
“We always do the Seven State exhibit but depending on who’s chosen and what the trends in photography and art are, it’s always different. It’s a great reflection of what’s going on in the regional art world,” said Carly Herzog, WUD Art Committee director.
The celebration does not just stop there. To introduce the exhibit, Sam Abell held a reception in the Main Lounge in Memorial Union. There are also lectures and workshops associated with the event running into late October, featuring varying topics such as wildlife photography, landscapes and digital printmaking for anyone who wishes to sign up or attend.
“It’s very accessible to people who don’t consider themselves big art people. It’s fun because they can see it as sort of a gateway,” said Carly.
The WUD Art Committee also considers it their own gateway for getting excited for the rest of the year’s events and introducing new members to the committee.
“It’s a great event to start off with because it’s very easy to hang and it draws in a huge audience because all the artists and their families come to see it,” said Carly.
That’s not to say that it’s a breeze to set up this exhibit, or any exhibit for that matter. The committee had been hard at work for three weeks to make the exhibit an inviting and aesthetically pleasing environment in which the photographs could truly shine.
Guests enjoy the exhibit at Memorial Union’s Porter Butts and Class of 1925 Galleries
Photo courtesy of David Michaels
“Installation takes a few days. We have to take down the last show, spackle and paint the walls and then clean up the whole gallery. We do the layout which involves the whole committee and after layout there is a specific measurement process,” said Carly. “We then start hanging them up and doing the hammering, drilling and lighting. There’s also marketing and legal aspects too.”
Although that sounds like quite a process, the WUD Art Committee knows the hard work is well worth it to see photographers ranging from all levels of experience enjoy their work displayed in a professional setting. It’s also worth it for audiences to recognize that Midwestern photographers have a lot to offer.
“Whenever we do anything regional here, it’s exciting because we have a professional setting and it’s cool to see that cutting edge and contemporary art is here in the Midwest, not just on the coasts,” said Carly.
For more information on the exhibit dates and times visit our events page.
To learn more about the WUD Art Committee, check out their webpage.
