Hidden River Art Festival focuses on Wisconsin artists

IN JUST ITS third year, the Hidden River Art Festival has become a must-visit for art buyers and a true showcase for Wisconsin artists.

Presented by the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, the 2008 festival will be held Sept. 19-21 on the center's grounds. The center is located in Brookfield's Mitchell Park at 19805 W. Capitol Dr., just south of Capitol Dr. between Brookfield Rd. and Barker.

The festival features the work of 80 Wisconsin fine artists, specializing in a variety of media from painting, photography, clay and jewelry. And it also gives visitors a chance to tour the interior of the center, where emerging artists and the Milwaukee area's leading private art galleries will be represented.

"Many people associate the Wilson Center with things other than painting and sculpture," notes Laura Aaron Sear, Wilson Center education director. "Whether it's seeing a live performance or participating in an art class, the center encompasses the whole of art and the Hidden River Art Festival completes that circle."

This year, visitors enter the festival through the Wilson Center. Before touring the tents on the grounds, visitors will be treated to three special exhibits inside the center's theaters and galleries:

- In the imposing Grand Hall of the center, some of the area's finest art galleries will show works from their stable of artists. Staff members will be there to share insights regarding current trends and ways to select fine art for the home.

- In the Dawes Studio Theater will be the first Hidden River Emerging Artists Gallery, showing the work of emerging artists from Wisconsin. The exhibit includes solo artists as well as art collectives and studios. The work of these young artists reflects the wide array of media and contemporary art practices employed by some of the most talented emerging artists in the region.

- The center's Ploch Art Gallery displays the first showing of all of the Governor's Awards in Support of the Arts. Each year, the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts commissions a Wisconsin artist to create at least two pieces of art of the same likeness, one that is presented to the Governor's Award recipients and one that is kept in the foundation's collection. The 25 works have never been shown as a collection.

Outside the center, tents shelter the booths of the festival's featured 80 fine artists. The artists were selected by a panel of jurors from 168 applicants. Thirty-four of the artists are from Milwaukee County and the others are from 20 counties throughout the state.

A centrally located demonstration area provides a gathering place for short demonstrations, discussions and some hands-on opportunities throughout the three-day festival. In addition, hands-on art activities exploring a wide variety of art media are available for kids of all ages.

"This year, we're taking more of an inside/outdoors approach to give our visitors an idea of all of the activities and venues involved in the Wilson Center," comments Marketing Director Lisa Remby.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase on the festival grounds.

The festival is supported by presenting sponsor Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other companies, corporations and individuals. Festival hours are 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $5, with children under 10 free. Directions to the festival are I-94 to Barker Rd. exit, north on Barker Rd., east on Capitol Dr., then right on Mitchell Park Dr. For more information, visit www.hiddenriverartfestival.com or phone 262-781-9520.

Wilson Center's coming events Illustrate diverse programming

UPCOMING events at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts illustrate the diversity of the programming. Now in its seventh year, the center is a multidisciplinary, non-profit art center, offering performances by regional and touring groups, arts education and an art gallery with changing exhibits.

See KeyMilwaukee.com's Arts & Entertainment listings for September events. Following are just some of the highlights in October and November:

Oct. 8: Lights! Glamour! Fashion! The eighth annual fashion show to benefit the center features fashions from the Milwaukee area's leading retailers.

Oct. 9: L.A. Theatre Works, America's premier radio theatre company, presents "War of the Worlds" and "The Lost World," a back-to-back double bill presentation of two masterpieces of science fiction and adventure.

Oct. 10 & 11: Justin Hayford, called a "remarkable lyric interpreter and marvelous keyboardist" by Cabaret Scenes Magazine.

Oct. 15: Steve March Torme, the son of legendary jazz vocalist Mel Torme, presents a magical evening of music with some of his dad's favorite toe-tapping tunes.

Oct. 22: Saxophonist Branford Marsalis and 34 members of the Filharmonica Brasileira explore the wistful soulfulness of composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Oct. 24: Chicago jazz pianist Jordan Baskin leads Milwaukee drummer Brian Ritter and Chicago bassist Jake Vinsel through jazz standards.

Nov. 1: Trey McIntyre, called one of ballet's most surprising talents by The New York Times, makes the center one of the first stops on his company's inaugural tour.

Nov. 7 & 8: Sally Mayes, an award-winning Broadway, Off-Broadway, television and cabaret recording sensation, has won critical praise as one of Broadway's outstanding newcomers.

Nov. 14 & 15: Rumba and Flamenco master Jesse Cook blends African percussion, Cajun accordion, classical cello and the pop vocals of Bob Dylan with his own style to create a global hybrid.