Special exhibit comes to Reedsburg’s Harvest Park

An exhibit featured in last year’s Farm/Art DTour will make a stop in Reedsburg this summer.

Fluvial North will be set up May 22 through Oct. 30 in Harvest Park. It was created by artists Sheila Novak, Emilie Bouvier and Crysten Nesseth.

It expands upon an artwork called Fluvial that appeared as a stop on the 2020 Farm/Art DTour. The tour is part of Fermentation Fest, which is organized by Wormfarm Institute in Reedsburg. Last year’s tour was moved to encompass other parts of Sauk County, particularly the Sauk City and Prairie du Sac areas. In the past, the tour took place around rural Reedsburg and surrounding smaller communities.

The Farm/Art DTour takes place only every other year, but Fermentation Fest is a yearly celebration of all-things fermentation. It features speakers and classes about the many ways fermentation affects daily life.

Fluvial North will be installed as a companion to Harvest Park’s permanent resident, Ruminant-The Grande Masticator. This large-scale art piece involves farm machinery decorated with stained-glass windows. It is surrounded by signs and landscaping.

Fluvial North consists of 11 six-foot cyanotype banners featuring snippets of memories, images and hopes gathered from local people. They reflect the agricultural, personal and spiritual history of the region.

In addition, there will be mini-banner-making workshops for the public May 22, as well as a webinar about the challenges and advantages of creating public art.

All of this is presented by Reedsburg ArtsLink with support from the Sauk County Extension Education Arts and Culture Committee and Wisconsin Arts Board, with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the City of Reedsburg Arts Committee.

Reedsburg ArtsLink is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting arts and culture in the area. Besides Fluvial North activities, it will also host a high school spring art exhibit May 13 through 15.