A reflection by ArtsFairfax President & CEO Stuart Holt
The French Post-Impressionist artist Pierre Bonnard once said “Art will never be able to exist without nature.” This was especially true for the Shenandoah National Park Trust’s Art in the Park: Scenes from Shenandoah.
To celebrate Public Lands Day, my partner and I traveled to the Shenandoah Valley to experience the Trust’s second annual Art in the Park festival. As a first-time visitor to the Shenandoah Valley, I fully expected to convene with nature and explore new landscapes. What I didn’t expect was just how transformative the experience would be.
Saturday morning began with sunshine, blue skies, and cool temperatures, providing the perfect canvas to learn, engage, and connect with art through the lens of this magnificent park.
Photographer Ben Greenberg guided us through a wonderful conversation around capturing quality images of the natural world. Two tips have stayed with me, “Everything in a photograph has a relationship with everything else” and “what you leave out of a photograph can be just as important as what you put in.” I found myself considering these points as I captured moments the rest of the trip.
The afternoon brought us to the Byrd Visitors Center and the chance to learn from 2022 Shenandoah National Park Artist in Residence, Sandy Kessler-Kaminski. Sandy’s work in the park revolved around memory mapping and the use of engineering and architectural drawings from the park, enhanced with drawn and painted flora and fauna of Shenandoah Valley. She asked us to capture our own memories and experiences in the park through collage and sketching on trail maps. It was a delight to see visitors of all ages and backgrounds gathered in community drawing inspiration from the land, wildlife, and fauna that surrounded us.
After some great hamburgers at the Big Meadow Wayside and a walk through the exhibits inside the Byrd Visitors Center, we joined artist Asia Anderson to explore watercolor and cut-out collages. She asked us to consider the shapes, textures, and forms we saw throughout Shenandoah. With that in mind we utilized watercolor and layered pieces to create a final painting. I was struck by Asia’s beautiful use of inquiry to help each participant discover their artistic vision. We were surrounded by individuals, families, and couples all engaging in art making that was authentic and reflective of what they saw and felt in the park.
We wanted to experience the work of other Artists-in-Residence, so we made our way to the Massanutten Room at the Big Meadows Lodge. We gained a new appreciation for the park through the eyes of these artists and their selected mediums, each one revealing a new pocket of the park through unique expressions and connections to nature.
We capped the day celebrating the Trust’s work and commitment to Shenandoah National Park at Quièvremont Vineyard & Winery with a beautiful reception and art auction, featuring works by Plein Air Artists and Artists-in-Residence. After a day filled with inspiration, both from the scenery and the art, we were grateful for the conversations and shared joy that surrounded the day.
At ArtsFairfax, we firmly believe that art is a powerful tool to gain new perspectives and better see the world around us. While the artists of Art in the Park certainly transformed the park that day, I was reminded that whether through the lens of a camera, the practice of collage (the very art of creating unity from different elements), or tapping into our memories that art is truly a powerful tool through which we can better see ourselves.
