WILD RIVER

MNPAiR Artist Residency

It was such an honor to be awarded a yearlong MNPAiR Artist in Residence position at Wild River State Park for 2024-25. As part of this groundbreaking pilot collaboration between Minnesota Parks, the Met Council, and Forecast Public Art, I embedded myself in the park to learn about its history and ecology, as well as the day-to-day challenges and aspirations for staff and stewards. (here’s an MPR story about MNPAiR)

As a composer, designer, and director, I create outdoor, site-specific sound + performance installations that I often call “Sound Gardens”, and Wild River offered a multitude of diverse outdoor spaces in which I found much creative inspiration. (scroll down for videos from past Sound Gardens) My recent interview with the St Croix Valley Magazine.

Over the past year, I collaboratively developed a series of engagements and experiences for park visitors to spark a sense of curiosity, discovery, and belonging, working with Park Naturalist Sean Hoppes and the rest of the Wild River staff. It was such a thrill to spend extended time in these quiet, vast, and varied landscapes, and join the conversations, dances, and concerts that happen here everyday.

During a 2-week onsite residency in February, I started composing and recording new music for this place, setting up my mobile recording studio at the Guest House cabin in the woods, and wrote my first blog post for the residency. I spent the following six months continuing to compose, record, and mix what would become a new 90-minute spatial “symphony”, in 9 movements, the Wild River Sound Garden. This new sound + performance installation premiered along with several other new site-specific performances at the Festival of Belonging, the culminating project for my residency, over 4 weekends in August and September.

Other Residency Highlights

We had a magical time at the Winter Candlelight Celebration at Wild River on Sat Feb 8, where I presented my Winter Sound Garden near the Visitor Center. Click here to see photos and read more about it! On April 5, we held the first ever “Maple Syrup Day” at Wild River, featuring the Sugarbush Sound Garden as part of an actual Sugarbush! Then, at the end of April, we celebrated Earth Day with the annual Earth Fest event and my Earth Day Sound Garden, “While It Lasts”.

Onsite Art + Nature Workshops:
As part of my residency, in the weeks and months preceding the Festival, I designed and led a series of free, outdoor community Art + Nature workshops in the park, offering park visitors and community members an opportunity to participate and contribute to the festival projects. I co-led two free onsite POETRY + NATURE workshops, with acclaimed poet and storyteller Rosetta Peters along the river trail on the banks of Wókižu Wakpá / Jiibayaatigo Zibii (the St Croix River). Pieces written in the workshops were then posted at the spots they were written, as part of a poetry walk in the “Festival of Belonging” for all visitors to experience.

Videos from previous Sound Gardens

Residency Events at Wild River State Park

My Sugarbush Sound Garden has been presented many times, including in far-away places like the UK, Canada, and California, but rarely has it been part of an actual SUGARBUSH! It was a real thrill to share this Sound Garden as part of the Sugarbush and Maple Syrup Day activities at Wild River State Park this year, where visitors got to learn how to identify a Sugar Maple tree, how to tap it for sap, how to cook it down, and got to taste the final result! And huge thanks to Tony Drews, who led Ojibwe language and culture activities with Nashké Games!