MonDak Heritage Center Announces "Communities West IV"

The MonDak Heritage Center announces Communities West IV – A Biennial Western Printmakers Portfolio Exchange. Communities West IV is the 5th iteration of a biennial exchange co-curated by Andrew Rice and Sukha Worob. The folio was created with the intention of building community among printmakers living in, or with unyielding ties to western United States. "As members of the western printmaking community, we have a vested interest in reinforcing the printmaking community in the west. The folio, through organically built additions to the group, provides a lens into the state of printmaking in the west. "

For this 5th iteration of the project, participants from the first four folios were asked to participate again. "The original list has also been added to through suggestions from members and from seeking out connection where we find ourselves around other printmakers. The work represented in the folio is rich and varied in technique and concept. The artists in the folio are as diverse as the work. The community is made up of veteran and emerging printers, academics and working artists." The subset of prints juried for display is presented under sponsorship from the Montana Art Gallery Directors Association (MAGDA). The exhibition will be displayed through Aug. 27, at the MonDak Heritage Center, 120 3rd Ave SE, Sidney.

"While jurying this show, I thought about what the west meant to me. What it looked like and what notions it conjured. I was struck by how it's remarkably both a place and a mindset. While its evolution seems increasingly rapid, so much of it remains reassuringly the same. The west is fascinating because it is complex. Taking a blind approach to jurying, with no artist information to guide me, I looked for pieces that resonated with these themes of complexity. Ones that, like the west, expand our definitions, create new vantage points, and challenge us to seek greater understanding." - Jen Garcia – Juror of the travelling exhibition

The MonDak Heritage Center is funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana's cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund.

The MonDak Heritage Center is open Tues.-Fri. from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturday from 1-4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information call 406-433-3500 or e-mail [email protected]. Visit us online at http://www.mondakheritagecenter.org.