Last Thursday, Anne and I attended the opening reception for the Ancient Survivors exhibit at the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts. The exhibit celebrates the intersection of art, culture, and science through sturgeon-related artwork, decoys, spears, audio, and other memorabilia. Basically, it’s a dream come true for sturgeon enthusiasts everywhere, especially considering this is all on display in Fond du Lac, a hub for Lake Winnebago sturgeon spearing.
Michael Wartgow, curator at the Thelma, welcoming guests to the Ancient Survivors Opening Reception. Take a peek at those sturgeon decoys hanging from the ceiling! Photo from Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts.
After working on the exhibit with Anne, Michael (the curator at the Thelma), and many other incredible partners, it was amazing to see the final product of our work. The art was beautiful, the artifacts were fascinating, and the company was unmatched. We even ate cake to celebrate the birthday of a master sturgeon decoy carver, Mary Lou Schneider!
Prep work for the exhibit! Anne, Lauren Kearns, and I spent a day creating didactics (a fancy word for descriptions) for each of the artifacts. Photo from Wisconsin Water Library.
The exhibit runs from January 10th to March 2nd and is free to the public! Plus, don’t miss out on the upcoming events that are associated with the exhibit, including art for kids with our wonderful librarian, Anne, and a panel exchange on January 31st. Check out the dates and times for events on the Thelma Facebook page.
In the meantime, see a couple highlights of the exhibit right here. Not pictured: a gigantic 212 pound sturgeon in a huge glass case!
The beautiful gallery space at the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts, full of sturgeon art and artifacts. Photo by David Hart.
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- Sturgeon decoy created by Mary Lou Schneider that is included in the Ancient Survivors exhibit. Photo by David Hart. All artwork copyright of the artists.
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- Sturgeon decoys, spears, and signage. Photo by David Hart. All artwork copyright of the artists.
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- Spear heads and other sturgeon memorabilia. Photo by David Hart. All artwork copyright of the artists.
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- Fine art prints created by various artists and collected by Ryuta Nakajima and Darren Houser with support from University of Minnesota Duluth Fine Art Department. Photo by Anne Moser. All artwork copyright of the artists.
The impact of Lake Sturgeon on the Lake Winnebago area ecosystem, history, and economy is profound. Kathy Kline, Ron Bruch, and Fred Binkowski wrote a book detailing the lives and tales of local sturgeon admirers, artists, and conservationists. While they were doing research for the book, they recorded interviews with the real-life characters of the book. Soon, these audio recordings will be available for all to hear through a project I’m working on right now at the Wisconsin Water Library!
Go check out the exhibit and get excited about more sturgeon news in future blog posts!
Finally, a HUGE thanks goes out to all who helped make this exhibit a reality:
Anne Moser, UW Sea Grant Institute and Wisconsin Water Library
Ryuta Nakajima, University of Minnesota Duluth Fine Art Department
Darren Houser, University of Minnesota Duluth Fine Art Department
Michael Wartgow, Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts
Fred Binkowski, UW Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences
Lauren Kearns, UW Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences
Ron Bruch, Wisconsin DNR
Bill Casper
Mary Lou Schneider
George Schmidt
Corky Afkinson
Jim Patt