Public invited to view Creative Makers of the PA Wilds Exhibit at state Capitol Building

Closing reception will be held Wednesday, March 27; RSVP requested

The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc. and Wilds Cooperative of Pennsylvania are proud to announce that the Creative Makers of the Pennsylvania Wilds – A Traveling Public Art Show will be featured in the Capitol Building East Wing Gallery from March 8-28, 2019.

A closing reception for the exhibit will be held on Wednesday, March 27, from 1 to 4 p.m. The public is welcome to attend; however, registration is requested.

Details about the Creative Makers of the PA Wilds Exhibit and registration for the closing reception can be found at www.wildscopa.org/creative-makers.

The Creative Makers of the PA Wilds Exhibit celebrates the artisans and producers of rural Pennsylvania by bringing processes that are often completed behind the scenes, in the rolling hills of the Pennsylvania Wilds, to public spaces.

“The Pennsylvania Wilds region covers about 25 percent of the Commonwealth, but only about 4 percent of the population calls it home. A while back, it became a mission of the PA Wilds Center and the WCO to help share the stories of the artisans and makers, as well as how they create their products,” said Abbi Peters, PA Wilds Center managing director. “This is what led to the Creative Makers of the PA Wilds – A Traveling Public Art Show.”

Artisans featured in the exhibit are juried artisan members of the Wilds Cooperative of PA (WCO), a value chain network managed by the PA Wilds Center.

The exhibit features nearly 200 images of 49 artisans, including painters, photographers, jewelry and fiber artisans, as well as woodworkers and glass artisans, from each of the 13 counties encompassed in the Pennsylvania Wilds region, including: Warren, Forest, Elk, Potter, McKean, Tioga, Clinton, Lycoming, Clearfield, Jefferson, Cameron, Clarion and Northern Centre.

The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) has supported this project for the past two years, helping the PA Wilds Center contract with four photographers from the region to document creative makers. So far, the show has been exhibited in five public spaces across the PA Wilds. The Capitol exhibit will be the first time it has been shown outside of the region.