Community responsibility

By Hope Wallace

What character traits does it take to rebuild a vital community? Vision, hope, enthusiasm, imagination but most importantly a smidgeon of courage. It requires all of us to be willing to think and to ask “what if”. What if we changed this? What if we tried this? For example, what if we turned an existing structurally sound, ADA accessible building into something the community can use to grow its culture, identity and ultimately its ability to serve its own residents by giving back directly to them? What is one of the first things a prospective corporation asks when locating in a certain area? What types of cultural and arts resources and centers do you have? How strong is your arts community? Are there facilities and organizations that foster theater, music, visual arts and architecture? Are the arts easily accessible and open for all members of the city, not just the perceived elite? The arts are the heartbeat of a community. When they are not permitted to grow and foster everyone, the community languishes.

What about service clubs? Do they equally support and back all of the arts programs in the community both fiscally and physically? What about scout troops and youth organizations? Is commitment to community being effectively fostered there and sometimes the greater good needs to prevail? What about the area schools? Are they cheering on their visual art students by grabbing every chance they can to promote and compete in local, state and the national competition available? Here’s a myth-buster. “It’s hard to get a job in the arts”. Bunk. It is difficult to get a job, period. In today’s speed-of-light technology changes and our visually saturated world, art and design jobs abound. There are almost unlimited areas in visual arts students can make a living once they graduate college. Graphic design, web design, illustration, phone application design, video games, surface design, giftware design, toy design, animation, stage set design, architecture, 3D rendering, marketing/communications, packaging design, art therapy, art education, painters, sculptors, interior design, landscape design, photography, book design, this list truly could go on forever pretty much matching the shapes, patterns and colors that make up our world.

As a tribute to Van Wert come and celebrate the American Garden and the Peonies that helped launch this community by attending our public exhibit opening on August 11.- We’ll be hosting wife and husband team Mille Guldbeck and Jens Svendsen who were struck by the importance of this flower and gardens to Van Wert. Mille is a professor of painting at Bowling Green State University and Jens holds an MFA in Fine Art and an RN in psychiatric nursing. Jens has also taught art at BGSU and currently works with adults with autism. Mille completed her education in painting at the Jutland Fine Arts Academy in Denmark and received her MFA from the University of Iowa. Prior to that time she had lived and worked in Europe, completing degrees in Anthropology, Painting and Printmaking. Art galleries worldwide represent Mille’s work. Jens’ drawings tend to be focused around portraiture and animals, are often rendered on corrugated cardboard or brown paper grocery bags. He specializes in drawing and has a background in 3-D and printmaking. His work resides in private collections in the U.S. and Denmark. This exhibit runs through September 5 and is brought to you by 1^st Federal Savings & Loan. We wish to thank them and all of our gracious sponsors. As always admission to our exhibits is free.

The Wassenberg Art Center’s hours during exhibits are: Tuesday through Sunday 1–5 p.m. and you may contact the art center at 419.238.6837, by email: info@wassenbergartcenter. org or via our website at:wassenbergartcenter.org. The Wassenberg Art Center is located at 643 South Washington Street in Van Wert.