UW-Madison alumnae Helen Klebesadel and Mary Kay Neumann recently announced their collaboration, “The flowers are burning … oceans a rising: An art and climate justice exhibition,” will be exhibited in Middleton starting April 16.
Both artists are graduates of the School of Education’s Art Department, with Klebesadel receiving her BA in 1985 and MFA in 1989, and Neumann receiving her BS in 1983.
The exhibit features “incandescent” watercolor paintings that bring images of the ocean and express stories that are being lived underwater. This chapter is a part of their ongoing project to ask audiences to engage with contemporary environmental problems.
The artists’ website, www.theflowersareburning.com, provides education, resources, art/science collaborations, activism, and hope for facing increasing threats to the climate. Klebesadel and Neumann aim to focus spectators on personal consequences of climate change and move them to action.
This traveling exhibition comes to the Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton on April 16. The opening reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on the same day.
This exhibition is a part of UW-Madison Nelson Institute’s Earth Day @ 50 – Arts Initiative, which serves to shine a spotlight on the power of artistic expression in connecting people, transforming perspectives, and igniting action during the “Year of the Environment.”