Artists in Residence in RMNP - Summer 2011

(photo of artist Brian Slawson of Kansas)

Each year Rocky Mountain National Park sponsors an Artists in Residence program, seeking artists of all sorts (visual arts, poets, videographers, fine artists, etc.) to come stay in the William Allen White cabin in RMNP for two weeks during the months of June through September. The artists are provided with a serene, comtemplative, and inspiring environment where they can create. They are given the chance to share their creative works with the public at presentations held on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center auditorium from June 8 through September 17.

The NPS shares "Artists have had a long-standing impact on the formation, expansion and direction of our country’s national parks. Musicians, composers, painters, writers, sculptors and other performing artists also draw upon the multifaceted quality of parks for inspiration. All of these artists translate the national park’s purpose, as a place of pleasure and preservation, into images which bring others enjoyment and a deeper understanding of the parks some may never visit. Rocky Mountain National Park’s Artist-In-Residence program provides artists the opportunity to become a part of a long established tradition of artists in our national parks."

For 2011, seven artists were chosen out of eighty-three aplicants. The artists selected along with their art medium are: Andrew Bedo, Photographer from Rosenberg, Texas; Scott Eldridge, Photographer from Vienna, Virginia; Mark McDermott, Visual Artist from Anchorage, Alaska; Brian Slawson, Visual Artist from Topeka, Kansas; Walt Hester, Photographer from Estes Park, Colorado; Emily Harrington, Visual Artist from Missoula, Montana; Roger Wolfe, Video Photographer from Fort Collins, Colorado. In addition to these artists, a special selection was included this year; Leah Kegerreis, an eight-year-old artist from Texas.

If you are interested in having your own RMNP artistic experience, check out this sketching class.

Remember the original travellers' guide to Estes Park for all your vacation planning: Estes-Park.com!