While serving as Artist in Residence at Lake Nokomis Park in 2016-2017, Wavelets Creative Artistic Director JG Everest, in collaboration with several guest teaching artists and staff, developed and presented the Monarch Magic! community workshop series and performance installation event for the annual Minneapolis Monarch Festival / Festival de la Monarcha.
Throughout the summer months of 2016 and 2017, Wavelets Creative offered a series of free community art + nature workshops at the Nokomis Naturescape Garden at Lake Nokomis Park, combining guided nature walks with art-making activities led by teaching artists in Mosaic, Dance, Poetry, Sculpture, Music, and Murals, creating new community sourced art work for the Monarch Magic! sound + performance installation at the Monarch Festival. Each workshop consisted of guided nature walks in the Nokomis Naturescape Gardens led by Naturalist Jenny Winkelman, followed by outdoor, site-specific art making activities that connected community members’ creativity with the amazing ecosystems in the park and our backyards. We learned so much about Monarch Butterflies and their life cycles, migration, and endangered habitat, as well as ways we can all help to protect and support these amazing creatures. And we learned how the natural world can facilitate and inspire our own creativity, no matter what our background, age, or skill levels. And we presented the fruits of our creativity as a gift to our wider community through a large-scale, immersive, and interactive performance installation at the annual Minneapolis Monarch Festival / Festival de la Monarcha at Lake Nokomis Park, that draws several thousands of people every year. You can also visit the Monarch Magic! Facebook Page
Presented with support from the MPRB Park Leadership Fund and MRAC’s Arts Learning grant program,
Monarch Magic! Photo Gallery
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.