At the Cultural Centre in Bird Island, the line between gallery-goer and creator disappears.
Transcript
This is Minnesota's Legacy, a look at the organizations and the people who have benefited from Minnesota's Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
Xan Holston: Rosemary Gleesner calls her Bird Island Cultural Center a living gallery.
Rosemary Gleesner: To recognize these skilled artisans as living treasures, because they are.
Xan Holston: But she also recognizes that the real life of art extends beyond just viewing it. With funding from the Minnesota Legacy Amendment, Gleesner brings in groups of adults with developmental disabilities who often don't have access to art. They visit exhibitions.
Rosemary Gleesner: And then they create using the medium.
Xan Holston: Recent activities have included painting bisque pigs in the style of multimedia artist Ana Serrano. And when the center hosted a show of woodworker Fred Cogelow. Participants tried a safer version of carving, no knives or chisels required.
Rosemary Gleesner: They can hold that bar of soap and I'll probably have like a fish etched out so that they can use the spoon and remove the excess soap.
Xan Holston: It's a simple process, but one that connects visitors to the work and to each other.
Rosemary Gleesner: The joy of seeing their hands and their minds working together and them laughing.
Minnesota's Legacy is produced by AMPERS With support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at AMPERS dot ORG.