Camp Wandawega Hosts Artists For Winter Residency And Exhibition

(MENAFN- USA Art News) A recent Winter Camp, the third iteration of a residency program organized by The Jaunt and Joy Machine, brought four California artists to Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, for five days of immersive art creation. This experience exposed the artists to a Midwestern winter with temperatures reaching 4 degrees Fahrenheit, complete with frozen lakes, sledding, and snowballs, marking their first encounter with such conditions.

Artists Wyatt Hersey, Melissa Lakey, Esther Pearl Watson, and Anna Valdez stayed in the lodges, kitchens, and bunk houses of the historic camp. Camp Wandawega, located north of Chicago, has a history spanning over 100 years, initially serving as a speakeasy and brothel during Prohibition before becoming a summer camp operated by the Latvian Catholic church. Today, it functions as a unique retreat with classic sleepaway camp aesthetics.

During their residency, the artists found inspiration in a cozy attic storage room at the camp, known as the Department of Objects. This space, which they affectionately called“The Green Room” or“the warmest space we can reasonably be expected to work,” functions as a lending library filled with vintage magazines, fishing lures, plaid items, old books, patches, and various camp ephemera. This collection, which also includes some pieces now displayed in the gallery, served as a treasure trove for painting and drawing, directly influencing the works created for the exhibition that shares its namesake.

A public opening reception for“The Department of Objects” exhibition is scheduled for October 23 from 6 to 8 p.m., with all four participating artists expected to attend. A collector preview is also available. Among the works created are Anna Valdez's“Assorted Vintage Lures” ( 2026 ), 12 x 10 inches; Melissa Lakey's“Vintage Radios” ( 2026 ), acrylic on wood panel, 11 x 14 inches; and Wyatt Hersey's“View from Wandawega Lodge” ( 2026 ), gouache on birch panel, 20 x 20 inches. Jeroen Smeets of The Jaunt has facilitated similar artist journeys for the past decade.

Source: This Is Colossal

MENAFN20102026005694012507ID1111840785