The Pointer UW-Stevens Point Student Newspaper
A reception for the current exhibition in the Carlsten Art Gallery was held on Thursday, Sept. 7.
The exhibition is called “The Eligible Five” and will be on display in the Noel Fine Arts Center until Sept. 24.
A view of the Edna Carlsten Gallery. Photo courtesy of Dalen Dahl.
“The Eligible Five” exhibition brings together the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College of Fine Arts and Communications and the College of Natural Resources in a celebration of this year’s Federal Duck Stamp Contest put on by the UWSP College of Natural Resources.
The Federal Duck Stamp Contest is an annual competition where U.S. artists submit work to be chosen for the U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service’s Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp.
Mallards, gadwalls, cinnamon teals, blue-winged teals and harlequin ducks are the five species that are to be used in the art contest.
“This exhibition is to introduce the five species that artwork can be created for that contest,” said senior arts management major Meghan Wagner who curated the exhibit.
Wagner worked on the exhibition during her summer internship at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau where most of the pieces are on loan from.
The Eligible Five exhibit runs through September 24. Photo by Dalen Dahl.
“I wanted to have a variety of mediums and artists, so I picked a few artists from Wisconsin, a few international artists, and some of the artists were past federal duck stamp winners,” said Wagner.
Other than the pieces from the museum, there are a few displayed pieces by Todd Wohlt.
Wohlt was a UWSP graduate from 1994 who tragically died in 2016 at age 47. Some of his brilliant, award winning work is on display in “The Eligible Five.”
Wagner is incredibly excited about the exhibition she curated.
“I had no idea that my offer to help Jim O’ Connell in the gallery this summer would lead to me curating the show you are now standing in,” said Wagner.
While the exhibition is used to show off the five birds of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest, it is also important for UWSP.
“I think that it’s important for our college this semester because we’re holding a federal contest. I think that’s really important, and it’s important for students to support other colleges within UWSP for everybody to come learn more about it,” said Wagner.
“I find the mixing of the two colleges really interesting,” said sophomore biology major Annalise Keaton. “You never really see that otherwise.”
Judging for The Federal Duck Stamp Contest will be on Sept. 15 and 16. There are set to be 250 entries from around the country.
The entries will be on display with “The Eligible Five” in the Carlsten Art Gallery.
Corey Collins
Reporter
ccoll517@uwsp.edu
