Artists emerge. They reinvent. They adapt and transform. The artist’s journey is one of becoming. This journey involves acute observation, experimentation, and self-discovery, also a willingness and deep fortitude to change directions, even start over. Transitions are common, disruption expected. Life as an artist is a spiritual quest of intimate exploration; it is a path generating language that resonates with others. The artist reveals a conventional narrative that is often far greater than self. Threads of experience and ideation weave together as artists mature, resulting in a testament - witness to change and individual capacity to persevere and calibrate new direction throughout one’s career. It was this testament that inspired this show and its theme Emerging Horizons.
As festival artists, time on the road is an essential requirement. Artists are upfront and familiar with the plane of creative potential that exists when driving; the horizon of possibility is always in front of us, an invitation to drop into the minds-eye and harness the never-ending stimulus of the imagination. Problems are solved, ideas awakened, and careers fostered on the road. Quite literally, the pursuit of the horizon is endless, but as a metaphor - a refreshing reflection of life’s travels and the artist’s consummate journey towards an unobtainable boundary. Within this pursuit, we discover ourselves.
This year’s theme honors the unfolding paths that nine artists have taken, pivots made personally and professionally, and the work that depicts these decisions. Core values remain intact within their ethos, providing continuity, as the work is redefined over time. Embracing a creative life, we realize that destination matters less and less, especially as we iterate, because the artist’s mind finds solace within the search.