Writing Credit: Teddi Dolph, JSDD Board Member, November 2021
Every time I walk into the new JSDD/WAE Center building I am awe struck. I can’t believe this gorgeous new space is where the staff and clients of JSDD and the WAE Center will now be able to go each day. The space is filled with light, hope and inspiration; everyone coming through the doors feels it.
It is with these feelings that I started the task of hanging the artwork of the Wae artists throughout the building. The artists of the Wae Center have been doing amazing work for years. Finally, they have a place where their work can shine and get the recognition it deserves. There is now a professional gallery that any artist would be proud to have their work hang in. There are also miles of sunlit hallways and offices to display the clients’ work. It was both a challenge and an honor to give artwork that had been piled in closets for years the chance to be seen.
The project started with figuring out how to hang a display that archives the rich achievements of the WAE Center and its artists over the years. From Louis’s fun-loving cowboys and Angel’s mastery of geometric digital constructs to Kristen’s colorful women, who always make a statement, Eva’s dadist fantasies and Stephen’s use of layering and thick impasto. The challenge was real, but with every completed hallway my heart swelled a bit more. All I could think about was the day when these artists would be allowed to finally come into this awesome new building and see their work hanging everywhere.
Seeing which artworks each staff member chose to hang in their office was a great starting point. It gave me a glimpse into each of their personalities and then it was easy to pick other pieces that would complement their taste and make their office feel like home.
Every artist is now represented in their best light, and I truly hope that each artist feels the same swell of pride that I do when I walk into the building. I am looking forward to the new work that will be created in this amazing space. I can’t wait for the artworks that are now hung to move to new homes so that all these new creations can then be hung and have their turn in the light. Thank you to all that let me take over the giant puzzle of hanging this wonderful space. It was a project based in the love of beautiful art made by artists that amaze me every time I see what they have created.
Your picks of artwork displayed in our new gallery reflects the open and welcoming feel of our new space. Well done and thank you.
Ginny:
Thank You for your never-ending support and positivity about the work we do and the people with whom we do it.
It has been a real honor to work with you all these years.
Monica