On Saturday October 26th Arts Council of White Lake – Nuveen (ACWL-Nuveen) hosted an Urban Sketcher Day to bring Urban Sketcher (USk) artists and community members together to celebrate our current exhibition – Wish You Were Here – Urban Sketchers Global Exhibit. The successful show, sponsored by Eastbrook Homes, has been on display since September 13 and will be wrapping up this weekend.
As one last hurrah, ACWL-Nuveen invited Chicago architect and Chicago USk administrator – Brian Wright to give a talk on practical perspective drawing for “on location” sketching. The free event drew a crowd of 40+ people who were enlightened by Brian’s clear and insightful teaching style. This event was attended by people from all over West Michigan and as far away as Elkhart, Indiana and Racine Wisconsin.
After Brian’s talk the artists gathered by the World’s Largest Weathervane in Montague for a sketch walk. Montague resident, USk International Executive Board member, and USk West Michigan member, Mary Jo Ernst led the group – guiding the sketchers toward unique spots in downtown Montague.
Racine, Wisconsin resident Kathi Wilson, who has a postcard in the exhibit, had this to say about the Urban Sketching experience, “ It is an amazing collective of adventurous and creative people who meet in various locations around the world to sketch together […] It is very supportive and there is zero judgement – it is pure joy.” Kathi started the Racine’s USk chapter and has hosted the successful USk Sketch Racine in 2023 and 2024. Several USk West Michigan members have traveled to Racine to participate.
Another artist who made the trip up to Whitehall last Saturday was Beth Kane from Elkhart, Indiana. Because of where Beth is located, she participates in 5-6 different USk chapters – Chicago and the West Michigan chapters being at the top of her list. Beth acknowledged how she was particularly taken with the display of USk Ukrainian artists in the exhibit. Her connection is personal given her Ukrainian friends who helped her understand the culture and speak the language. Many visitors to the show have been moved by the Ukrainians’ display and video presentations. For the Ukrainian artists, sketching brings a feeling of normalcy to their lives that are lived in a country threatened by the atrocities of war on a daily basis.
If you haven’t had a chance to visit the show, Wish You Were Here – Urban Sketchers Global Exhibit is on display until this Saturday November 2. All of the postcards are for sale for $30 with proceeds going to the artists and a small portion to the ACWL-Nuveen and USk International. If you can’t make it in to see the show in-person, you can visit ACWL-Nuveen’s online store to see all the postcards, many of which are still available for sale.
ACWL-Nuveen is located at 106 E. Colby Street in downtown Whitehall. We are open Tuesday – Friday 11:00am – 5:30pm and Saturday 11:00am – 3:00pm. If you have any questions, they can be reached at 231-893-2524 – or [email protected]
