The Arts Council: 50 years of preserving and promoting the arts in South Wood County

Beginning as The Community Arts Council of South Wood County, first incorporated on January 27, 1976, the original idea was “to assist and promote the development of all art forms in South Wood County regardless of the medium of expression.” The first artist, presented in February 1976, was the Milwaukee Ballet Company.
The idea for the Arts Council started with Marie McIntosh, the librarian at McMillan Library at the time. She served on the Board of Directors until relocating to Madison in August 1978. The first office of the Arts Council was a small room in the lower level of the library. Originally, the six members of the Board handled everything — finding the talent, traveling to see artist studios, arranging with local businesses for monetary support and even housing some of the artists in their homes.
The shows that are presented today aren’t what first started as the Arts Council — close work was done with the schools, offering Artist in Residence programs in everything from photography and sculpture to opera, mime and dance. Sculptures and murals have been located throughout the area in schools and at the library. Sadly, the only one that can still be found is a stained-glass hanging sculpture currently located above the stairwell at McMillan Library. This sculpture was created in 1981, and is the work of Paul Yank from Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Mr. Yank spent a year in the Wisconsin Rapids area creating metal and stained-glass sculptures, which were presented to area schools and businesses. He also assisted in art classes at the area schools teaching stained glass and metal sculpting.
A sculpture called “Space Station,” and information about it and “Enlighten,” a metal sculpture that had also been given to the library, can be found on their public art page. Many may remember “Enlighten” being located by the old entrance to the library — it was sold at the time of the remodeling and building of the new entrance.
We hope these articles celebrating our 50th season will bring back memories of participating in Artist in Residence programs or attending one of the ballets, Shakespearean plays or one-person presentations that were offered at the library or West Jr. High. Our next article will be memories of a young girl growing up attending the Community Concert presentations with her parents and how that led to her now being involved in the arts as her profession.
In the meantime, check the current Arts Council schedule available on our website, www.savorthearts.com. There is a link for each show so you can see a snippet of each performance. We look forward to seeing you at our presentations this season. Tickets are available online or by contacting the office, 715-424-2787.