Arts & the Wisconsin Idea: New Vigor for Local Arts (2003)

The Wisconsin Idea, championed by Gov. "Fighting Bob" La Follette in the early 20th century, was a vision in which civic participation, public education, and the full development of personal talents were blended. And it shaped an extraordinary arts movement in rural Wisconsin.

What meaning does that vision have for local and rural arts today? A forum on Thursday, October 23, from 9:30 to 5 p.m. on the UW­Madison campus explored how the Wisconsin Idea can reinvigorate arts organizations and arts participation. Attendees had a chance to meet "Bob and Belle La Follette" (represented by re-enactors in full dress), received a complimentary copy of Robert E. Gard¹s work, The Arts in the Small Community, attended the groundbreaking of a story circle dedicated to Robert E. Gard on the UW­Madison campus and, most of all, discussed ways to energize community participation in local and rural arts. Sessions included readings of Gard¹s work and panel discussions about the Wisconsin Idea and "arts and the small community" today.

Those who wished to explore issues of interest to rural arts groups attended the Midwest Rural Arts Forum in Spring Green on October 23­25. Partners for the forum included the River Valley Arts Coalition Task Force as the local host, and Wisconsin and other Midwestern organizations and agencies, including the UW­Madison Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts; Wisconsin Assembly for Local Arts; Wisconsin Arts Board; Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters; Robert E. Gard Wisconsin Idea Foundation; Illinois Arts Alliance, and the Michigan Association of Community Arts Agencies.