Your overall theatre experience is expanded with art exhibits in our lobby gallery. Be sure to check out the beautiful work of these visual artists on your next trip to Next Act.
Curator James Toth creates a unique collection of works to complement each Next Act production.
Consequences
The Environmental Art of Peggy Thurston Farrell
September 20 – October 15, 2023
Curated by James Toth
Artists often feel compelled to address current events through their art. Corporate greed, perceived political corruption and environmental degradation have all motivated our featured artist, Peggy Thurston Farrell.
In her FOXCONN Series she explores the environmental consequences of the 2016 deal with the Taiwanese tech company to build a multibillion-dollar manufacturing hub in Kenosha county, resulting in hundreds of acres of farmland and homes being bulldozed and the destruction of natural habitats including filled in wetlands after environmental standards were loosened. And yet, only a fraction of the economic promises made have been fulfilled. Visually engaging and aesthetically pleasing, Peggy’s artwork draws the viewer into layers of media and meaning, bringing awareness to the consequences of unchecked “economic progress” on the health of our collective environment.
Peggy Thurston Farrell is an Emerita Professor of Art at Carroll University where she taught printmaking, design and was gallery director. Her work has been widely collected and exhibited and shown in both solo and group exhibitions across the United States, Japan and regionally, including the Milwaukee Art Museum, the University of Tennessee’s Fine Arts Gallery, Tory Folliard Gallery, the Philadelphia Print Club, the Wisconsin Visual Artists Biennial Exhibition at the Anderson Art Center in Kenosha and the Southern Graphics International Traveling Print Exhibition. Her current works are colorful and thought provoking collages and mixed media silkscreen prints.
For more images and information visit: www.PeggyThurstonFarrell.com
Exhibit Hours
The art exhibit opens Wednesday, September 20, and is open to the public Monday through Friday, noon to 5 pm, and to the start of any performance.
Additional Information
About Splash Hatch on the E Going Down
James Toth is a retired art educator, now in his tenth season as Next Act’s volunteer gallery curator. Since the 2014-15 season, Jim has been curating and installing art exhibits for Next Act’s lobby gallery. Drawing on his connections as an artist and retired art educator, he has brought in a wide variety of artists whose work complements our productions and enriches our patrons’ theatre experiences. Jim is especially pleased when the art and the play seem to have been meant for each other, as with ARTERYink’s organ-oriented designs and the heart transplant theme of Sean Grennan’s THE TIN WOMAN. Before retiring, Jim had a two-career history, first as an Art Teacher and K-12 Art Coordinator for the South Milwaukee School District and then as the Director of Exhibits for the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum. In addition to his volunteer work for Next Act, he serves on the board for the Milwaukee Area Teachers of Art and as President of the south side community choir Cantare Chorale. He is also an artist whose sculpture was featured this past summer at Gallery 224 in Port Washington. Jim and his wife Karen are long-time residents of Bay View.