Boneyard Arts Festival Showcases Champaign County Artists

Hundreds of artists are showcasing their work in this week’s annual Boneyard Arts Festival.  The annual festival is presented by 40 North, the Champaign County Arts Council.

The festival starts Thursday with several events on the University of Illinois Urbana campus, including a concert by Japanese percussionist Kenny Endo Thursday at 7pm at the Spurlock Museum.

40 North President Kelly White says one of her favorite aspects of the Boneyard Arts Festival is that it brings together artists throughout Champaign County and beyond for one event.

"Anybody can do it, so you have emerging artists that have maybe have only finished one or two paintings for the first time," White said, "all the way up to very established artists in town that have been doing it for decades and show across the country. But they also want to be part of this event, so it really celebrates all aspects of the arts in this community.

This year's Signature Artist for the festival is Charles Wisseman, a retired pathologist.  White says Wisseman's work "Bones and Things" was a perfect choice for this year's Boneyard Signature Image.

"It's all these cross sections of antlers, and bones, and wood," White said, "and he has become an artist since retiring as a doctor, and he said it's a lot like as a pathologist looking through a microscope at all these cross sections, so he's kind of using his past as a pathologist in his art now."

The signature image is chosen from hundreds of submissions by the festival committee, and used by 40 North in all of its marketing materials for this year's festival.

Venues for the Boneyard Arts Festival range from Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, to art galleries, to area businesses.  For a complete listing of artists and venues taking part in this year's festival, go to boneyardartsfestival.org.