Who is the River?
Exhibition
919 Main Street Gallery | June 5 – 28
About: “Who Is the River?”, is a traveling multi-media art exhibit about the Mississippi River. Six artists from the Dubuque/Galena area, the “Driftless River Voices”, collaborated to produce paintings, fiber art, video and digital art inspired by the theme. Starting with Dubuque Rendezvous! in June, then Savanna in July, Galena in August and Moline in September and October, we are showing our work in Illinois and Iowa. As part of our project, we are presenting a short video about the Mississippi River in pool 13 along with information handouts, and we are holding a free “fish making” workshop that allows participants to add their own creation to the exhibit. We share our love and concern for the Upper Mississippi River by bringing our art to public spaces along the
river. We want people to consider the river an important part of their life and we help them become informed on actions that affect the river’s health, from personal to political. Our goal is to change the viewer’s perspective from seeing the river as a resource to seeing it as an entity in its own right.
Website: https://www.instagram.com/driftlessrivervoices/
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Stina Hensley | Dubuque, IA | Contributing Artist
Stina Joy Henslee is a mixed media artist and graphic designer, who relocated to Dubuque, Iowa in 2020 from her hometown of Chicago. At the age of two,
she decided she wanted to be an artist and spent her formative years obsessively drawing the Pegasus and other equine forms. In 1999 she spent a year in Helsinki attending a fine arts high school and then continued her arts education at Washington University in St. Louis where she studied Printmaking, German and Art History. Post graduation she lived in Berlin, where she found out she is not cool. Since then, she has worked as a graphic designer, primarily in book and catalog design. Last year she had a solo exhibition at the Dubuque Museum of Art centered upon the concept of tension. Locally she has exhibited work at Clarke University Quigley Gallery and created murals for 7Hills Brewery and Voices Art Gallery. She has also shown at several Chicago galleries including; Heaven Gallery, Ugly Step Sister, Ampersand, Gallery Studio Oh!, Motherland, and Drive Thru Gallery. A few months ago she opened Inner States Art Lab, an interactive art space which hosts regular open studios. Her time is currently split appeasing an extremely emotional parrot, attempting to make a living in the arts, and taking advantage of the beautiful nature in the Driftless area.
Megan Carbonelli | Dubuque, IA | Contributing Artist
I’m a self-taught artist who draws inspiration from personal trauma, pop culture, and
the bond with animals. I’m an artist based out of the American Midwest. I began
a painting as a form of escapism and coping strategy. What started as a way to process emotions and my trauma during therapy, gradually evolved into a full artistic discovery. I moved to Iowa in 2019 and have found nature and connection with wildlife to be very important in my life and artistic endeavors. At the encouragement of my therapist, I began sketching my feelings during our sessions. Those sketches grew into paintings, and over time, I started studying art online to refine my technique and deepen my self-expression. Living with major depressive disorder and PTSD, art has become a powerful tool for healing and coping. With my work, I want to make people feel happy and have a sense of belonging.
Kelsey Benton | Dubuque, IA | Contributing Artist
Kelsey Benton is an artist based in Dubuque, IA. Known for working with a
variety of mediums, Kelsey has primarily focused on acrylic painting over the
past two years. Her work draws inspiration from the natural world, particularly native flora, fauna, and the expansive landscapes of the Midwest. While much of her early work was inspired by fantasy and fiction, Kelsey’s more recent pieces delve into the real and tangible. Yet, she still strives to evoke a sense of magic in the everyday, exploring the connection between humans and the natural world. Her paintings seek to evoke emotion and wonder, highlighting the beauty of nature and its deeper, often overlooked, magic. Kelsey’s work has been featured in local exhibitions, including those at The Dubuque Area Arts Collective, and Dubuque Museum of Art in Dubuque, IA. Through her art, she hopes to invite others to find enchantment in the world around us and explore the complex, emotional bond
humans share with nature.
Hendrica Regez | Galena, IL | Contributing Artist, Organizer
Hendrica Regez is a multi-media artist, environmental activist and naturalist practicing in Galena, IL. She connects people with nature and explores their
relationships using paint, fiber and found objects. She represents her subjects with
bold color and form to convey messages of community, equality, social justice and
sustainability. Fascinated by the similarities between hard-edge abstract paintings
and the straight forward nature of quilt block designs, Regez incorporates quilting
techniques and designs in her work to honor the history and the creators of this art
form. Her work has been exhibited at local and regional shows and art fairs and is in private collections throughout the Midwest.
K Kriesel | Elizabeth, IL | Workshop Leader
K Kriesel is originally from Chicago and currently resides in Jo Daviess county,
IL. They studied art therapy at Alverno College in Milwaukee, WI, and interned
at both the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center and The Alliance School, an alternative
high school for LGBTQIA+ teens. K is a textile artist combining Catholic
symbolism and nature themes, creating intricate pieces to meditate upon for
healing from spiritual trauma. An Associate of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, K has advised and facilitated workshops for church groups to work effectively towards inclusivity since 2016. They pursued a Masters of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University New Orleans and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Now, K is weaving together artwork and genuine inclusivity in Catholic rooted spaces.
Ronald Tigges | Dubuque, IA | Video and Photography
Digital Dubuque’s home base is on the rolling hills of Iowa near the Mississippi river in the heart of the midwest silicon prairie. We have been delivering award winning Photo, Video and Web services for over 25 years.