This weekend is the beginning of Naked State, an arts residency organized by Arts Unfold. Thirteen artists from Australia, Finland, England, and across Canada and the USA will be creating artworks that explore the nude human body in context of nature, culture and art.
For the duration of the residency, the artists and residency facilitator will live as naturists within the Bare Oaks naturist community to create works that explore questions such as: What is nudity? Does stripping away clothing rid us of class, gender, and personal expression?; Do the connections between our bodies and the land change when nude? Is nudity always sexual? What is the role of the nude in historical and contemporary art?; Is an animal with fur naked? Is it possible to be civil in the nude?; Is there a natural state for human being? Residents will work individually or collaboratively to create artworks that explore these questions through media of their choice, such as photography, video, installation, drawing, painting, performance art, dance, sound art, media art, etc…
From August 5 to 15, the Outback and a tent will be dedicated to the artists. We apologize for anyone who is inconvenienced by the restriction. However, this is a great opportunity for Bare Oaks and for naturism. Art is a great way to get people to see things differently and these artists will undoubtedly find interesting ways to communicate the values of naturism.
There will be an opportunity to see their work at the end and a few times when you can sign up to interact with some of the artists. See the schedule for details: http://nakedstate.ca/schedule-2016/
Some artists are specifically planning on working with the Bare Oaks community in the creation of their artwork. You can read about each artist and their plan on the Naked State website: http://nakedstate.ca/artists-2016/
If you have any questions about the residency, please do not hesitate to contact the office or speak with Teresa, the onsite residency facilitator, in Cozy Cabin #8.
The residency is exclusively for the artists who were selected from the many who applied. But we have designated this week as Bare Oaks Art Week. We hope that members and visitors will be inspired to explore their own personal artistic facets.
