By Jillian Dawson

Over the past few years, the Fox Cities has made its mark as a hot spot for local musicians. That being said, it’s hard to ignore the Valley is bursting at the seams with creativity outside the musical realm. With a newfound appreciation of the arts scene, events celebrating the efforts of painters, photographers, poets, dancers and everything in between have become a must-see experience within our community.

Incase you missed the buzz, Take Me to the River at the Grand Kakalin in Kaukauna was a huge success last November. Curated by Jean Detjen of Artful Living, the pop-up exhibit showcased an array of artists in a variety of mediums, yoga and guided meditation and interactive photography. Detjen’s latest pop-up gallery, Let It Flow, will be featured at Rock Garden Studio January 13th through 20th. Detjen shared a few words about her history with Marc Golde and Rock Garden.

“I met Marc back in 2013. We’ve developed a friendship over the years based on our mutual love for the arts and all the Fox Cities has to offer.

Marc’s a remarkable community gem who will someday be revered as an Appleton legend in the history books. More people need to know about all the cool stuff he is doing and see where the magic happens right here in Appleton!

I’m a huge fan of original music and some of my most memorable live shows have been experienced in the Rock Garden Studio womb during one of Marc’s legendary taped sessions. The shows there are incredibly intimate and up-close, which I love. His productions are truly a thing of beauty. Visual art is best appreciated in this way, too. It’s about making an emotional connection with viewers.

In addition to being a world-class music studio, Rock Garden is a gorgeous venue in a stunning historic building with a ton of character. Marc tells diverse community stories in this incredible space through his genre-breaking production work. In many senses he is a creative storyteller. We’re both excited about this new collaboration with “Let it Flow” which will allow guests to interact with and explore all variety of artistic expression.”

The lineup consists of 30 contributing artists ranging from visual art to Tai Chi. Attendees can experience the exhibit during open hours or during ‘The Listening Room” where silence is key to observe the art, work on your own creative endeavors or even take a nap (yes, really!). Interactive art via ‘Living Canvas,’ ‘Editable Art’ and a poetry/spoken word open mic are also key elements to this display.

Check out the schedule of happening below!

‘Let It Flow’ event expands by the day - check out their event page on Facebook for up to date/last minute additions. We will be blogging about our experiences at this incredible event throughout the week!

'LET IT FLOW' ART EXHIBIT SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY, January 13th: 6-10pm

OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATION

Featuring live improvisational music by Floozy, craft beer, refreshments and more!

SATURDAY, January 14th: Open Noon-5pm, 2:30-4pm

Listening Room with Jennifer Levenhagen

SUNDAY, January 15th: Open Noon-5pm

MONDAY, January 16th: Open Noon-8pm

6-8pm: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Quiet Reflection

TUESDAY, January 17th: Open Noon-8pm

6-7:30pm: Listening Room with Jennifer Levenhagen

WEDNESDAY, January 18th: Open Noon-8pm

6-8pm: Violin, Guitar & Song with Adria Ramos

THURSDAY, January 19th: Open Noon-8pm

5-6pm: Tai Chi Performance by Janel Rouge

6-8pm: Poetry & Spoken Word Open Mic

FRIDAY, January 20th: Open Noon-9pm

CLOSING CELEBRATION 6-9pm

7-9pm: live music by Miss Molly

All events are free and open to the public – donations appreciated.