Relevance of Place

Relevance of Place is an online series of site-specific dialogues that explore the meaning of place at Tippet Rise Art Center.

A group of artists sit at a table in a semi-circle.

Left to Right; Lindsey Hinmon, Ben Pease, Shannon Jackson, Jeffrey Gibson, and Heather Hart. Photo by Nathan Norby.

Guided by Shannon Jackson, Chair of the History of Art Department at UC-Berkeley and a scholar of socially-engaged art, this platform invites artists, architects, designers, and creative thinkers to engage in conversation about the ethics, aesthetics, and relevance of place. These conversations explore “place” as a global, local, and personal concept as well as “place” as it refers specifically to Tippet Rise, a site that brings together “art, music, land, sky, and poetry” creating an “algorithm that is greater than the sum of its parts.” In individual interviews and group dialogues, each guest offers stories and insights from their own practice. Together, they reflect on the historic past and sustainable future of Tippet Rise—as an environmental site, as a wide-ranging art center, and as a creative gathering space.

Artist Heather Hart in side profile wearing black-rimmed glasses and a dark jacket.

Relevance of Place: Heather Hart

Interdisciplinary artist Heather Hart speaks about the artistic and social goals of her public art practice as well as their relevance for the history and future of Tippet Rise Art Center.

A portrait of artist Ben Pease looking to the side.

Relevance of Place: Ben Pease

Painter and public artist, Ben Pease, speaks about Native resilience and resistance in his artistic practice, as well as the importance of indigenous worldviews – in Montana and beyond.

Artist Ron Rael looks upward while wearing a ball cap.

Relevance of Place: Ronald Rael

Designer, artist, and architect Ronald Rael speaks about how an indigenous understanding of land and materials inspires his contemporary innovations in art, design, and new technology, and shares his response to Tippet Rise.

Landscape architect Walter Hood stands in front of the Xylem Pavilion with his hands crossed.

Relevance of Place: Walter Hood

Artist and designer Walter Hood discusses how his unique process reimagines the ethical and artistic possibilities of a landscape, and how he responds to sculpture within the landscape of Tippet Rise.

Architect Laura Viklund stands in front of a massive wooden sculpture called Satellite #5: Pioneer, by Stephen Talasnik

Relevance of Place: Laura Viklund

Architect Laura Viklund talks about the community principles of timber-framing and how they have informed her architectural designs as well as her role as an interpreter between artists and the Tippet Rise site.