The Big Idea

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James Prosek Sockeye Idaho
Big Idea
The Big Idea

Dams: Reservoirs, Reclamation, Renewal

August 26 - December 30, 2022

Coinciding with renewed dialogue about the possibility of breaching dams throughout the Columbia River Basin, this BIG IDEA project offers a conversation about the impact of dams on Idaho and the American West. For more than a century, dams have shaped Idaho’s landscapes, ecosystems and economies. At this historic moment, the project considers the history of damming in the Pacific Northwest, the effects of dams on the region, and a reimagined future for rivers and the life dependent on them in the American West.

SVMoA has commissioned artists Carolina Caycedo, Eirik Johnson, James Prosek and Rachel Teannalach to create new work for the exhibition, including immersive installations.

This project was made possible through generous support from
The Robert Lehman Foundation, Jane P. Watkins,
and Jeri L. Wolfson and Wolfson Family Foundations.
Sun Valley Museum of Art acknowledges the Shoshone and Bannock peoples and their homelands here in the Wood River Valley, as well as their use of these lands in the past, present and future.


MUSEUM EXHIBITION

SVMoA has commissioned four artists to consider local and regional dams through new bodies of work.

Since 2013, Carolina Caycedo has pursued Be Dammed, an exploration in multiple media of the impact of dams on Indigenous and traditional peoples in the Americas. In July 2021, Caycedo traveled through Idaho visiting dams and speaking with members of the Shoshone-Bannock and Nez Perce Tribes. She researched their traditional fishing practices and interviewed biologists and others, all in preparation for the creation of an installation featuring a new film, Reciprocal Sacrifice, and sculpture, Salute of the Fish.

Photographer Eirik Johnson has often explored the places where human activity and wilderness intersect, including the Elwha River where the Glines Canyon Dam and Elwha Dam have both been removed. The exhibition includes a photograph of the Elwha Dam and a diptych Johnson made at the site of the Glines Canyon Dam before and after removal. For this exhibition, Johnson has made a commissioned series of photographs “along the banks of the roiling wild Elwha,” exploring the transformation the river and landscape have undergone in the eight years since dam removal.

Artist, writer and naturalist James Prosek is interested in intersections and interdependence within ecosystems. He often investigates the effects of boundaries both real (dams) and imaginary (map lines) on wildlife migration and relationships between species. Following a site visit last summer, Prosek has made a large-scale mural, watercolor paintings and sculptures that will help visitors better understand the effects of dams on Idaho’s salmon and other fauna and flora.

In collaboration with Advocates for the West, painter Rachel Teannalach recently pursued a painted study of the Salmon, Snake and Columbia Rivers, from the headwaters of the Salmon to the mouth of the Columbia. For this exhibition, she has made four paintings of the dams along the lower Snake that were recently proposed for breaching, juxtaposing their monumentality with the waterways they intersect.

Associated Exhibition Events

Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events
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RTeannalach-Monumental 1 Ice Harbor

EXHIBITION OPENING CELEBRATION: Dams

Reservoirs, Reclamation, Renewal

5:00 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Adult Classes
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CRAFT SERIES WORKSHOP: Fanciful Felted Fish with Betty Hayzlett

CRAFT SERIES WORKSHOP: Fanciful Felted Fish

with Betty Hayzlett

9:30 AM

Hailey Classroom
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Teens
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TEEN WORKSHOP: Fishy Felting Fun with Betty Hayzlett

TEEN WORKSHOP: Fishy Felting Fun

with Betty Hayzlett (for students in grades 6–12)

10:00 AM

Hailey Classroom
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Lectures & Talks
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JamesProsek_Idaho_ScarletGilia

ARTIST TALK: Artist James Prosek

in Conversation with Jock Reynolds

6:00 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Lectures & Talks
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Author David James Duncan lecture on Dams with Sun Valley Museum of Art

FEATURED SPEAKER: Author David James Duncan

on Dams

6:00 PM

Forest Service Park
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events
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Carolina Caycedo

GALLERY WALK: Dams

Reservoirs, Reclamation, Renewal

5:00 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events, Lectures & Talks
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Rachel Teannalach-Monumental 3 Little Goose

EVENING EXHIBITION TOUR: Dams

Reservoirs, Reclamation, Renewal

4:30 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Lectures & Talks
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LECTURE: The Atlas of Drowned Towns with Bob Reinhardt

LECTURE: The Atlas of Drowned Towns

with Bob Reinhardt

5:30 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Adult Classes
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ADULT CLASS: Geology Outing—Field Trip to the Headwaters of the Salmon River and the Sunbeam Dam with Paul Link

GEOLOGY OUTING: Field Trip to the Headwaters of the Salmon River and the Sunbeam Dam

with Paul Link

9:00 AM

Sun Peak Picnic Area
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Lectures & Talks
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Carolina Caycedo Reciprocal Sacrifice Still

PANEL DISCUSSION: The Future of Rivers and Dams

in Idaho and Beyond

6:00 PM

Sun Valley Community School Auditorium
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Lectures & Talks
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Carolina Caycedo, Salute of the Fish

ARTIST TALK: Carolina Caycedo

“Be Dammed”

5:30 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Youth & Families
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FAMILY PROGRAM: Afternoon Art

FAMILY PROGRAM: Afternoon Art (Session 1)

(for families with kids ages 5–12)

2:30 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Youth & Families
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Family Program Afternoon Art at SVMoA

FAMILY PROGRAM: Afternoon Art (Session 2)

(for families with kids ages 5–12)

3:30 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Film
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FILM: River of Return with Filmakers Jessica and Sammy Matsaw

FILM: River of Return

with Filmmaker Sammy Matsaw

6:00 PM

The Community Library
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Youth & Families
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FAMILY PROGRAM: Afternoon Art

FAMILY PROGRAM: Afternoon Art (Session 1)

(for families with kids ages 5–12)

2:30 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Youth & Families
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Family Program Afternoon Art at SVMoA

FAMILY PROGRAM: Afternoon Art (Session 2)

(for families with kids ages 5–12)

3:30 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Film
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FILM: Damnation

FILM: DamNation (First Screening)

4:30 PM

Magic Lantern Cinemas
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events, Lectures & Talks
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Eirik Johnson Glines River diptych

EVENING EXHIBITION TOUR: Dams (ONE SESSION ONLY)

Reservoirs, Reclamation, Renewal

4:30 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
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Artist & Educator Open House at Sun Valley Museum of Art

FREE COMMUNITY EVENT: Artist & Educator Open House

5:30 PM

The Museum
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Film
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FILM: Damnation

FILM: DamNation (Second Screening)

7:00 PM

Magic Lantern Cinemas
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Youth & Families
Image
FAMILY PROGRAM: Afternoon Art

FAMILY PROGRAM: Afternoon Art (Session 1)

(for families with kids ages 5–12)

2:30 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Youth & Families
Image
Family Program Afternoon Art at SVMoA

FAMILY PROGRAM: Afternoon Art (Session 2)

(for families with kids ages 5–12)

3:30 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
SVMoA Contemporaries
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Rachel Teannalach, Monumental 2 (Lower Monumental), 2022

SPECIAL EVENT: Museum Afterhours

5:00 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Adult Classes
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Photography Intensive: Building a Portfolio Narrative, with renowned Photographic Artist Eirik Johnson

PHOTOGRAPHY INTENSIVE: Building a Portfolio Narrative

with renowned Photographic Artist Eirik Johnson

12:30 PM

The Hailey Classroom
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Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events, Lectures & Talks
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Eirik Johnson, Elwha 202

(SESSION 1) EVENING EXHIBITION TOUR: Dams

Reservoirs, Reclamation, Renewal

4:30 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events, Lectures & Talks
Image
Eirik Johnson Elwha 2022 Sequence A-6

(SESSION 2) EVENING EXHIBITION TOUR: Dams

Reservoirs, Reclamation, Renewal

5:30 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.
Big Idea
The Big Idea
Exhibition Tours & Events
Image
Rachel Teannalach, Monumental 1 Ice Harbor

GALLERY WALK: Dams

Reservoirs, Reclamation, Renewal

5:00 PM

The Museum
This event has already passed.