SFF announces Americana Project arts showcase

Sister Folk Festival (SFF) will host the Americana Project arts showcase on Sunday, May 21, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the Sisters Art Works venue and in the Cindy and Duncan Campbell Gallery. The venue is located at 204 W. Adams Ave. in Sisters. Drinks and light refreshments will be served.

The event will celebrate the accomplishments of students in visual and performing arts at Sisters Middle School (SMS) and Sisters High School (SHS). The showcase will highlight the Americana Project high school recording artists, the Sisters High School Jazz Band, the students of the Americana Luthier program (guitar building) and the Outlaw Fiddle Club from Sisters Middle School, as well as the advanced placement art students and their work being shown in the Campbell Gallery.

The Americana Project class has provided students with an outlet for creative expression through songwriting and guitar playing since 2000 with the support of SFF and under the direction of SHS teacher Rick Johnson. Recently, five students had the opportunity to record original songs at Oxcilliary Studios in Sisters. The recordings by SHS students Blake Parker, Ava O'Neill, Sam Liddell, Kendall Guiney, and Alli Ilmberger will be offered for download at the event.

The Sisters High School jazz band will be performing on the Sisters Art Works stage and will unveil a special collaboration with the Outlaw Fiddle Club. Kayla Golka has been at the helm of the Sisters Jazz Band since fall of 2022. With direction from fiddler and SMS teacher Melissa Stolasz, the Outlaw Fiddle Club will perform throughout the event to share the music they have been working on.

The Americana luthier program led by Jason Chinchen and Tony Cosby will share the guitars created by students in the Woods II class at SHS. This unique program was founded in 2006 in a partnership between SFF and regional company Breedlove Guitars. In the Woods II class students have the opportunity to build handmade acoustic guitars from start to finish. Many of this year's students are still in the process of completing their instruments but will share their progress and instruments with the public during the showcase.

Inside the Sisters Art Works building, in the Cindy and Duncan Campbell Gallery, the community is invited to see portfolios from nine AP Art & Design students. Students Abby Christopher, Makenzie French, Araiya Grummer, Devan Hepburn, Addie Kroytz, Zoey Lorusso, Adriana Luna, Kaleb Woods, and Sage Wyland will all have work on display. Each student chose an inquiry question as the premise for their projects and pursued a detailed investigative cycle through research, experimentation, creation, revision, reflection, and finally display. This show is a representation of what they studied and discovered. Their work is installed in the Campbell Gallery until June 1.

Attendees are invited to stop in and talk to the artists, bring low-back chairs or blankets for seating, watch the performances, and celebrate SFF programs in partnership with the Sisters School District. This is a free event. All ages are welcome.

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