Centennial Art Event Slated for July 14-16

Date: July 5, 2016
Contact: Sue Moynihan, 508-957=0738

Wellfleet, MA —On August 25 the National Park Service turns 100. Along with other national park areas across the country, Cape Cod National Seashore is celebrating the achievements of the past 100 years and is embracing the upcoming century of stewardship of America's lands and stories. One of the lesser-told stories is the role of artists in documenting, promoting, and helping to preserve our nation's special places. This summer Cape Cod National Seashore is partnering with the Addison Art Gallery to celebrate artistic connections of the past and present. On July 14 and 15, 50 registered artists will fan out across the national seashore, painting "en plein air" in landscapes that inspire them. Visitors to the national seashore on these dates are welcome to talk to the artists about their work. At the completion of the painting period, several works will be hung in the Addison Art Gallery in Orleans for a show that opens with a reception from 5-7 PM on Saturday, July 16. The event is free and open to the public.

During the painting event, the national seashore will host two presentations for participating artists and the public to discuss art, artists, and landscapes that inspire them. On Thursday, July 14 at 1 PM at Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham, Cape Cod National Seashore Chief of Interpretation Sue Moynihan will present an illustrated program on the 19^th and early 20^th century artists and photographers whose works contributed to the establishment of early national parks and promoted these previously mythical lands to the American public. On Friday, July 15 at 1 PM at Province Lands Visitor Center in Provincetown, Josephine Breen Del Deo will speak on the Provincetown and Truro dune shacks, diminutive abodes that have long attracted artists, writers, and naturalists longing the escape the hectic hubbub of their day-to-day lives. Del Deo has lived in Provincetown since 1953, and she worked tirelessly to have the Province Lands area included in the national seashore. She will sign copies of her latest book, The Watch at Peaked Hill, about the dune shack community.

The painting event will accommodate 50 artists, and there are a few remaining spaces. Five spaces have been set aside for high school artists. Participating painters will receive complimentary lunch and free admission to the national seashore on the painting days. Interested artists should contact the Addison Art Gallery at [e-mail]. Studio artists wishing to submit work inspired by the seashore are also invited to submit through the Addison Art Gallery. Cape Cod National Seashore is grateful to the Addison Art Gallery for conceptualizing and coordinating the event, and to Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore and Eastern National for financial support.

For more information about other national seashore programs, including a line-up of centennial events, pick up a copy of "Park News" at a visitor center or chamber of commerce, or visit www.nps.gov/caco.