Community Through Art

The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum has been a staple in Wausau since 1976. A charming museum nestled in the heart of Wausau, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum offers visitors a chance to connect with nature and art simultaneously. The museum is internationally known for its yearly Birds in Art exhibition that captures the imagination and invites exploration.

Along with the bird exhibition that museum goers can expect each fall, the museum also offers ever-changing exhibitions year-round. The newest exhibition, called Double Exposure: Community Portraits, features Hmong-American artist Pao Houa Her.

Her grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, after moving away from Laos in the mid-80s. Before going to art school, she “worked a gamut of jobs” from data entry to assembly work.

Then she went on to get an undergraduate degree at the Minneapolis College of Arts and Design and then to graduate school at Yale University to get her Master of Fine Arts degree. Since graduating from school, she has landed a tenured teaching track at the University of Michigan.

Before finding her passion in photography, she said that she originally had dreams of becoming a writer.

“This was specifically so that I could record my dad’s stories that he was telling me and my sister,” she said. “Then photography came into the picture when I realized that I wasn’t a really good writer, and that I could never be a really good writer.”

“There was this sort of correlation between making and writing that I think exists in the world,” said Her.

One of the catalysts for Her in becoming a photographer was seeing the work of Wing Young Huie, who is a Minnesota-based, Chinese-American photographer.

“Seeing his work has really changed the trajectory of my life,” said Her. “I often talk about how seeing his work allowed me to be my own person and then to make work in my own community.”

Her said that one of the main reasons she wanted to do an artist residency in Wausau is because of the large Hmong population.

“The way in which the community has welcomed Hmong people into Wausau — I’m really interested in that history and also really interested in getting to know more of the people in the community,” she said.

To get to this moment, Her said that there have been many struggles and that her successes are due to hard work and perseverance.

“Being an artist is really hard work. There is a lot of rejection,” she said. “I don’t think art is celebrated in the United States in a way that it should be.”

Despite the struggles of being an artist in a world that does not always appreciate art, Her said that making connections in the community makes it all worth it.

“I think it is always a privilege to be able to talk about your work with people,” she said.

Her said that there were many times when she wanted to give up, but she knew she had a talent in photography, so during her last year in undergraduate school, she began collecting photos for a portfolio to apply to graduate school.

That same portfolio is now an exhibit at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. It is only the third time Her has shown this project, but she said that this showing is more unique than the others because of the amount of work being shown and the way the images are printed.

“This is the first time it’s shown in this sort of way,” said Her. “I would have never, in a million years, thought that I would have a show in such a beautiful exhibition space with these amazing photographs and an amazing team and curators that have put together a show that truly represents my work.”

Her said that she wants people to come and see her exhibition so that they may see themselves in her photographs.

“I think back to what I needed when I was somebody who was trying to figure out what my life trajectory was going to be,” she said. “I think it was really important to see myself in other artists.”

Her’s exhibition will be on display at the Leigh Yawkey Art Museum until August 24. It features a range of photographs and an immersive experience. Visitors will also have the chance to interact with a portion of the exhibit that invites people to add their own portraits to the collection.

Along with Her’s new exhibition, there are two other temporary exhibitions.

Sacred Nature is a photography exhibition by wildlife photographers and conservationists Jonathan and Angela Scott. It features stunning imagery and compelling storytelling while highlighting the profound connection between humans and nature. Along with the photographs, visitors will have the chance to read personal narratives and insights from the photographers.

The final new summer exhibit is called Aqueous: Painted in Water. The exhibit showcases a selection of artwork from the museum’s collection. The collection includes pieces that involve the art of watercolor. It celebrates the delicate beauty and expressive depth of using watercolor as a medium.

Pao Houa Her will also be participating in an artist residency at the museum from July 14–August 1. To learn about Her’s exhibition and the museum’s events, head over to the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum at 700 N 12th St, or go to lywam.org.