Carnelian Art Gallery has tapped me, Emilie Heidemann, to be its first-ever Marketing Director. And so I thought it necessary to introduce myself in the gallery’s inaugural blog post. Expect more fun content authored by me each week along with many other exciting developments.

We are just getting started.

I come to the gallery with over half a decade of experience in the journalism field, having begun that career at a small publication in the city of Lodi – a community of about 1,000 people. Most recently, I worked at the Wisconsin State Journal, where for the last three years I covered topics ranging from the arts to the local economy to science and technology. I received my undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 2017.

I also come to Carnelian Art Gallery as a Wisconsin native, having been raised in a small town about 45 minutes outside the Madison area. I grew up coming to Madison’s downtown on the weekends with friends. I recall always marveling at its selection of restaurants, eclectic arts scene, and progressive culture. These are things I continue to love to this day as a proud Madisonian.

Meanwhile, journalism was my air, food, and water up until recently. I decided it was time to apply my skill sets to something new and fresh.

Little did I know that writing a piece about Carnelian Art Gallery when it first opened last January would open the door to an opportunity that’s always been a little dream of mine.

Now, that dream is a reality. What helps is that I have always been an art nerd as I love browsing the latest exhibits and shows at places like the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, and galleries across Dane County.

I have also enjoyed events like that of the Van Gogh Exhibition: The Immersive Experience. I went a few years ago with some friends when it was showcasing in Milwaukee, and I fell in love with its unique blend of technology and art. I remember thinking to myself ‘The future is now,’ seeing Van Gogh’s pieces come to life as they sprawled and meandered across the walls and floor of the room we were in to the tune of classical music.

The WNDR Museum in Chicago offers those kinds of experiences, too, featuring the pieces of one of my favorite artists Yayoi Kusama. Kusama is famously known for her infinity mirror rooms, polka dot paintings, and other iconic pieces. They speak to me because of their mental health themes. Upon watching a documentary about Kusama a few years ago, she spoke not only of her troubled past, but how her pieces reflect an obsession and even a fear of never-ending repetition. She discussed standing in a field of flowers once. Kusama felt no peace or catharsis, rather a sense of overwhelm and anxiety at the sheer amount of the flowers in that field. It was as if they were infinite, she said. I can relate – the universe is vast and fascinating, but it’s also terrifying to consider the theories that postulate its infinite expanse.

Anyway, I could blather all day about my favorite artists and exhibitions that changed my life. That’s probably what makes me a great fit for this role.

Going forward, I plan to make it my mission to not only increase Carnelian Art Gallery’s visibility and community presence in Madison, but help create awareness around what independent art and artists add to the Madison area and beyond.

We need art. It’s not just an outlet for self-expression. It changes and heals us. It inspires and pushes us to be better humans. Art holds up for us a mirror, and we get to decide whether we like what’s staring back at us.