BY EILEEN PERSIKE
Editor

The revamped School of the Arts program, the “Legacy Rhinelander” program, is in its second year and offering some new choices.

Classes include hands-on work and discussion. Attendees should plan to take notes and learn from the professionals. Submitted photos.

After being hosted by the University of Wisconsin Extension and then Continuing Education Departments for 50 years, the School of the Arts ended in 2015, prompting some in the local arts community to recreate the SOA. The Legacy Rhinelander program features an ala carte menu of classes, several at no charge, with beefed-up course offerings packed into a long weekend rather than a full week.

Classes will be held at Treehaven, the Rhinelander District Library and ArtStart Thursday, Sept. 27 through Sunday, Sept. 30 and will feature all forms of media – drawing, painting, video, 2D arts, 3D arts, writing, printmaking and dance. Professional development is another focus of the SOA. Rhinelander District Library Director Virginia Roberts said attendees should be prepared to take notes.

“These people are professionals, they’ve all been there,” Roberts said. “Come with questions, come with note taking materials. If your head doesn’t explode by the end of the weekend, you’re not doing it right.”

All forms of art and media will be featured in the upcoming School of the Arts Legacy program in Rhinelander Sept. 27-30.

There are classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced-level artists, Roberts added, saying there is something to learn from every instructor. Costs per class range from free to $50; there are scholarships available for anyone wishing to apply.

The program draws people from around the Midwest as well as locally, fulfilling a mission to be “fun, educational, bring people into the community and get our community involved,” Roberts said, adding that folks should register now if there is a course that looks interesting.

“The School of the Arts is a living program – it will grow and change and adapt and do different things every year. So I’d love to say if you like something, wait until next year, it will be back…[but] it’ll be something different.”

Registration is now open; forms and scholarship information can be found on the ArtStart Rhinelander website.