HAPPENINGS
E V E RY STE P O F TH E WAY Lands’ End, the Dodgeville-based retailer, marked Breast Cancer Awareness Month last October with an Every Step of The Way Initiative that encouraged employees and customers to get active and support each other through activities like walking, running, hiking, and biking in honor of loved ones, sharing support on virtual bulletin boards, or making a donation. Though Lands’ End has supported the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for years, last year the annual campaign took on a new meaning. CEO Jerome Griffith’s daughter Samantha was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. Griffith and his wife, Elke, led the way on the initiative by embarking in late September on a 7-day trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro—the tallest mountain in Africa—to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. “Everyone tells you (climbing Kilimanjaro is) the hardest thing that you’ll ever do in your life,” says Griffith. “I was told that you’ll be freezing cold, and you won’t feel your feet and you won’t feel your hands. And you just won’t care because you’ve got other concerns, and they were correct.” The company donated over $100,000 in 2021 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), UK-based Future Dreams, and Germany-based Pink Ribbon Charities, towards funding for research.
Elke and Jerome on Kilimanjaro
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WISCONSIN PEOPLE & IDEAS
Valeria Tatera, Healing
W I S C O N S I N A RTI STS B I E N N I A L The Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) and Wisconsin Visual Artists (WVA) announced 52 exhibiting artists for the 2022 Wisconsin Artists Biennial, selected from more than 400 Wisconsin artists who submitted nearly 1,200 entries. The 2022 exhibition will showcase cutting-edge works by emerging and established Wisconsin artists from throughout the state, representing a wide spectrum of media and diverse perspectives. The Wisconsin Artists Biennial is a competitive exhibition open to all artists over the age of 18 living in Wisconsin with $10,000 in awards. The first-place winner receives $5,000 and a solo exhibition at MOWA in 2024. Previous Biennial winners include Nina Ghanbarzadeh, Mark Klassen, S.V. Medaris, Warrington Colescott, and Tom Uttech. The 2022 Biennial jurors are: Dan Gunn, an artist, writer, and adjunct Assistant Professor at the Art Institute of Chicago; Phyllis McGibbon from Isolde Press, an artist who works in a range of graphic media; and John Salminen, a renowned watercolor artist and art educator. The Biennial exhibition opens with a party at The Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend on Saturday, February 12 from 2:00–4:00 pm.
