Lynden and COVID-19

Updates

Last updated, 5/27/20
Beginning June 1, 2020 we will be open for free social distance walking, daily from 10 am-4 pm (closed Thursdays). Please click here for our updated visitor guidelines and additional information.

Last updated, 3/25/20
Today we begin rolling out virtual materials to be used while staying at home. We are posting these materials on a new, mobile-friendly platform; when we reopen, we will adapt this tool to enhance your visits to Lynden.

You can access these materials here.

Among the offerings today: two virtual tours, one of Folayemi Wilson’s Eliza’s Peculiar Cabinet of Curiosities, the other of Gary John Gresl’s The Body Farm at Lynden; an art project based on the quilts and quilters of Gee’s Bend from the virtual classroom of La Escuela Fratney’s art teacher and Lynden teacher in residence, Sue Pezanoski Browne; and an art drop-in project from Lynden’s Jeremy Stepien related to The Body Farm.

We will be posting content regularly, with new art drop-in projects on Wednesdays (for ages 11 and up) and Thursdays (for ages 6 and up). We are running a more participatory version of these art drop-ins via Google Classroom. This is a closed platform, and we monitor participants, so please email Jeremy at jstepien@lyndensculpturegarden.org if you would like to join.

We will send out a weekly digest new content to our entire e-list, but if you would like to receive a daily alert, join this list.

Please let us know what you think. We welcome feedback, and suggestions, as we figure out how to serve you in this new environment.

Many thanks,
Jeremy, Claudia, Anna, Polly, and Willy

Update: 3/23/20
Now that the “safer at home” order is coming our way, we need to close our grounds to the public. I know many of you have enjoyed the experience of wandering Lynden’s acres this past week or so, but we need to do this for the safety of our community.

Here are a few more updates:
• We have cancelled all events in April. It is highly likely that we will need to cancel events in May, too, but we are taking this one month at a time. We will be rescheduling as many events as we can when that becomes possible.
• We will begin rolling out virtual educational materials for families and teachers this week, we’ll keep you posted.
• We will also be posting virtual tours, starting off with one from artist Gary John Gresl, whose Body Farm at Lynden continues to decompose, quite oblivious to visitors and viruses.
• We continue to share resources with artists during this difficult time. If you have any leads--and I’ve received many--please let us know. If you’d like to join the e-list, send your e-mail our way.
• Although we will not be mailing out membership cards at this point, we are still accepting new memberships and renewals. All cards will be distributed when we reopen.

Large cultural institutions, small collectives, and individual artists are putting out so many excellent (and sometimes surprising) resources in these difficult times. Please enjoy them, make use of them, and remember these institutions and artists when we emerge from the current public health crisis.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

Keep each other safe,
Polly

Update: 3/16/20
In this fast-changing environment, we have made some additional changes and would like to keep you informed.
• Our building is now closed to the public. We are operating with a skeleton staff onsite, and we need to keep everyone safe.
• You are still welcome to come walk the grounds from 10 am-4 pm daily, until further notice. (We have lopped off an hour at the end to deal with staff coverage.) Please be considerate of others by maintaining your distance. Feel free to wave to us through the windows—we are trying to keep track of how many people come here each day.
• We have cancelled all events in March. It is highly likely that we will need to cancel events in April, but we are taking this one month at a time. We will be rescheduling workshops when that becomes possible.
• All field trips are cancelled as long as schools remain closed.

There are many in our community who are suffering as a result of this pandemic, and we’d like to call particular attention to the artists who support themselves through school residencies who have suddenly and completely lost their livelihoods. Like so many artists, they are hired as independent contractors and have minimal protections at times like these. In the coming days, we will be compiling resources for local artists and sending them out through our artist e-list. If you have any leads, please let us know. If you’d like to join the e-list, send your e-mail our way.

If you are in need of diversion and can’t come for a walk, consider ordering some books from our partner, Boswell Book Company. They are offering free delivery to local customers or drive-by pickup.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

Keep each other safe,
Polly


Update: 3/13/20
We have all received many messages about the precautions being taken to avoid the spread of COVID-19 in our community. We have been watching the situation carefully at Lynden. We are disinfecting more, and more frequently. We are adjusting front-desk protocols to make admission hands-free for visitors. Our employees have adopted the basic (and important) precautionary measures: washing hands frequently and properly, covering coughs and sneezes. Moreover, we have paid sick leave, and are expected to stay home if we are not feeling well.

We do not have any large events scheduled in the immediate future. Nonetheless, we are going to make decisions about cancellations on a case-by-case basis. Most of our workshops require a lot of handling of materials and take place in spaces in which it may be hard to maintain a reasonable social distance. If we do not feel we can protect participants sufficiently—staff or visitors--we will cancel. We will, of course, refund or credit any fees if we cancel/reschedule—or if you cancel, for whatever reason.

These are our immediate cancellations/reschedulings:
All Art Drop-Ins through the month of March are cancelled. We will revisit this at the end of the month and make a decision about resuming.
3/14: Todd Mrozinski’s drawing workshop will be rescheduled.
3/15: The Sound Tree Project Family Workshop is cancelled.
3/19: Homeschool Day will be rescheduled.

We will be updating our website (including this page) with information on future cancellations.

We would like to remind you that walking outdoors, as long as you are healthy, is not a bad way to spend time in a time of anxiety and potential crisis. We are waiving admission fees for those who simply want to walk outside this month. Come by during open hours, wave at Kellen or Joe through the windows, and enjoy some peace.

Here are some useful links:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Wisconsin Department of Health Services

This is a fast-changing situation, and any further changes and updates to programs or hours will be announced on lynden.art and through email updates.

Stay healthy, stay calm, wash your hands,

Polly Morris
Executive Director


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