For Immediate Release Contact: Marie Strinden North Valley Arts Council PO Box 12204 Grand Forks, ND 58208-2204 (701) 772-3710 info@novac.org October 2010 Mayor’s Choice Artist The North Valley Arts Council and the Grand Forks Mayor's Office are proud to announce the October 2010 Mayor's Choice artist: Kimberly Forness Wilson. The Mayor’s Choice Artist reception for Kimberly Forness Wilson will be held on October 27th from 4 to 5:30pm in the atrium of Grand Forks’ City Hall. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. In celebration of Kim’s work with youth and her love for singing, students from the Bel Canto Studio of Voice will perform during the Mayor’s Choice reception. Under the direction of Maria Kennedy Williams, the following students will perform: Billy Beaton, Chloe Omlid, Evan Moser, Haley Larson, Ryan King, Leah Biberdorf, Kelly Knutson and Daniella Lima. Kimberly Forness Wilson grew up in Grand Forks and in Devils Lake. After graduating from Red River High School in 1977, Kim worked with Gail Roan Pearson, Ph.D., a Grand Forks psychotherapist specializing in women’s issues and women’s addictions. Kim’s interest in Holistic Healing took her to Maui, Hawaii, where she became certified as a holistic trainer. In Maui, Kim met her future husband, Jib. Kim and Jib returned to Grand Forks so that Jib could live one winter in North Dakota. Jib did so, and promptly moved back to Hawaii. Kim graduated from UND with a B.S. Degree in Psychology, then returned to Maui in 1986. She and Jib were married in 1987. Kim had the great fortune to spend the next 15 years working with Maui’s youth and their families, combining her training in the arts and holistic health in a variety of settings. She ran visual and theater arts programs for the Department of Education, ran the Manaolu Youth Shelter, was Educational Coordinator for Maui Youth Theatre, Executive Director for Theatre Maui and Executive Director for Kihei Youth Center. Kim and Jib decided to become foster parents and guardians for kids who needed extra family, and in 1998 they met Matthew Ikaika, who became part of their adopted family in 2001. In 2003, Kim suffered a freak accident. While working for Hawaii’s Department of Health, she turned her head and fractured her skull. It was a devastating experience - Kim lost the gag reflex on her left side, experienced stabs of incapacitating pain, and lost her ability to sing. Kim’s mom, Ramona, came to Maui to try to help her daughter cope with the pain and to deal with the loss of Kim’s most loved creative outlet, singing. Her mother insisted, “Paint, it will distract you from the pain.” Kim trusted her mother and tried it. The paint flowed and the pain was forgotten for a moment - the first moment in months. The process helped Kim experience brief and growing periods of relief from the pain. In June of 2004, Kim & Jib refinanced their home and went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. During exploratory surgery, it was discovered that Kim actually had a bone fragment tearing away at tissue and nerves. Now a new chapter of healing had to begin. Kim, Jib and Matthew moved to North Dakota to be near family and the Mayo Clinic. Kim has spent the last 6 years pursuing recovery through Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation, Chiropractic Treatment, Pain Clinic and massive amounts of family time and creativity. She, Jib and Matt, together with the love of all their families, have created a new and wonderful life between Grand Forks and Maui. With all this Kim says: “I have a new definition of a great day. It is not whether I am totally productive all day but that I am productive during the day. Being productive is now not all work either, it is a great day when I do something for someone else, call someone I love, work a little, paint a little and enjoy some part of the day. Healing from a catastrophe requires a lot of redefining and this new way of looking at the world is working for me!” Kim has become one of Grand Forks’ most talented and prolific artists, and has become well known for her generosity and kindness. See examples of Kim’s work at www.KimberlyFornessWilson.com The Mayor’s Choice Program Every three months, starting last July, Grand Forks Mayor Mike Brown chooses a visual artist to show his or her art in the atrium of City Hall. There is an opening reception for each artist. The North Valley Arts Council is always seeking submissions for future Mayor’s Choice artists. The next Mayor’s Choice artist opening reception will be in mid-January, and applications remain on file for consideration in all future Mayor’s Choice events. Visual artwork submissions can be in any medium and will remain on display at city hall for three months. The North Valley Arts Council is also seeking musicians, writers, actors, directors, dancers and other types of artists for the Mayor's Choice program. If chosen, these artists are invited to perform/read/show their work at the Mayor's Choice reception. The first Mayor’s Choice Artist, in July 2010, was Xavier Pastrano, a stencil artist and photographer. For more information on applying to the Mayor’s Choice program, call 701-772-3710 or e-mail info@novac.org. ###