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.
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