Can art help change Wisconsin’s unhealthy drinking culture? Stephanie Joy Smith, a former art professor at UW Madison, took the stories of students and community residents and put it into her art, as her contribution to the Dane County Coalition to Reduce Alcohol Abuse. “The overall intent is to really take the stories and the work of the coalition and to make it visual, to make it real and palpable,” says Smith. “And to also be a little tiny piece of the catalyst for cultural change with regards to alcohol, that needs to go on in Dane County and in Wisconsin.”
Smith has incorporated found items into her art. Some – like a beer stein and brandy snifter – are from local thrift shops. Others were found even closer to home. “This Spring, as the snow receded, I went through my Madison neighborhood . . . and I found more than 50 booze bottles.” April is Alcohol Abuse Awareness Month.
Stephanie Joy Smith (3:34 MP3) AUDIO: Stephanie Joy Smith (3:45 MP3)