Progressive Cultural Experience Honors Hemingway, Local Artists & Downtown Businesses
Free Community Kick Off Planned for Tuesday, June 24 at 5pm
(WALLOON LAKE, Mich)—The George Lundeen designed sculpture of Ernest Hemingway in Circle Park in downtown Walloon Lake is the catalyst for a progressive national multisensory cultural experience meant to highlight local artists and business owners called Consenses Walk.
Launched in 2014 in Martha’s Vineyard by artist and musician Sally Taylor—daughter of Carly Simon and James Taylor—Consenses takes art out of the museum and turns Walloon Lake’s walkable downtown into an inspiring gallery. Utilizing a variety of mediums and genres, Consenses encourages artists to interpret each other’s work—much like a game of “Telephone”—by taking the visions and emotions evoked from one piece for each subsequent creation. In 2023, the Leelanau County village of Leland hosted Consenses; Michigan is the only state to host this exclusive event twice.
In Walloon Lake, the Hemingway sculpture inspired a piece of music which will be played via QR code near the statue. That music inspired a local painter to create a canvas to be displayed in the Walloon Village General Store. That picture in turn inspired an animation to played on an iPad or via QR code at the Walloon Cottage (Village Mercantile), which inspired a flower arrangement from Sweetwater Floral, which inspired the creation of a unique wine available at Walloon Watershed, which inspired a ceramicist to create a tile to be displayed at Hotel Walloon. Along the way, visitors can see, smell, taste, hear and touch the art; learn how it was developed and created; and how each installation resonates back to the Hemingway statue. Consenses art will be displayed all summer, with free docent-led walks at 11am every Friday starting June 27 through early September.
A free public Opening Consenses Walk and Artists Panel Discussion, led by Sally Taylor herself, is planned for Tuesday, June 24 at 5pm at the Talcott Center in Walloon Lake. This inaugural walk will be the first time any of the featured artists will see their pieces together and see how the collective Consenses experience was masterfully woven together. Learn how each piece inspired the next and stay for an artist Q+A panel at The Talcott.
There will be silent auctions items and a LIVE Walloon inspired painting activation available to bid on. Proceeds will help fund an art enrichment activity for kids this summer at the library. This casual evening will celebrate art, recreation, our local arts community, and help us make our mark as a world class destination for this one-of-a-kind installation.
Ernest Hemingway was just three months old when he made his first visit to Walloon Lake with his parents, Clarence and Grace, who were building a family cottage on the lake. That 1899 excursion was the first of 22 years’ worth of visits for Hemingway, who developed a love of the outdoors, writing and reading while exploring the woods and waters around the lake. Today, Hemingway’s legacy lives on throughout Walloon Lake, Horton Bay, Petoskey and beyond with more than 20 historic sites tied to his early history in the area. In addition to the Hemingway statue, Walloon Lake features several interpretive signs in Circle Park as well as a Michigan Historical Marker in Melrose Township Park.
Walloon Lake’s Consenses Walk is made possible thanks to Melrose Township DDA and Walloon Watershed, with support from The Michigan Hemingway Society.
