TwispWorks and the Methow Conservancy have announced the creation of the Mary Kiesau Community Fellowship Fund. The fund will support the independent projects of artists, photographers and naturalists working to further their own creativity, professional development, and the community’s connection to the land, art and each other.
Kiesau, who died in April 2020 after a battle with melanoma, was the Educational Programs Director with the Methow Conservancy for 13 years. She was renowned for her photography and environmental education business, Mountain Kind, for which she taught photography, naturalist and art classes. She was also a seven-year board member at TwispWorks.
The fund is administered by the Community Foundation of North Central Washington and will be guided by Kiesau’s partner, Merle Kirkley, and her mother, Carolyn Townsend. Artists, photographers and naturalists will have an opportunity to apply for the fellowship, which will provide funds to support their “field” work and ultimately the creation of artistic works and knowledge that can be shared with the community.
“Mary Kiesau was a woman of extraordinary energy and drive,” a press release noted. “This fellowship honors her legacy through celebrating Mary’s educational and artistic passions: living in harmony and balance with the earth and its finite resources being observant, interested in, and connected with the natural world in order to gain a deep appreciation for the place one calls home helping to create a strong, resilient, and enlightened community that is composed of the Methow flora, fauna, and people.”
Donate to the fund at cfncw.fcsuite.com/erp/donate or send a check, payable to the Mary Kiesau Community Fellowship Fund, to CFNCW, 9 S. Wenatchee Ave., Wenatchee, WA 98801.
