The fish at Hancher's doorstep tell a story, and soon will have names

Each day when I walk toward the front door of Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa, a school of fish is there to welcome me.

Their welcome always brings a smile to my face.

I know that might sound odd if you haven’t been to Hancher in quite some time. Let me explain.

Last summer, we were delighted to add a permanent art installation made up of 30 stone fish immediately outside of the facility. Hancher commissioned — with the generous support of David and Noreen Revier — Santa Fe artist Colette Hosmer to create the fish.

I was truly delighted when Hosmer told me the name she had chosen for the installation. She decided to call it Wellspring because she understands all of the ways in which Hancher continues to be a source of collaboration and creativity that brings an abundance of wonderful things to our campus, community and the state of Iowa.

To my mind, Wellspring is the perfect name for the fish — and the perfect encapsulation of how I think about Hancher and the work that we do.

Hancher is, of course, a performing arts center, but that is only a partial description of our work. I think it is far more accurate to say that Hancher is an engagement center — a place for artists and audiences to come together for shared experiences, to experience both beauty and challenges, to build empathy for one another, and to celebrate artistic traditions while also striving to push artistic possibilities forward into the future.

Despite the recent and challenging reduction in our funding from the university, Hancher serves as a wellspring for students and faculty not only in the arts but all across campus. We all pride ourselves on being a fount for creative collaborations with every imaginable area of the university. The arts serve as a foundation for making connections, for thinking in new ways, and for finding common ground, and this makes them foundational for the creation of global citizens as well, which is a priority of the University of Iowa.

Similarly, our community and statewide collaborations are varied, rich and deep — connecting people of all backgrounds with each other (and, importantly, with the University of Iowa).

The official dedication of Wellspring on Friday, Sept. 10, will bring all of these themes together. We have collaborated with elementary schools and the university’s Iowa Youth Writing Project to provide young people the opportunity to name each of the fish and write stories about them. We will celebrate with the amazing dancers of Step Afrika!, a group of artists with whom we are proud to continue building a collaborative relationship that explores issues of social justice.

And, of course, our friends from the University of Iowa’s International Programs and WorldCanvass will share the moment with many more people than those who can attend in person.

Think of it: Wellspring will be dedicated in an event that brings together our campus, our community, and world-class visual and performing artists who contribute to the richness of our lives. That, I think, is the very definition of a wellspring — and a microcosm of the work Hancher is engaged in each and every day.

So yes, I smile at those fish every morning. Next time you come to Hancher, I hope Wellspring makes you smile, too.

In fact, I hope you’ll join me, Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague, and a host of performers and artists including Brian Williams of Step Afrika! and sculptor Colette Hosmer for a live WorldCanvass program on the Hancher grounds from 5:30-7 p.m. on Sept. 10. The program is free and open to the public. Details can be found here: international.uiowa.edu/worldcanvass

Chuck Swanson is director of Hancher Auditorium.