For five years, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has produced more than 160 major news reports and 160 Money & Politics columns that have been cited, published or broadcast by more than 230 newspapers, broadcast stations and news websites in Wisconsin and nationally.
Recent investigative reporting has diligently covered their state’s water quality, quantity, the effect of climate change, and public policy issues surrounding water rights, Executive Director Andy Hall met Carrie Roy, an artist who has a deep interest in water issues and the stories Wisconsin Watch published. The result? A unique partnership to promote the stories, the Center, and Ms. Roy’s representative sculpture, created around this issue.
This project, “Investigative Reporting + Art,” will travel to several cities Wisconsin with a series of events, incorporating an art show and public forums on the issue. The artist has donated half the proceeds of the eventual sale of her art to WCIJ, The goal: to raise funds, expand their membership base, and bring attention to their ongoing series on water.
What knowledge will be gained from this experiment?
WCIJ will test the feasibility of this project, and it hopes to learn whether the creative partnership between art and investigative journalism can strengthen its path to sustainability.