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The Wandering House

Frequently Asked Questions
FAQS ~ FOR PARTICIPANTS IN SUMMER/FALL 2019

Q: What is The Wandering House?

The Wandering House is a former ice-fishing house retrofitted as a mobile audio-recording studio. It is a public art project and a process-oriented exploration of who we are as a community. The Wandering House is open to residents of Northfield and Lanesboro, in southern Minnesota. 

Q: What is it for? 

The Wandering House offers a welcoming space for community members to speak candidly about their understanding of home, a concept that some of us might take for granted but is in constant flux for displaced communities around the globe. 

Q: How does it work?

Prior to entering the house and prior to recording, participants are asked to reflect on a set of questions provided to them in advance. Once they’re ready, participants enter the house alone, unless they prefer to bring someone along. Only sound is recorded and people are encouraged to take as long as they need to register their responses. This is not an interview.

Q: I want to participate but don’t want to record my voice. What do I do?

We want to hear from you! Please fill out the questionnaire provided and leave it in The Wandering House’s mailbox. 

Q: What happens with the audio recordings?

The gathering of recordings takes place during the summer of 2019 in Northfield, and from late September to early October 2019, in Lanesboro. At the end of the year there will be a public event to share the project’s preliminary findings with the Northfield community and a similar event in February 2020, in Lanesboro. The final findings will be shared through a series of ancillary projects between 2021 and 2022 at various locations.

Q: Who is doing this?

The Wandering House was created by artist, filmmaker, and teacher Cecilia Cornejo Sotelo. Originally from Chile and a long-time resident of the American Midwest, her work is known for placing community members at the center of the creative process, engaging them as active participants and co-creators of meaning. 

Q: Who is supporting this?

The Wandering House partnered with several organizations in both Northfield and Lanesboro. In Northfield, we partnered with Riverwalk Market Fair, the Northfield Union of Youth (The Key), the Northfield Retirement Community, Spring Wind Farm, the Community Action Center, the neighbors at Viking Terrace, and with Laura Baker Association Services. In Lanesboro we partnered with Lanesboro Arts, who brought Cecilia as an Artist-in-Residence, we worked with the residents of Kenilworth Apartments, with high school students in artist and teacher Stena Lieb’s classes, with the Farmer’s Market and with Parkway Place.  

Q: How did you secure funding for this project?

The Wandering House has been funded in part by grants from the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) and the Public Works Initiative at Carleton College. It has received the sponsorship of the City of Northfield, the Northfield Public Library, the Human Rights Commission, the Northfield Arts Guild, and the Arts & Culture Commission.

For Northfield & Lanesboro Participants

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE INFORMATION BELOW ADDRESSES EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE OVER SUMMER AND FALL OF 2019.

The Wandering House provides an opportunity for community members in Northfield and Lanesboro to speak candidly and privately about their understanding of and the vision they have of and for their respective towns. Like a modern-day confessional, participants enter the house alone and, if need be, are assisted by the artist or one of her assistants. No one is required to identify themselves by name, and if people prefer not to record their voice, they have the option to complete the written questionnaire and leave it in the house’s mailbox.

If you decide to participate, these are the steps involved

  1. Read the questionnaire provided and give yourself some time to reflect. Ideally, you will enter the house once you have engaged with these questions and are ready to record.
  2. Ask us any questions that come to mind and fill out the consent form.
  3. Enter the house and record your answers. You will have between 10 and 15 minutes to do so.
  4. Once you’re done, feel free to take a picture of yourself outside the house and share it with friends!
  5. Want to stay in touch? Let us know your preferred method of communication.
The Wandering House Transformation

From fish house to The Wandering House

The idea to center The Wandering House around an ice-fishing house came from the desire to create a space for introspection and reflection while rooting these actions in a Minnesota context. While it might have been easier to set up these interactions using an interview format, the project’s goals were to create a place for participants to be alone with their thoughts, allowing for both privacy and comfort. Additionally, it was vital that the space be mobile so we could engage potential participants wherever they might be. In thinking about the physical structures that could accommodate these goals, I drew inspiration from films—like Microbe and Gasoline and Howl’s Moving Castle—as well as architecture, and more specifically the houses on stilts in the island of Chiloé, in my native Chile. Soon after, I realized that ice-fishing, a very Minnesotan past time, provided everything I was hoping for, not only in terms of physical structure, but also as a powerful metaphor.

Art Contest

Through an open call issued in fall 2018, Northfield artists in grades 6th to 12th were invited to create an artwork using The Wandering House as a central theme. Artists Lupema Celis Castillo, a 10th grader at the local high school, and Anna Imdieke, a 7th grader at the middle school, created the two selected works that are featured in all the promotional materials. The graphic design genius was provided by Chicago-based artist, Michael McPherson

Weekly Updates

Press

Northfield

‘The Wandering House’ mobile recording studio to stop at Riverwalk Market Fair (Jun 25, 2019 Updated Sep 1, 2019)

Wandering House and Kooka Star June 29 at RMF! (Jun 29, 2019)

Visit The Wandering House in July and August (Jul 20, 2019)

Lanesboro

Meditations on home and belonging (Sep 26, 2019)

Reflect on notions of home inside The Wandering House this week with Lanesboro Arts artist in residence Cecilia Cornejo (Sep 30, 2019)

Reflect on notions of home inside The Wandering House this week with Lanesboro Arts artist in residence Cecilia Cornejo (Sep 30, 2019)

The Wandering House (May 26, 2020)

The Embroidery Project

Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Embroidery Project?

The Embroidery Project is an offshoot of The Wandering House that invites community members in Northfield and in Lanesboro to reflect and remain connected as we embroider.

How can I participate?

You can take part by embroidering one of the sentences that respond to the prompt I know I’m home when… And by visiting the display when it is up!

What materials will I receive?

You will be provided a piece of fabric, some embroidery floss depending on the length of your sentence, a sewing needle, and a sentence. 

What sentences are available for me to embroider?

You can pick a sentence based on its length, but you will not know in advance what the sentence says. Sentences are as short as 3 words (8 letters) and as long as 28 words (116 letters).

How much time should I expect the embroidering work to take?

It really depends on the length of your sentence, your level of experience, and the amount of embellishment you choose to add, if any. In general, shorter sentences will take up to 2 hours, while longer sentences can take up to 5 hours. Embellishing will add to this estimated time.

I want to participate but don’t know how to embroider. What do I do?

There will be a couple of virtual workshops to show you the basics. For more detailed instructions we also recommend https://cutesycrafts.com/embroidery-stitches

When does the project begin and end? By when should I finish the embroidery? 

The Embroidery Project will launch in September 2020 both in Northfield and in Lanesboro. You can expect to pick up your embroidery kit at the Northfield Arts Guild (Northfield residents) and at Lanesboro Arts (Lanesboro residents) by mid-September. The finished pieces can be dropped off from early December 2020 until mid-January 2021 at the same places.

What happens after the embroidery work is done?

Once all the embroidered pieces have been collected and assembled, they will become part of a community quilt that functions as both a repository of the testimonies recorded and as a testament to creativity and collaboration. The plan is to exhibit the quilts at multiple venues, along with other projects coming out of the findings made by The Wandering House.

Where will the quilts end up? Who has ownership over the quilts?

The Embroidery Project is an example of collectively generated art and as such, the quilts themselves do not belong to any single person. That said, Cecilia Cornejo Sotelo, the artist who is producing The Wandering House and The Embroidery Project, reserves the right to make decisions involving the quilts. After the quilts have been exhibited throughout, the plan is to have them housed at the towns’ respective public libraries, art centers, or other public buildings. 

                                   I know I’m home when… 

                                      My blood pressure goes down

For Northfield & Lanesboro participants

Northfield

In order to participate, you will need to do the following:

  1. Contact Cecilia Cornejo Sotelo at artelamilpa@gmail.com and let her know you would like to participate in The Embroidery Project —Northfield version.
  2. You will be assigned a sentence based on your preference of sentence length. Each sentence has been numbered, from shortest (#1) to longest (#52). 
  3. Once you have received your sentence #, contact the Northfield Arts Guild, let them know that you are a participant in The Embroidery Project, and arrange a day/time to pick up your embroidery kit.
  4. Before getting started, try a few different ideas on paper and do not hesitate to contact Cecilia with any questions that come up.
  5. There will be a couple of virtual workshops for those who wish to participate but have little to no experience with embroidering.

There are a total of 52 sentences to choose from:

11 Very short sentences 

#1 to #11                                     Between 3 and 5 words                                 8-23 letters

11 Short sentences 

#12 to #22                                  Between 6 and 9 words                                 27-38 letters

12 Mid-length sentences

#23 to #34                                  Between 12 and 16 words                             41-52 letters

10 Long sentences 

#35 to #44                                  Between 13 and 22 words                             53-75 letters

6 Very long sentences 

#45 to #50                                  Between 19-24 words                                    80-95 letters

2 Extra-long sentences 

#51 & #52                                    Between 26-28 words                                   108-116 letters 

I know I’m home when… 

                   I’m playing Candyland

Lanesboro

In order to participate, you will need to do the following:

  1. Contact Cecilia Cornejo Sotelo at artelamilpa@gmail.com and let her know you would like to participate in The Embroidery Project—Lanesboro version.
  2. You will be assigned a sentence based on your preference of sentence length. Each sentence has been numbered, from shortest (#1) to longest (#25). 
  3. Once you have received your sentence #, contact Lanesboro Arts, let them know that you are a participant in The Embroidery Project, and arrange a day/time to pick up your embroidery kit.
  4. Before getting started, try a few different ideas on paper and do not hesitate to contact Cecilia with any questions that come up.
  5. There will be a couple of virtual workshops for those who wish to participate but have little to no experience with embroidering.

There are a total of 25 sentences to choose from:

8 Short sentences

#1 to #8                                        Between 5 and 9 words                                  19 and 34 letters

11 Mid-length sentences 

  #9 to #19                                    Between 10 and 17 words                              41 and 50 letters

6 Long sentences 

#20 to #25                                   Between 16 and 19 words                              60 and 97 letters

     I know I’m home when…

                        I’m playing Candyland