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The Department of Objects is an exhibition based on a five-day winter residency at Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, organized by Joy Machine and The Jaunt. The show features work by Wyatt Hersey, Melissa Lakey, Esther Pearl Watson and Anna Valdez, inspired in part by the camp’s collection of vintage objects. Its opening reception is scheduled for Oct. 23, 2026, in Chicago; the source does not name the gallery address.
Joy Machine and The Jaunt are presenting The Department of Objects, a Chicago exhibition of work created after a five-day winter residency at Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. The show features four artists—Wyatt Hersey, Melissa Lakey, Esther Pearl Watson and Anna Valdez—and is named for an attic room at the camp filled with vintage materials that informed their work.
The residency brought the four artists to Camp Wandawega during winter, where they stayed and worked in the site’s lodges, kitchens and bunkhouses. The source report says the artists were from California and encountered frozen lakes, snow and temperatures as low as 4 degrees Fahrenheit. It describes daily walks around the grounds and the artists’ discovery of the attic storage area that came to be called the Green Room.
That room held an assortment of old magazines, fishing lures, books, patches and other camp memorabilia. The report says the collection served as a source of inspiration, and that some of the objects are included in the exhibition. Listed works include Hersey’s View from Wandawega Lodge, a 2026 gouache on birch panel, and Lakey’s Vintage Radios, a 2026 acrylic on wood panel. Valdez’s Assorted Vintage Lures is also identified as a 2026 work.
The opening reception is set for 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 23, with all four artists expected to attend, according to the report. It also invites readers to RSVP or sign up for a collector preview, but does not provide a gallery address, exhibition run or ticketing details.
A Residency Becomes a Chicago Exhibition
The exhibition gives audiences a chance to see work produced through an in-person, shared residency rather than a studio project developed in isolation. The camp’s objects and setting connect the artworks to a particular place and its history, while the group format brought four artists together for several days of making and exchange.
For Chicago-area visitors, the show also brings the experience of Camp Wandawega—located in Elkhorn, Wisconsin—into a gallery setting. The source describes the camp as a retreat with traditional sleep-away-camp features, and says the artists’ work draws on materials found there. It does not offer details about the full exhibition or say how the objects on view are arranged, so the extent of that connection will be clearest at the show itself.
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From Winter Camp to Gallery
The project builds on The Jaunt’s artist residencies, which its collaborator Jeroen Smeets has facilitated for roughly a decade, according to the source report. The residencies send artists to destinations of their choosing for week-long stays. Smeets first held a Winter Camp in 2024, inviting four artists to spend time together in close quarters during winter.
This exhibition follows the third iteration of Winter Camp, organized by Joy Machine and The Jaunt. Its setting, Camp Wandawega, has grounds dating back more than a century. The source says the site first operated as a speakeasy and brothel during Prohibition, later became a summer camp run by the Latvian Catholic church and now operates as a retreat. That history helps explain the mix of old camp materials and Americana described in the artists’ working environment.
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Gallery Details Still Missing
The source confirms the Oct. 23 opening reception and names the participating artists, but it does not identify the Chicago venue’s address, the exhibition’s closing date or regular visiting hours. It also does not specify whether the collector preview requires an invitation or how visitors can sign up. Those details remain necessary for people planning to attend.
The report identifies selected artworks and says some camp ephemera joins the exhibition, but it does not list every work or explain which objects will be displayed. No attendance figures, sales information or statements from the artists about individual pieces are included.
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Opening Reception on Oct. 23
The next public milestone is the opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 23, 2026. The source says Hersey, Lakey, Watson and Valdez will be present and invites visitors to RSVP. It also mentions a collector preview, without publishing its timing or access requirements.
Further practical details—including the gallery location and how long the exhibition will remain open—were not provided in the source material. Visitors should check the organizers’ event or gallery information before making plans.
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Key Questions
What is The Department of Objects?
It is a Chicago exhibition featuring work by four artists who took part in a five-day winter residency at Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
Which artists are included?
The artists named in the source are Wyatt Hersey, Melissa Lakey, Esther Pearl Watson and Anna Valdez.
When is the opening reception?
The reception is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 23, 2026. The source says all four artists will be present.
Where is the exhibition?
The exhibition is described as being in Chicago, but the source does not provide the gallery name or address.
What inspired the work?
The report says the artists drew inspiration from the camp’s Department of Objects, an attic collection of vintage magazines, fishing lures, books, patches and other memorabilia. Some camp objects are also slated to appear in the exhibition.
Source: rss
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