Musician Will Oldham, who performs under the name Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and his wife, textile artist Elsa Hansen Oldham, have been selected as the January 2018 artists-in-residence at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The nonprofit National Parks Arts Foundation announced the selection of singer/songwriter Oldham, whose music is described as an alternative blend of country, folk and punk, and his wife, whose quilting and cross-stitch work puts a folksy pop-art spin on history and modern culture.
The pair will present a dual multimedia performance at 6 p.m. Jan. 26 in the Kilauea Visitor Center. Will Oldham will sing and play music while Elsa stitches onstage as her handiwork is projected on the auditorium’s movie screen.
“As the park enters our fourth year of the artist-in-residence program, we look forward to our second musician and first textile artist,” said Laura Carter Schuster, chief of cultural resources at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. “Hawaii has such a long tradition of both music and quilting, this pair seems like a match for our location. And the park will inspire both the musician and the fabric artist alike.”
The couple live in Louisville, Ky., and will reside in the park for a month. Oldham has performed since 1998 as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and prior to that as Palace Brothers and Palace Music. His songs have been performed by Johnny Cash, Marianne Faithful and others. His new record, “Best Troubadour,” is a collection of Merle Haggard songs. Hansen Oldham’s textile art is displayed at the Dickinson Roundell Gallery in New York and she recently was profiled in The New York Times.
The artist-in-residence project is supported by the Friends of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and other benefactors. For more information about NPAF programs, visit www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org.