Nate Sheppard is an award winning filmmaker, composer, songwriter and multimedia performing artist based in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Recipient of the 2019 Northern Arts Council’s Individual Artist Grant, his work has been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio, Great Lakes Now on PBS, and Discover Wisconsin. His films and multimedia installations have garnered awards from regional festivals such as The Basin Short Film Festival, the Door County Film Festival, and the Beloit International Film Festival.
In addition to his artistic work, he and his wife Andrea are the founders and owners of the Hilgermann Center for Community, a vibrant community hub and multi-business complex nestled in a beautifully restored historic building in downtown Rhinelander which features a community space that has been used for a wide variety of community events such as open mics, film showings, concerts, immersive multimedia experiences and more.Â
He is also the founder of the Northwoods Film Office of Wisconsin, a grassroots organization dedicated to providing information and resources regarding filmmaking in the northern part of the state.Â
Nate’s work explores memory, place, and connection, examining how communally shared artistic encounters shape the cultural values and language of a community. He explores this by creating multimedia interactive experiences that utilize immersive sound, projection mapping, the storytelling of filmmaking and the emotional resonance of music.Â
"The valuable things that I learned and experienced within the religious world are also very similar to what I've experienced in the arts world; [...] it comes down to who are we, what are we doing, how do we care well for each other, and how do we tell better stories that help us grow and flourish as communities."
I have extensive experience in multimedia arts, community development projects, and events planning, especially through the Hilgermann Center for Community. Since opening, we have put on a wide variety of events such as concerts, independent film premieres, substance-free electronic dance nights, jazz lounges, youth book clubs, coffee making workshops, interactive multimedia art experiences, lectures, small business vendor markets, open mics, black box theater performances, and our most popular event: a yearly family-friendly New Years Eve party.Â
My work has been largely focused on community-oriented artistic experiences and I am particularly interested in exploring the intersection of new media and community formation. My previous work has examined themes such as the tenuous relationship between nature and technology, community revitalization with limited resources, and the sociolinguistic aspects of religion and spirituality in the modern era.Â
By utilizing my skills as a filmmaker in conjunction with my background in stage design, sound engineering and musical performance, my goal is to create a series of fully immersive performing arts experiences that incorporates cinematic film, live music, poetry and storytelling, dynamic lighting, surround sound, and projection mapping. These events would be held in the community space my wife and I own in downtown Rhinelander that seats about 60 people and would provide our community with high-level multimedia events that you would typically need to travel several hours to a bigger city to get.Â
The goal with these events would be to help form and strengthen social cohesiveness across political, cultural and philosophical spectra by drawing our community together into an shared experiential space, allowing us to examine difficult ideas in a more accessible way by utilizing multi-sensory immersive techniques that engage emotions, expand perspectives and ignite imaginations.Â
