Arts North Dakota

By Paul Hankel
Contributing Writer

“Art is much less important than life, but what a poor life without it.” -Robert Motherwell

Advocacy groups like Arts North Dakota continue to promote, support and provide funding for North Dakota artists.

When the term, “art scene,” is mentioned, one tends to think of mainly visual arts including: painting, sculpture and pottery.  Art as a broader definition, however, is meant to include other canvasses such as music, theater, dance, photography, poetry and culinary arts. It is simply an expression of feelings and emotions projected onto whatever palate the artist chooses.

A quick trip downtown in Fargo, and it becomes apparent that local residents are passionate about the arts. Whether it’s the Plains Art Museum, a regionally recognized art gallery, live music at the Hodo or Dempsey’s or taking a stroll through the Black Building or Uptown Pen, it is easy to see that the art scene is alive and well locally. While Fargo continues to boast a vibrant and eclectic art scene, the same cannot be said about all of North Dakota’s towns and cities. Economic struggles in recent years have left some areas of the state facing financial hardships. The result is the cutting of many arts education curricula and the loss of funding for many arts related programs around the state. These budget cuts are not only happening in our state, but around the country. Forced to choose between funding food programs, a dwindling education system, and a large number of other government programs, state legislatures are more often inclined to view the arts as expendable. Similarly, superintendents and principals around the country are being forced to make a hard decision: choosing which curricula to continue to fund and which to cut. While the basics such as reading, math and science are rarely impacted, many schools are beginning to cut music education, art classes and other extracurricular activities. Sports programs, however, seem to rarely be put on the chopping block. This is due, in part, to the fact that sporting events raise massive amounts of money for schools in the form of ticket sales. This is a viable argument for the continued funding of sports programs, little credit seems to be given to the benefit of arts education in our schools. Sports programs are a great after school activity for millions of youth around the country; however, not every student is able to participate. This can be due to limited roster spots, physical disabilities or the high cost of sports equipment. The arts, however, is an area where every student can participate. Drama, band, orchestra, speech and art classes are often far more inexpensive than participating in regular sports programs.

North Dakota seems to be fully in support of its arts community and equally committed to its continued growth. This is evident by its many arts organizations from around the state. The North Dakota Council for the Arts was founded in 1967 and is one of the oldest arts advocacy groups in the state. Its grassroots advocacy work spawned several other groups locally and statewide. One of these organizations is Arts North Dakota based here in Fargo. Founded three years ago, Arts North Dakota is a coalition of artists and supporters whose goal is to promote advocacy and support for the arts locally and around the state. It serves as an umbrella group that has several arts organizations under it: Culture Pulse, the Alliance for Arts Education and many more grass roots advocacy groups. Gail Benson, the executive director of Arts North Dakota, put it simply, “The arts should never be an ‘if’, they should be an ‘and.’ They are core to the values of our communities and our people and our state.” Benson, who has lived in the FM area for over twenty years, is a long-time advocate of the arts and has served on numerous committees, coalitions and advocacy commissions. “What we saw was an immediate need for outreach, advocacy and professional development throughout the state,” she said. Benson, along with other members, has worked very closely with local and state legislatures to help promote arts funding and garner support from communities and city and state officials.

Another of the many roles that Arts North Dakota plays is promoting art enrichment opportunities. Activities such as art classes, exhibits, artist demonstrations and shows are just a few of the many events that Arts North Dakota supports. Jon Offutt, a local blown glass artist, is on the board of Arts North Dakota and participates in several of these activities. He periodically travels locally and throughout the region in a traveling blown glass studio providing blown glass demonstrations and also teaches several blown glass art classes at his south Fargo studio. Demonstrations like Offutt’s provide students and artists in rural areas valuable instruction and a way to connect with other artists. Having lived in the area for several years, Offutt has been actively involved in the resurgence of downtown and is an avid advocate for arts education. “Fargo, downtown specifically, has a great opportunity,” Offutt said, speaking of the opportunity that Fargo has to artistically expand downtown, “Think of it as a woman who just got a new facelift. Well, come on, let’s spring for a little makeup too!” ….Spoken like a true artist.

Artistic expression, sadly, is not always something that can be quantified. This translates into the artist spending countless hours toiling at their craft followed by little or no financial gains. The term, “starving artist,” comes to mind. And yet, these artists-these painters, sculptors, dancers, poets and singers still toil on. Why, you ask? “For me, it’s about passion and appreciation,” said James Trinbow, a local freelance painter. “It’s never been about the money. If it was, I would have gone to med school!”

While some art is wild, over the top and in-your-face (see: an Andy Warhol painting), some art is subtle and diminutive in its essence. The pattern of the brick on a 19th century remodeled home in north Fargo, for example, or the black and white snapshot of a lamppost in downtown Fargo, cleverly framed and hanging in one of the galleries at the Plains Art Museum. Some art is even unintentional in its creation. The Native Americans, who populated this area before the arrival of settlers, fashioned spoons, knives, pots and bowls out of clay made from the soil of the North Dakota prairies and bone from the buffalo that roamed those same prairies. While, at the time, this was done out of necessity, it was still art in the sense that some of their techniques are still admired and used by pottery artists today. The point is: Art is in the soul of North Dakota; sometimes we just need to be reminded of that fact. And with the effort and support that artists like Benson, Offutt and Arts North Dakota continue to put forth, it is a fact that we will be unable to forget.

For more information about Arts North Dakota contact Gail Benson, executive director, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

To view some of artist Jon Offutt’s unique blown glass artwork, visit his website at http://www.jonoffutt.com

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