July 19th, 2017
Shane Balkowitsch was nervous. He squatted under an inky shroud, gazing ahead above the rim of his eyeglasses. In front of him, hoisted on a modern tripod, was his accordion camera with its intense red bellows. Only steps away unfolded a 19th century sea scene of travail and strife, of a deathly woe and a fervid vitality.
Or at least its reenactment. Volunteers – clothed in shoddy garbs and smeared in dramatic makeup – clamored on a wooden make-do barge in the open prairie. Gathered…
July 12th, 2017
At 94 years old, acclaimed regional printmaker Charles Beck continues to work on artworks every day. Although he has had to stop his daily printmaking practice and now lives in a nursing home, Beck has not been detoured from continuing to create art.
Instead of printmaking, Beck now uses acrylic paint and ink to create colorful images of nature that are inspired by his memories of places in Otter Tail County and the Red River Valley.
Before his stroke several years ago, Beck would…
June 28th, 2017
Brittany Anderson’s travels have led her to many places, from Bismarck to Moorhead, Iceland to Switzerland and North Carolina back to North Dakota. Rather than documenting a place with a camera, Anderson chose to use her paintings to express the attitude and environment of the places she’s stayed.
On view now at Ecce Gallery in Downtown Fargo is Anderson’s exhibit “Temporary Voids,” a dramatic, conceptual look at the landscapes Anderson’s experienced throughout her life.
After…
June 7th, 2017
“I was devastated, scared, and lost. My family’s world changed and our relationships with one another changed too.” said Lonna Whiting.
Whiting, co-founder of Brains on the Plains, went on. “In addition to a dramatic shift in our family dynamics, we didn’t know what the future would hold for my mom. All we know is it wouldn’t be good and very far from what we expected for my mom reaching her retirement years.”
Whiting’s mother, Beth, was diagnosed with early-onset…
May 31st, 2017
Since its founding in 2004, the Fargo-Moorhead Visual Artists has been creating opportunities for visual artists within the Fargo-Moorhead community. In 2011, the FMVA awarded its first Member of the Year award as a recognition of the great work members are producing in the area.
This year, FMVA awarded Member of the Year to Meg Spielman, a photographer and potter who has been a member of FMVA since its foundation. Spielman was the second president of the FMVA. Troy Pederson, the…
May 24th, 2017
Artist Anna Lee brings years of knowledge to Fargo in new workshops
Organizing and participating in locally-grown fashion shows, years at corporations like Target. And now working as an independent artist, Anna Lee has done it all, making her new workshops perfect for anyone looking to gain a new perspective on their work.
Anna Lee recently moved back to the Fargo-Moorhead area after moving to Minneapolis and building a career there. When she moved back to Fargo, Lee was interested in…
May 17th, 2017
The Plains Art Museum Native American Art Program Director, Laura Youngbird, is pairing with Lise Erdrich to teach a class on Birch Bark Scrolls at the Plains Art Museum on May 18 and 19.
Weaving together stories and words, the Ojibwe tribe wrote stories on birch bark scrolls, known in their native language as wiigwaasbakoon. The class will be free to Native artists as part of the Plains Art Museum’s initiative “Creativity Among Native Artists,” which aims to bring visibility to…
May 17th, 2017
The organization Plants for Patients (P4P) is having a fifth birthday party and everyone is invited. The event is May 25, 7-11pm at Pounds, at 612 1st Avenue North in Fargo. The celebration is titled, “A P4P Celebration: 5 Years and Growing” and it will include the chance to participate in a group art project, eat delicious food, and check out new merchandise for P4P.
You can also purchase plants and watch local artist Kim Jore as she does a live mural painting. Music will be…
May 10th, 2017
A drab strip on Main Avenue in Fargo will soon be brightened by murals on the International Market Plaza, reflecting the growing diversity of Fargo. Created by local artists and a youth mural painting group at the Plains Art Museum, the murals will be installed at a reception this Saturday afternoon.
“We think that visual art is important for the aesthetics and identity of our city. And what is represented in our art should reflect the identities of people experiencing it. With a…
May 10th, 2017
Beatrez has created a series of chromatically inverted negative paintings – abstract nude forms. The artworks are designed to be more approachable and Beatrez intended creating the style to engage audiences with form, color, and anatomy. The show that Beatrez is presenting is the work form that she has made from testing out a negative painting to having a nude portrait of her – the artworks are rejected from two different art shows because of the nudity – Beatrez hoped to combine…
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By Bryce Vincent Haugen More than 300 people gathered at Trinity Lutheran Church in central Moorhead on Jan. 27 for “constitutional observer” training. Led by the Immigrant Defense Network and supported locally by the West Area…
By Kooper Shagena Just off of I-94 and Highway 83 on State Street in Bismarck, an abandoned Kmart sits behind an empty parking lot, watching the cars roll on and off the interstate exchange. It has been standing there quietly since…
Saturday, January 31, mingling at 6:15 p.m. and program at 7 p.m.Fine Arts Club, 601 4th St. S., FargoThe FM Symphony is getting intimate by launching a “Small Stages” chamber music series and it's bringing folks together via…
By John Strand If you are reading this editorial and you too are worried sick about the state of our country, keep reading. Maybe we can inspire each other. It was near closing time. We were discussing our values crisis. So this…
By Ed RaymondA mind that snapped, cracked, and popped at one hundredI wasn’t going to read a long column called “Centenarian: A Diary of a Hundredth Year” by Calvin Tomkins celebrating his birthday on December 17 of 2025…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick GionSince the much-dreaded Covid years, there has been much ebb and flow in the Fargo-Moorhead restaurant scene. In 2025, that trend continued with some major additions and closings. Let’s start the New Year on a positive…
Saturday, January 17, doors at 7:30 p.m.The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, 226 N. Broadway, FargoThe Slow Death is a punk supergroup led by Jesse Thorson, with members and collaborators that include members of The Ergs!, Dillinger…
By Greg Carlson The versatile Nia DaCosta follows her underseen and underappreciated “Hedda” (one of my 2025 favorites) with the first female-helmed entry in the 28 Days/Weeks/Years Later series, a fascinating and grisly…
By Jacinta ZensThe Guerrilla Girls, an internationally renowned anonymous feminist art collective, have been bringing attention to the gender and racial imbalances in contemporary art institutions for the last 40 years. They have…
Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com At the beginning of the movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas," the Grinch is introduced as having a smaller than average heart, but as the movie progresses, his heart increases three…
January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…
By Vern Thompson Benjamin Franklin offered one of the most sobering warnings in American history. When asked what kind of government the framers had created in 1787, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Few words…
