Arts

Art for all: Plains Art Museum welcomes New Executive Director

January 18th, 2024

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

High Plains Reader had the opportunity to chat with Erin Shapiro, the new Executive Director at the Plains Art Museum. A native of upstate New York, Shapiro has worked at a number of museums throughout the Midwest and even Honolulu, Hawaii, at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives. In addition to her museum experience, she has a background in sculpture and a strong passion for “art for everyone.”

High Plains Reader: In my research I…

Read more...


Exhibition Honoring Scandinavian Folk Art Opens at ND Heritage Center & State Museum

December 10th, 2023

By Maddie Robinson

maddierobi.mr@gmail.com

Pieper Bloomquist, an artist and oncology nurse based out of Grand Forks, has been interested in art since she was a child living in Regal, Minnesota, a town of less than 50 people. Stretching back to her school days in a one-room schoolhouse, she would spend her spare class time using the art supplies in the “library,” (a table in the back by the bookcases.)

She delved into folk-art styles later in 1993 when she started learning…

Read more...


Art Imitates Life in Wing, North Dakota

November 17th, 2023

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

A trio of Burleigh County artists are making their mark in Wing, North Dakota, to promote local foods and are quite literally painting the town, or at least the newly acquired Wing City Government building. The building was a bowling alley in a past life and proved to be the perfect space for public art.

Molly McLain of Bismarck, Ella Swanson, and Allie Hein, both of Wing, joined forces to paint a mixed media mural incorporating both glass mosaic and…

Read more...


​Airport Art at MSP: Ben Owen Interview

October 14th, 2023

By Jacinta Zens 

jacinta.zens@gmail.com

Airports have become increasingly popular art and music venues over the last decade. from Amsterdam's Schiphol International Airport to Chicago's O'Hair to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), music and art flourish amongst the hustle and bustle of travelers.

Showcasing the arts in airports allows artists and…

Read more...


​The Studio Crawl Is Celebrating Its 20th Year

September 18th, 2023

By HPR Staff

submit@hpr1.com

The Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists’ much-lauded neighbor lovin’ Studio Crawl is just around the corner – October 7 and 8, noon to 6pm. During the free event, the people who add culture and vibrancy to our communities open their studio doors – to show off their workspaces and tools, talk about what it’s like to be a working artist, and demonstrate their processes. Crawlers are encouraged to ask lots of questions and be inspired! You can find a Studio…

Read more...


Film Isn’t Going Anywhere

August 22nd, 2023

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

‘Shot on Film’ provides voice for analog photography

A lot has happened in the world of photography in the past 20 years, as we watched the world transition from analog to digital. Fargo-Moorhead photographer Scott Olsen assures us that film isn’t going anywhere and it’s clear once you view the exhibition “Shot on Film” which opens August 17 at the Spirit Room in Downtown Fargo.

Inspired by a long-forgotten roll of film, “Shot on Film”…

Read more...


​MOORHEAD ROCK PAINTING PARTY

April 20th, 2023

Hjemkomst Center 202 1st Ave N, Moorhead 

April 25, 3:30-7:30pm

Paint a rock, make a stranger smile and be a part of the movement! Keep your rock or add it to the pile to be labeled, sealed and released into the wild to add a little color to the community. All supplies provided, All ages welcome, and be sure to wear your painting duds. Can’t make it to the April session? No problem, it’s going to be a monthly event! May 30th, June 27th, July 25th,…

Read more...


​Dreaming Big: Gary Greff on the Future of the Enchanted Highway

November 17th, 2022

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

If you’ve ever driven down the Enchanted Highway, the 32-mile ribbon of road connecting Regent to Gladstone in western North Dakota, home to the world’s largest salvaged metal sculptures, it’s no secret that their creator Gary Greff dreams big.

When he realized that this dream of his would become a destination, he knew that the town of Regent would need a hotel.

“I went to a bank and asked them if they would fund a hotel in Regent North Dakota,…

Read more...


​19th Annual Fargo-Moorhead Studio Crawl

September 14th, 2022

By HPR Staff

sabrina@hpr1.com

Tour the studios of some of F-M’s most popular artists

The Fargo-Moorhead area’s largest art event, the Studio Crawl, is just around the corner—October 1 and 2. The members of the Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists organization hosts the event, now in its 19th year, always on the first weekend of October. You can find a Studio Crawl brochure and map at fmva.org, in this issue of HPR, or at a variety of businesses.

We talked with the executive director of the…

Read more...


​Balkowitsch Shows New Perspective on Current Work

August 17th, 2022

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

On August 20, the Spirit Room in Downtown Fargo will be hosting an opening reception for Shane Balkowitsch’s exhibition, “Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective,” from 5-7pm.

Now, you may have caught his exhibit at the Rourke in 2018 and you may have spotted his work at the Plains Art Museum – but this exhibition is different. For the first time ever, he will be exhibiting prints of his work, priced to sell and with…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck Tracker Pixel for Entry Gruff Tracker Pixel for Entry 7Clans Tracker Pixel for Entry Farrms Tracker Pixel for Entry Blackbird Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL1

Recently in:

Press release Celebrate Dinosaur Day on Thursday, Oct. 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum (612 E Boulevard Ave. in Bismarck). This free, family-friendly program is open to all ages. A…

By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu The Northwest Blade, from Eureka, South Dakota, published a wonderful story in August 2020. It’s called “Granddaughter keeps Grandmother’s precious chamomile seeds,” by Cindy…

Sunday, October 19, 10 a.m.Buffalo River State Park, 565 155th St. S., Glyndon, MNHosted by the Red River Valley Chapter of Herbalists Without Borders at Buffalo River State Park for a fun fall day full of flora. (Say that three…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.com Yes, we know, everywhere you look, the world situation is mental. It’s almost inescapable just how tenuous life’s circumstances are. And how they are mostly — pretty much entirely — out of our…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill we be banging or whimpering at the end of the American empire?T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men” accurately portrays the end of most empires in his first lines: “We are the hollow men/…

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 Gion and Nichole Hensenrickgion@gmail.com The wait is finally over. Those who have visited Nichole’s Fine Pastry & Cafe lately know about the recent major additions and renovations that have taken place over the past…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Dakotah Faye is a hip-hop artist from Minot, North Dakota, and he’s had a busy year. He’s released two albums. This summer he opened for Tech N9ne in Sturgis and will be opening for Bone…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The multiple meanings of the title location in Mercedes Bryce Morgan’s “Bone Lake” cover the sex and death spectrum that will flummox Diego (Marco Pigossi) and Sage (Maddie Hasson) as…

By HPR staffsubmit@hpr1.com Mark the first weekend of October on your calendar. It’s the weekend of the Studio Crawl, which takes us all on a wonderful, metro-wide tour of our talented (and often wacky) arts community. On October…

Press release“Shakespeare with a sharpened edge.” To launch its 2025 – 2026 season, Theatre NDSU is thrilled to team up with Moorhead-based organization Theatre B to perform a co-production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and…

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…

Press Release As Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins, Essentia Health is highlighting an innovative — and recently expanded — program that brings early breast cancer detection services to rural communities. Essentia’s mobile…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.comMoral accountability and the crisis of leadership  As a recovering person living one day at a time for the last 35 years, I have learned not to judge others because I have not walked in…