September 24th, 2015
Street art may have deviant roots but it has been around as long as man’s cognition. Though comparing petroglyphs to graffiti writing may seem a bit abstract, marking community space to express oneself definitely has its parallels.
The way we choose how to express ourselves has obviously evolved. Art in Fargo-Moorhead is making its way off the gallery walls and on to the city streets as our community embraces street art with open arms and open cans through the advent of Fargo’s first…
September 16th, 2015
It’s amazing how large sections of history can get buried by time. This fall, the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County (HCSCC) is highlighting a relatively forgotten event in American history, one which happened in the not-too-distant past and in our very backyard, or rather, in our farm fields.
In partnership with the Smithsonian Institute Traveling Exhibition Service, HCSCC has brought “Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964,” a bilingual (English/Spanish)…
September 3rd, 2015
Wycinanki, pronounced vee-chee-nine-key, is the Polish art of papercutting. The distinguishing factor is the colorful, often symmetrical, layered paper cutouts. Tower City-based Meridee Erickson-Stowman learned the folk art wycinanki from Leona Wojcik Barthle, a woman of Polish descent who was based out of Sioux Falls, S.D.
The pair met in 1998 as part of the North Dakota Council on the Art’s Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. According to the NDCA website the program…
August 19th, 2015
508 Oak is a commercial property owned by Scott Nelson. One of the properties houses a Crossfit gym and the other houses the Crossfit Ice House. But the most compelling part of the property is a 110-foot weathered fence exhibiting an original spray paint mural by Fargo artist Paul Ide.
Nelson wanted to draw attention to his commercial properties and after looking at Ide’s sketchbook he let him have at it. Four weeks later the fence contained a beautifully twisted dynamic mural.
“For…
August 12th, 2015
When Mara Morken Fogarty’s stepfather and regional artist Lynn Fundingsland installed a carved cedar post in her front yard, she had an epiphany.
“I looked at it and I loved it so much that I realized that this was the perfect medium for the sculpture garden of my dreams,” she said.
The simplicity of the post was the main inspiration for Sticksgarden, a small sculpture installation and adaptation of Moorhead’s planter adoption program. It adds a bit of much-needed green space to…
July 29th, 2015
The playful surface of Julie Buffalohead’s “Coyote Dreams” show at the Plains Art Museum covers only a fraction of the multi-faceted expression that occurs within the work.
Based in St. Paul, Minn., Buffalohead has consistently shown work both regionally and nationally since her first show at the Weisman Art Museum in 1999. Buffalohead received her undergraduate degree from…
July 29th, 2015
Cindi Wish is a relatively new addition to North Dakota. Originally from Cape Cod, Mass., she admits that prior to her interview for the executive director position at The Arts Center in Jamestown, N.D., she had never set foot in N.D. In fact North Dakota and Alaska were the only two of the 50 states that she had not been to — but she’s glad she did.
Wish has served as executive director at The Arts Center for the past seven months.…
July 22nd, 2015
Zot Artz Conference encourages artists of all abilities to add a little color to the landscapeOn July 27, Wisconsin-based artist and engineer Dwayne Szot, who is also president and and founder of Zot Artz, will be contributing a splash of color to the North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind in Grand Forks.
The Anne Carlsen Center, based in Jamestown, N.D., is teaming up with the NDVS (ND Vision Services), NDCA (North Dakota Council on the Arts) and the North Dakota branch of…
July 9th, 2015
Regent, N.D., is nestled in the beautiful hills, buttes, cut banks and valleys of the southwest corner of North Dakota. It is a quiet community with strong agricultural ties, and it is notorious for being a hunter’s paradise. It once gained the moniker Wonder City. According to the city’s website, Regent is “a town founded in 1910 on the solid steel of railroad lines that forged a…
June 3rd, 2015
Two retired ministers take art show across North DakotaFor Vicki Kessler and Donna Kjonaas, the long voyage is almost over.
Their collaborative art exhibition “Land, Sky, Water” comes to North Dakota State’s Memorial Union Gallery after a year of traveling North Dakota from Bismarck to Ellendale, Minot to Mayville. Through the North Dakota Council on the Arts, the two artists present a show prompting viewers to examine their own surroundings -- their own land, sky and water.…
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By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…
From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…
May 24-25, 1-4 p.m.Yunker Farm & Dog Park, 1201 28th Avenue N., Fargo.Who’s ready for a fun filled family friendly day of enchantment and imagination ignition? Kids of all ages file in for kite flying, a fairy parade, scavenger…
By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comHow many cardinals in red look at Michelangelo’s sexy ceiling?Michelangelo finished painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in 1512. It is examined and admired by millions every year. The…
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 Gionrickgion@gmail.com After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…
Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com In a Sundance profile for feature debut “The Ugly Stepsister,” which opened the festival’s 2025 Midnight section, filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt described growing up “in a tiny village…
By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
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 There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…
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.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…
