Arts

​New Duke Ellington Mural Painted Near Site of Historic Recording

September 15th, 2021

By Alicia Underlee Nelson

alicia@hpr1.com

Downtown Fargo has a new mural that commemorates a music legend and a Grammy-winning concert. Artist Jeff Knight completed a painting of Duke Ellington on the alley side of the Rhombus Guys building at 606 Main Ave. this summer. The mural features the composer, pianist and band leader at his piano against an aqua background dotted with other musical instruments.

The painting is just steps from the site of the Crystal Ballroom, which stood at the…

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​Mural Blooms Along University Drive

September 15th, 2021

By Alicia Underlee Nelson

alicia@hpr1.com

Colorful painted flowers are in bloom along a nondescript stretch of University Dr. in Fargo. Adrian’s Autocare Center, located at 102 N. University Dr., commissioned the street artist known as Shun Oner to create a mural on a wall on the north side of the property.

The mural, which features richly colored flowers on a black background, was completed this summer. It’s visible to motorists as they drive south on University.

“They gave me free…

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​Greetings From Fargo: New Downtown Mural Unveiled

July 13th, 2021

By Alicia Underlee Nelson 

alicia@hpr1.com

Downtown scored a new mural from The Greetings Tour, a project that aims to create a mural in the style of a vintage postcard in every U.S. state. The Downtown Neighborhood Association contacted muralist Victor Ving and photographer Lisa Beggs and helped secure the location on the west side of Orange Records at Roberts Street and 1st Avenue North.

The colorful…

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​Chalk It Up to Great Art : Jamestown Chalkfest!

June 15th, 2021

by Kris Gruber

perriex1@gmail.com

17 June 2021

Along with lemonade and hotdogs, words and images marking the pavement are synonymous with summer. The accessibility of sidewalk art is appealing, but there is something to be said for kicking it up a notch, and bringing it to the street. Chalk festivals showcase artists by using both a commonplace medium and platform to create often mind-blowingly uncommon -- and fleeting -- works of art.

High Plains Reader interviewed Mindi Schmitz, Executive…

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Color Fest: The City of West Fargo wants YOU to Help Paint the Town

April 22nd, 2021

Color Fest: The City of West Fargo wants YOU to help paint the town

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

On Saturday May 8 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday, at The Yards on Sheyenne street, the city of West Fargo is hosting Color Fest and inviting the public to roll on out and paint the town--and they’re even providing the paint!

After issuing a call for artists willing to lead a large scale mural project on the streets of downtown West Fargo, the city selected proposals from Leigh Nelson…

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Unrest: Reclaiming Power, Privilege, and Purpose

November 14th, 2020

By Jill Finkelson

We’ve been hearing the word Unrest a lot lately. Unrest in the streets. Unrest in the capital. Unrest in our own homes as we struggle to hunker down in the face of the unseen pandemic. People are restless. They are angry and scared. There are scenes from across the country, from Minneapolis to Philly to Portland, of people protesting the injustices they continue to come across every day. The images of police brutality that have come out are shocking and horrific. The…

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​Kim Jore brings on the local flavor with latest series

November 12th, 2020

By Jill Finkelson

jsfinkelson99@gmail.com

If there’s a silver lining to being cooped up this year, it is the talented artists inspired and locked up with their supplies. One of those people, to our credit, is local lady Kim Jore of Riverzen Gallery in Moorhead. Her project “Hometown for the Holidays” is a celebration of our small towns. It features 54 small towns within 50 miles of the Fargo-Moorhead area, from Hillsboro to Kenyon. Each one is a unique collage using watercolor,…

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Surviving the school year

October 7th, 2020

By Paul Noot

Artwork by Paul Noot

bismarckartist@yahoo.com

It was in the middle of March when Bismarck teachers were notified that school would not be going back and within a week schools would need a plan to do distance learning. I would have never imagined that I would be at home, teaching art through distance learning. I not only had to learn Google Classroom, but I also had an art exhibit to prepare for and to adjust to changes.

Teaching face-to-face is not even comparable to distance…

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Unglued Celebrates 10 Years

February 19th, 2020

This weekend, the 10th Annual Unglued Craft Fest will be held at the Plains Art Museum, featuring over 70 local and regional artists selling handmade items. Though most are Fargo-Moorhead residents, artists from Minneapolis, Sioux Falls, Bismarck, Des Moines, and Carrington are also taking part.

Products sold will include practical items like pottery, scarves, dish towels, soaps, and bath bombs. For shoppers simply looking for decorative trinkets, there will be stickers, sculptures,…

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The Crows come to roost again

February 19th, 2020

art by Cameron Peterson

by Jill Finkelson
jsfinkelson99@gmail.com 

We are now in the deep, dark quiet of winter. The wind rages and the snow muffles even the busiest of city streets. People slow down, life seems muted as we try to pass by the cold nights inside with a book and a blanket.The mammals hibernate and the leaves fall and the birds fly south to warmer climes. Except for the crow. The raucous bird caws and screams its way through winter with us and we wouldn’t have it any other way. They may be…

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