Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Becoming unhinged in Fergus Falls

Arts | September 25th, 2019

Cyanotype of the Kirkbride building in Fergus Falls by Sabrina Hornung

In early October 2018, I had the opportunity to participate in a two week Hinge Arts Residency in Fergus Falls Minnesota. The application wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be but I still sweated my way through it. Naturally I was pleased as punch when I found out my proposal was accepted. As part of the residency I stayed in a beautifully renovated apartment just off the grounds of the former Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center also known as the Kirkbride. Resident artists accommodations are in what used to be the former male nurse's dormitory. I really like to describe the time that I spent there as a much needed "two week work-cation."

The program offers three different residency tracks. Career Development helps the artist focus on their own projects. Such as learning a new medium, starting a new body of work or even working on recording a new album. Keep in mind, these residencies aren’t just limited to the visual arts. Performances artists, filmmakers, writers and musicians have all been “Hinge Artists.”

The second track is the Homecoming residency which welcomes Fergus Falls expats with open arms, reinviting them to collaborate and engage within their old stomping grounds. The third track is for Alumni. The Alumni residency invites those who had previously had a residency but want to elaborate on an idea or connection from their last time working within the Hinge Arts program.The Hinge Arts residency is made possible thanks to Springboard for the arts which is a community minded program fueled by artists for artists.

Sabrina working in studio below Kaddatz Galleries -photo by Sabrina Hornung

There was a light thunderstorm during my first night there. I was curled up in my daybed in the efficiency apartment provided, trying to fall asleep, listening to the falling rain. Between lightning flashes I could see the towers of the Kirkbride in the distance and I thought to myself, this is exactly where I should be right now.

As part of my proposal I planned on creating a series of cyanotypes from photos that I took while on the last tour of the Kirkbride a few years before. Prior to my proposal it had probably been a good three years since I had made a cyanotype--cyanotypes are an antiquated photo process that are essentially what blueprints are made of. I didn't really have the time or space to fully set up but this opportunity provided me with both time and space to create.

I had a head and hard drive full of images that needed to be transformed. Plus I just so happened to have a few photos from the last tour that was offered in the Kirkbride and this seemed like the perfect series to get back in my cyanotype groove. Unfortunately the Kirkbride is no longer open to the public and parts of the grounds are currently going through periodic demolition, but you are able to explore the grounds within the proper boundaries, keep in mind that the building is under heavy surveillance--but you can still get some killer photos regardless.

The Hinge Arts residency program was launched in Spring 2015, with the intent to create opportunities for artists and to encourage those artists and community members to connect and navigate themes of transition, and innovation inspired by the community’s 124 years of hosting a state mental institution. According to springboardforthearts.org, "The name 'Hinge' is inspired by a belief that artists play a key role in connecting our past with our future. The name is a deliberate response to the word 'unhinged' as it relates to mental illness."

Unhinged - cyanotype by Sabrina Hornung

The Kirkbride has often been referred to as “the castle on the hill” and it has inspired, shocked, awed, and provided economic stability to the community of Fergus Falls, Minnesota until the state closed its doors in 2005. It's hard to find anyone in Fergus who doesn't have some kind of a tie to the facility.

The Hinge Arts Residency program at the Kirkbride is a community development and artist residency program in Fergus Falls which encourages cultural programming at or related to the historic Fergus Falls State Hospital, or the “Kirkbride Building.” The program is open to artists all over the United States and it provides 2-6 week artist residencies which include housing, career counseling, 24 hour access to an amazing studio space below the Kaddatz Gallery, and a community full of folks who are more than willing to answer any questions you may have, whether you're asking for directions, collaborations or help with your creative process.

Plus the folks at Springboard will clue you in on all the hotspots and goings ons of Fergus. A few of my favorite spots were The Spot, The Viking Cafe and Union Pizza.

Resident artist quarters in the former male nurse dormitories - photograph by Sabrina Hornung

The studio space provided through the residency is made possible through a collaboration between Springboard for the Arts--the organization behind Hinge Arts and the Kaddatz Gallery--which are both located in downtown Fergus Falls. The Kaddatz gallery provides exhibition space as well as a classroom space plus the gallery also hosts weekly figure drawing session on Fridays. Hinge artists also have access to the archives at the Ottertail County Historical Society and the local library.

The next deadline for a Hinge Arts residency will be March 1st, 2020 for residencies taking place between July and December 2020.

YOU SHOULD KNOW:

https://springboardforthearts.org/jobs-opportunities/hinge-residency/

Recently in:

By Laura Simmonslaurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu Dr. Stephen McDonough researched why North Dakota had the highest COVID death rate and cases in the fall of 2020. His investigation accumulated into a 1,000-plus page book titled…

By Michael M. Miller michael.miller@ndsu.eduOne of the most important books published about the Germans from Russia in North Dakota is “Along the Trails of Yesterday: A Story of McIntosh County” by Nina Farley Wishek, published…

photo credit: Jessica GavinSeptemberOktoberfest: Now-October 3Wurst Bier HallStein-holding competition, happy hour Mon-Fri from 4-6, wear your dirndl or lederhosen, German music.https://wurstfargo.com/Papa’s Pumpkin…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.comOur Opinion: Thank you, Reader readers, for 29 fulfilling yearsChugging along, The Little Newspaper That Could commences its 30th volume and year with this issue. Simply getting here speaks volumes. Just…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comEighty Million Eligible Voters Did Not Vote in the DSA in 2020. Why Not?In the first week of February, 2023, Deborah Daub, 59, shot and killed her husband James Daub, 62, Morgan Daub, their…

We are looking for 55-gallon plastic food grade barrels, do you have ideas or connections?We use these barrels to teach our resilient yard workshop series including Make Your Own Rain Barrel and Make Your Own Compost Tumbler. If…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comMy new venture as a master’s degree student has got me thinking…again about food. Although I’m in an online program with the University of North Dakota, I thought it would be handy to list and…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comThe Melvins formed in 1983 Montesano, Washington, founded by singer/guitar player Buzz Osborne. The group is known for its heavy sound mixed with a dose of punk, forming its own subgenre.…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comFilmmaker Jacqueline Castel’s “My Animal” premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in January, but its vibes are better suited to the rising blood moon of autumn’s spooky season. Now…

By HPR Staffsubmit@hpr1.comThe 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…

By Eric Dallmanericd@hpr1.comWe recently watched “The PROM” at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, and it was an experience that left a lasting impact on us. The story, a heartwarming yet familiar one, follows a group of Broadway stars…

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 John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On the first day of the month I ask people to thank a journalist they know or someone who contributes to papers in some meaningful way. When I grew up, my best friend's father was a journalist…