​The education of a wandering girl

Dig into Pockets of culture

By Sabrina Hornung

At the beginning of the year I relocated to my hometown. I’m not gonna lie -- I felt pretty down and out, betrayed, heartbroken and downright disgusted. Everything I owned was hastily stored in my mom’s garage in no particular order. I found myself in Jamestown contemplating my life choices. Living out of a few boxes in my grandparents’ house and sharing my childhood bedroom with my two cats, “Lion King” sheets and twin-size canopy bed (minus the canopy).

I spent a lot of time bouncing between here, there, and everywhere in between, my Jetta became my mobile office and I had a lot of time to sort out my thoughts. One wouldn’t really think that 100 miles would make all that much of a difference in terms of ideas and social norms.

For example, I walked into an establishment in Buchanan, ND, and was greeted with a “BOY! You must be the most liberal person that’s ever set foot in here!” He claimed my cat eye glasses gave me away, wondered why I would even talk to an old Republican like himself and we made friends two-stepping around the pool table -- haven’t seen him since but won’t forget him anytime soon. He claims he’d never met an artist before … needless to say he probably already forgot about me.

From an artist's perspective I noticed that artists in Fargo identify themselves as "Fargo Artists," and those outside of Fargo identify themselves as "North Dakota Artists." I know points of cultural interest (in terms of art..every county seat seems to have a spectacular county museum) tend to be a bit more spread out because the population is so spread out, resulting in regional culture clusters. I usually try to enter a few pieces in the annual juried show in Jamestown and attend the opening if I am able. I’ve noticed people would drive from about a 60-mile radius for the opening a chance to experience regional art and to talk to other regional artists.

The art there was very regional, and everyone was supportive and proud of their art community. I really regret that I did not become more involved with the Art Center while I was there. I spent my weekends serving or slinging drinks at The Vets Club and my second haunt was The Alfred Dickey Public Library that proudly boasts that Louis L’amour spent a lot of time there too.

I used to think that "Fargo Artists" were in North Dakota denial. Though I do see people embracing their roots and heritage more and more. I had the opportunity to speak with Becky Dunham at The Plains Art Museum while interviewing her about pieces selected for the gala about a year ago, and she mentioned that the common theme in the works submitted was the regional subject matter.

Which does not mean that any other concept is moot -- it was my personal realization that maybe we are on the same page or at least we are in the same book, just a different chapter.

F-M residents are so fortunate to have institutions such as The Plains or The Rourke at our fingertips, and having coffee shops around every other corner with creatives of all ages surrounding them and people openly outing themselves as liberals.

This is why the term “Imperial Cass” and the “Paris of the prairie” is thrown around and into the wind.

Youth in smaller North Dakota towns graduate high school and dream big dreams of Fargo, and the youth of Fargo dream big dreams of Minneapolis. Do the kids that come back from Minneapolis bring back their own urban influence, or is it the country mouse who stays behind and dreams big dreams of the city?

No matter where we find our inspiration, I’ve found that the greatest part of being an artist in Fargo or an artist in the rest of greater North Dakota is that there are always new frontiers to explore and pockets of culture to dig into. It’s just a matter of where you look.