Event Link: https://www.prairiewetlands.org

FEE: NO FEE

The Friends of the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center are excited to again sponsor a prairie-themed photography contest! Thank you to all who participated in the previous years.

Nature photography is one of the many enriching activities available on our public lands. Photography is inexpensive, fun, and easy to do. In celebration of the plentiful opportunities to find and capture the beauty of the prairie, the contest is open to all amateur photographers.

Photos will be grouped into one of four categories: Prairie Wildlife, Prairie Plant Life, Prairie Scenic Views and Recreation, and Prairie Pollinators and Other Invertebrates. Individual photographers will be able to submit up to 5 prairie-themed photos taken on public lands in 2024/2025. The contest will accept submissions from September 14, 2024 through September 12, 2025. The Grand Prize Winner will receive a large metal print of their photo after it is displayed at the PWLC for one year! Other prizes will be available too, including gift certificates, award certificates, and more.

Please stay tuned for more announcements and visit our Facebook page for more information. We are anxious to see all the beautiful photographs captured on our region’s prairies!
Please visit our webpage for our entry form and contest rules, https://www.prairiewetlands.org/  Questions may be called in to our Friends phone line at (218) 998-4488 or email

EVENT LINK: https://www.evansvilleartcenter.org/events/points-of-view-work-by-kathleen-richert-and-stuart-klipper
FEE: FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Points of View: Work by Kathleen Richert and Stuart Klipper

Friday, June 6 - June 28, 2025

Evansville Arts Center, 111 Main Street, Evansville, MN 56326

June’s exhibit in the Gallery features work by water colorist, Kathleen Richert and photographer, Stuart Klipper in an exhibit entitled Points of View.

Stuart Klipper and Kathleen Richert

For decades Kathleen Richert and Stuart Klipper have wandered the countryside, separately and together, following tertiary routes and roads less traveled in search of subjects. Richert arms herself with watercolor paint, paper, and brushes; Klipper wields his trusty wide-field film camera (yes, film). Richert often quips, “Some trips we stop every thousand feet so Stuart can make a picture, but it only takes a sixtieth of a second. We may stop once or twice so that I can make a picture, and we are there for half an hour.”
Early on they discovered that they both prefer a rectangular landscape orientation. Both are drawn to subjects which are representative of a geographic area, but which include something specific and unique anchoring that image to a specific locale, even to its coordinates.

“Photography,” says Klipper, “is knowing where to stand.” For both Richert and Klipper, images begin with deciding where to stand— or sit — to frame their specific points of view.

Points of View will be exhibited in the Gallery from June 6 to June 28 and may be seen during regular Gallery hours of 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. There is no charge.

There will be an Artist Talk presented on June 28 at 1:00 p.m., followed by a reception.

Event Link: https://www.hcscconline.org

FEE: Regular admission is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, $9 for college students, $8 for youth 5-17, and free for under 5, for active military families, HCSCC members, and everyone on Tuesday evenings from 5 to 8pm.

The Unchosen Ones is a photography exhibition displaying the work of R. J. Kern. His photography explores the ideas of home, agriculture, and rural livelihoods. The Unchosen Ones focuses on young contestants at county fairs throughout Minnesota in 2016 and 2020 who didn’t win in their contests. These contestants, some of them as young as four years old, dedicated time and energy to raising livestock to show and Kern's portraits capture a sense of wisdom and heartiness in his subjects beyond their years.

Event Link: https://www.hcscconline.org/the-unchosen-ones.html

FEE: FREE and open to the public.

R. J. Kerns discusses his inspiration and creation of The Unchosen Ones. 

The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County is pleased to announce a new traveling exhibit opening Tuesday, July 8 at the Hjemkomst Center, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead, MN. This unique collection of vibrant images will be shown at the Hjemkomst Center July 8 through September 30, 2025.  

The Unchosen Ones, a color photography exhibit by Minnesota photographer R. J. Kerns, captures the spirit and dignity of the children and the animals who compete in livestock competitions and do not win. Loveably Minnesotan, the exhibit was created from portraits taken at 10 Minnesota county fairs, including Clay County’s. The exhibit consists of 20 43” X 53” prints in wood frames and 8 framed 14” x 17” silver gelatin prints from wet plate collodion tintypes. 

The exhibit encompasses a series of portraits of young people posing with the animals they have raised, cared for, and groomed for entry into a best-animal competition with dreams of the glory of moving on to State Fair victory. No victory is shown here, however. These animals and their young owners were not deemed champions; they came in second or third or not at all. Here, on the sidelines of the main events, these disappointed children and their beloved animals illustrate a small backstory, preserving a moment of failure, loss, love, and hope, as only photography can.

These activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Lake Region Arts Council and the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage fund, and by the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation, the Alex Stern Family Foundation, and The Arts Partnership, with support from the Cities of Fargo, Moorhead, and West Fargo.