Artist Initiative
ACHF Arts Access
The outcome is a series of portraits that provide an outside perspective of life on The Angle. The success is determined by how many residents I photograph and the power and strength of the portraits. The interest outside of the Angle is essential to evaluating success and can be determined by blog interaction, exhibition invitations, and press coverage. 2: The outcome is a series of photographs created by young and old who live in The Angle. The images reflect the unique area where they live. The number of residents who participate and the quality of work determines the success of the project. The level of enthusiasm is a good barometer for measuring outcome success. I anticipate strong interest because residents of The Angle are eager to share their unique way of life with others.
This grant provided me with several learning opportunities. I learned how to manage my work flow and technical skills in an environment that is very remote. The Angle is isolated and the winter temperatures dipped to -45, I have never shot or cared for my equipment under such circumstances. I also worked with a group of grade school children ranging in age from 6-14, this was definitely and new learning curve, and all in a one room school house too. During the grant period I also honed my technical skills in color photography and aspects of Photoshop. The most important thing I learned is how much people appreciate the arts regardless of where they live. 2: This component on the grant was by far the most inspiring for a community of people who travel 3 hours roundtrip through a foreign country to just buy groceries. There is no way to describe the isolation and remoteness on the Minnesota Angle, one has to experience it. The grant provided an opportunity for children who live far away from any available gallery, museum or arts related space to engage in the practice and a working artist. The year of photographs and gallery books they created are inspiring. The parents of the kids noted the enthusiasm their children had for the project and began to discuss continuing a project and arts education in general. For the rest of the community the project brought out a lot of pride and wanted to people to see the beauty of where they live. The exhibition and book launch was attended by 60 plus people, more than actually live there. People came up from Roseau and Warroad. I have attached photos of the event.