GRAND FORKS — An exhibition featuring the photography of Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb continues through July 9 at the North Dakota Museum of Art, 261 Centennial Drive, UND campus.
In the exhibition, titled “The Great Open, Photographs from North Dakota,” the creative partners bring together two linked yet distinctive visions of the state, according to a museum announcement.
Rebecca Norris Webb takes a poetic and intimate look at the natural world of North Dakota. Her work often explores those places where the natural world and one’s inner landscape meet, especially during times of change, upheaval and shifting weather – both meteorological and metaphysical. She often interweaves her text and photographs in her eight books, most notably with her monograph, “My Dakota: An Elegy for My Brother Who Died Unexpectedly.”
Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine and National Geographic, and is in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York.
Her eighth book, Night Calls, retraces the route her father made as a 102-year-old country doctor through the same rural county where they both were born.
ADVERTISEMENT
Alex Webb is the author of 20 books, including The Suffering of Light, a survey book of 30 years of his color photographs. His other books include Amazon, Istanbul and La Calle: Photographs from Mexico, and a collaborative book, Violet Isle: A Duet of Photographs from Cuba with Rebecca Norris Webb.
His work has been exhibited in museums worldwide, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
He has captured images in more than 50 countries and 200 cities around the world, sometimes commissioned by museums and other cultural institutions as well as magazines such as National Geographic, Geo, and The New York Times Magazine. During trips to North Dakota in August 2019 and August 2022, he photographed in parks, neighborhoods and flea markets in the more populated communities, including Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck and Williston.
This exhibition is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, through the Community Foundation of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and Region.
The Altru Family YMCA is planning a neighborhood block party from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 30, in its parking lot. The event is free and open to the public.
Games, music, food and door prizes will be available outdoors and guests are invited to use the open gym indoors.
YMCA staff members will serve grilled hot dogs, chips and drinks while supplies last.
For more information, contact Bob McWilliams at
or (701) 775-2586.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Dakota Science Center is offering a variety of STEM programs for children this summer at Grand Forks Public Library, according to Laura Munski, the center’s executive director.
All programs are free; registration is required. Registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis; some sessions have already been filled.
The FIRST LEGO League Explore team classes, open to kids ages 6 to 10, start June 5. Each team of 16 students will meet from 1 to 2 p.m. for one week (Monday-Thursday) in June and July, except for the Fourth of July week.
An additional Astro Camp is planned for kids ages 6 to 8. It will meet from 11 a.m. to noon July 10-12, according to Aaron Stefanich, children’s librarian.
All programs will meet in the conference room at Grand Forks Public Library.
For more information, contact Munski at
, call (701) 772-8207, or visit the Dakota Science Center’s Facebook page.
GRAND FORKS – Hey, have you heard? Tony Nunzio and Valentina Vitale are getting married – and everyone is invited.
Korrie Wenzel/Grand Forks Herald
The nuptial celebration of a big Italian-American wedding is actually the next interactive performance coming up at the Empire Arts Center. “Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding” opens June 23; other performance dates are June 24, 25 and 30 and July 1. Curtain time is 7 p.m., except on June 25, when the show begins at 2 p.m.
ADVERTISEMENT
Audience members will be the guests at the wedding “in all its tacky and hilarious glory,” said Kathy Coudle-King, managing artistic director of the Empire Theatre Company.
Following the “church service” there will be a reception where the audience will join the wedding party and their bickering families for a pasta dinner, champagne toasts, wedding cake and dancing to a five-piece band. A cash bar will be available. Tickets are $35. Groups of six or more may reserve a table.
Tickets are available now for the performances as well as Tina’s Bachelorette Party, set for 9 p.m. June 2, also at the Empire Arts Center. The bachelorette party – with some of the show’s cast members attending – will feature games, dancing, door prizes and a special performance by “Magic Ike,” an actor. The show’s DJ will spin tunes from the 1980s and ‘90s, Coudle-King said.
“Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding,” one of the longest-running shows in Off-Broadway history, offers a “delightful evening (that) gives new meaning to the phrase, ‘and now for something completely different,’ ” according to promotional material.
ADVERTISEMENT
The show is sponsored in partnership with Home of Economy.
For more information, go to
or call (701) 746-5500.
Ben Whitehair gauges his success as an actor by this standard: “Ultimately, am I happy and living my values?’”
“Personally, my core mission statement is to be a champion for social change through art and business,” he said.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Whitehair grew up in Colorado as a “homeschooled cowboy.”
“I lived on a ranch,” he said. “I was a bull rider, a champion sheep and dairy cow showman, a team roper and calf roper.”
Since he was a kid, he’s always had an abundance of drive — an essential quality for a working actor. When he became passionate about technology, he sold his champion sheep to buy parts to build a computer. When he discovered an interest in business in college, he started a company to help out-of-state students qualify for in-state tuition. His interest in social justice led to a summer internship in Congress.
By the time he graduated, he was debating whether to work for the government in D.C. or pursue his love of theater.
“I joked that I heard there was a shortage of actors in L.A., and I headed west,” he said,
He credits a quote from author Howard Thurman for his decision: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.’”
What made him come most alive was performing, he said. The theater community also represented an accepting, inclusive space he craved, because he grew up in an environment that didn’t welcome vulnerability, he said.
Hollywood careers
What defines success?
This profile is part of a series about what success looks like to working actors in Hollywood.
But choosing to pursue acting as a career didn’t dim his other passions.
When he was figuring out how to navigate Hollywood, he wanted to help others by sharing the lessons he learned. He eventually co-founded Working.actor (pronounced “Working dot actor”), which publishes guides on how to create your marketing materials, get representation, build relationships and ultimately book more gigs.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
He got his SAG-AFTRA card after playing a protestor in “CSI: Miami.” As he continued to build up his film and TV résumé, he also became very active in the union. He founded the organization’s NextGen Performers Committee. After serving on the local and national board, he was elected as SAG-AFTRA vice president in 2021.
He’s not sure if his volunteer work in the union hurts or helps him when it comes to booking acting gigs. But he continues to be guided by a greater mission.
He was recently in charge of updating the new SAG-AFTRA Member Toolkit. He co-hosts the oranization’s podcasts and YouTube livestreams, as well as industry panels for his digital marketing company TSMA Consulting. He’s also been focused on addressing actors’ challenges with self-tape auditions and the threat of AI.
The reason he’s dedicated a lot of his career to helping actors understand the business of acting is because he thinks it gives actors more control.
There’s so much that is out of your control as an actor, he said. He’s been told he is too good-looking for a role. He’s been told he was not good-looking enough for a role.
“I got cast as a big role in a Civil War pilot years ago, the network said it was the best pilot they had seen in 20 years, and it didn’t get picked up — for reasons that have nothing to do with me,” he said.
Of course he has the same aspirations of many actors, he said. He’d love to tell bigger and better stories and eventually win awards.
But he already has the lifestyle in Los Angeles that he’s always wanted. He’s surrounded by sunshine and dreamers. And though there is undoubtedly more glitz and glamour in Hollywood, it still reminds him of his blue-collar ranch life in Colorado.
“The parking lot of a set looks like the construction lots I grew up on,” he said. “There’s pickup trucks. There’s equipment.”
“And I don’t know of anything that brings together so many different types of skill sets,” he added. “You need masters of lighting, costume, production, design and sound. You’re constantly surrounded by people who are at the top of their profession.”
Photo editing and design by Calvin Alagot.
evereachmore, a performance along the Los Angeles River choreographed by taisha paggett and dance company WXPT. An NEA Our Town grant to Clockshop will support community engagement activities and cultural asset mapping to influence the design and engineering of 100 acres of parkland along the Los Angeles River. Photo by Gina Clyne, courtesy of Clockshop
Washington, DC—The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is pleased to announce more than $103 million in recommended grants in the second major grant announcement of fiscal year 2023. Organizations in all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions will carry out arts projects in three NEA funding categories: Grants for Arts Projects, Our Town, and State and Regional Partnerships.
“The National Endowment for the Arts is pleased to support a wide range of projects, demonstrating the many ways the arts enrich our lives and contribute to healthy and thriving communities,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “These organizations play an important role in advancing the creative vitality of our nation and helping to ensure that all people can benefit from arts, culture, and design.”
Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) is the National Endowment for the Arts’ largest grants program for organizations. Matching grants range from $10,000 to $100,000, and are recommended for organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. In July 2022, 1,927 eligible applications were received requesting more than $98 million in FY23 support. This round, 1,129 projects are approved for funding totaling more than $31 million.
Project-based funding will support opportunities for public engagement with the arts and arts education, the integration of the arts with strategies that promote the health and well-being of people and communities, and the improvement of overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector.
Through this grant category, the NEA provides comprehensive and expansive funding for communities across a variety of artistic disciplines and fields. Recommended grants this round support a range of activities, including:
The next deadline for organizations interested in applying for Grants for Arts Projects is Thursday, July 6, 2023; visit arts.gov for guidelines and application resources.
Interdisciplinary artist Tsēmā Igharas (Tāłtān) performing at Indigenous Creatives Collective’s King Street Station exhibition opening in 2019. An NEA grant to Indigenous Creatives Collective will support multidisciplinary arts programming, artist residencies, and public programs at the organization’s new wooded property in South Seattle. Photo by Naomi Ishisaka, courtesy of Indigenous Creatives Collective
Our Town is the NEA’s creative placemaking grants program. Our Town projects advance local economic, physical, or social outcomes in communities, ultimately laying the groundwork for systems change and centering equity. Matching grants in this category range from $25,000 to $150,000 and support projects that will take place in 34 states. Of the 175 eligible applications, 57 projects are approved for funding totaling $4,175,000.
Our Town projects require a partnership between a nonprofit organization and a local government entity, with one of the partners being a cultural organization. Project-based funding will support activities that integrate arts, culture, and design into local efforts that strengthen communities. Recommended grants include:
The next deadline for organizations interested in applying for Our Town is Thursday, August 3, 2023; visit arts.gov for guidelines and application resources.
More information about all of the National Endowment for the Arts’ grant opportunities is available at arts.gov/grants. This section also includes resources for first-time and returning applicants as well as information on how to volunteer to be an NEA panelist.
Each year, approximately 40 percent of the NEA’s appropriated program funds are awarded to state arts agencies, regional arts organizations, and the national service organization to support the work of the states and regions. In total, up to $67.9 million is recommended for these partners in FY 2023, with up to $55.1 million of that total designated for State Arts Agencies.
State & Regional Partnership Agreement grants extend the NEA’s reach to even more communities, reflecting investments in locally-determined priorities, and translate national leadership into local benefit. To learn more about how the National Endowment for the Arts is impacting individual states and regions of the country, select a state or territory on the state impact page or visit the regional map.
In photography, artists continually seek new techniques to express their creativity and evoke specific moods or emotions. High-key photography is one such technique that offers a unique and striking visual aesthetic. This style is characterized by its bright, evenly lit images with minimal shadows, resulting in a clean and ethereal look. Let’s take a look at creating some high-key photography and explore the key elements and techniques required to create these images.
High-key photography revolves around capturing a scene or subject with abundant light, giving rise to a predominantly bright and positive visual tone. Unlike low-key photography which emphasizes darkness and shadows, high-key photography aims to eliminate or minimize shadows to produce an almost surreal, dream-like atmosphere.
Post-processing plays a crucial role in achieving the desired high-key effect. Software such as Adobe Lightroom, Capture One or Photoshop provide an array of tools to fine-tune your images. Here are a few post-processing techniques to consider:
While I am well-known for my dark and moody styled still life, macro and portraits, I also have a love of soft and dreamy or ethereal high-key images as well. I had a simple heirloom white pumpkin and dried gypsophila and wanting to capture some ethereal high-key images.
As I was using speedlights, there was no need for a tripod, however, I could have used one to free my hands up. I did place it on the table and captured my images from there. Using my Sony A7RIII and my Tamron 28-75mm lens, ISO100, focal length 62mm, f/2.8 and a shutter speed of 1/200 second to capture enough light and detail without completely blowing out my highlights. There is slightly more shadow on the right as the strip box was on more of an angle and pulled slightly further away than the one on the left. This created more shadow on the right of the pumpkin.
I thought the image looked fabulous in post and the only thing I did in Lightroom was convert to Black and White and crop it slightly, that’s it.
High-key photography is a captivating style that allows photographers to convey a sense of lightness and purity in their images. By understanding the key elements of high-key photography and employing the right techniques, you can create stunning photographs that exude a dreamy and ethereal ambience. Embrace the beauty of light and explore the endless possibilities that high-key photography offers, and let your creativity soar.
SOUTHBURY — The Southbur Public Library, 100 Poverty Rd., offers a program on how to improve smartphone photography from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 6, in the library’s Kingsley Room and via Zoom.
Those attending will learn to recognize the difference between a powerful image and an ineffective photo, by understanding the three elements that photos need to engage the viewer. Simple tools and an inexpensive app on the phone will tweak and improve all images.
Jan Doyle is a media personality with her own show, Wyse Talk, on cable and YouTube. She has appeared on Good Morning CT for three years with Classroom Connections, taught elementary and high school and loves to travel.
The program, free to attend and open to anyone regardless of town of residency, is sponsored by the Charles H. and Ella Emery Rutledge Fund.
Registration is required and may be found at www.southburylibrary.org/events. Zoom invitation links will be sent via email on the day of the program.
A well-known home in the Elon area, the Dillard Mansion, is targeted for use as a photography venue, special events attraction for weddings and a short-term tourist rental of a dwelling.
The Amherst County Planning Commission on May 18 voted to recommend approval of a special exception request from Mark and Pamela Turner, the applicants and owner, to use the Dillard Property at 2770 Elon Road for those uses.
According to the Amherst County Museum and Historical Society, the home constructed from 1940 to 1942 was called “The Shelter” by the builder and original owner, David Hugh Dillard, and his wife.
The Campbell County native was widely known as a Lynchburg industrialist, businessman and philanthropist who died in January 1970 at age 80. He was brother to the late Queena Dillard Stovall, a well-known folk artist who lived in Elon.
The mansion was Dillard’s dream home and designed to be a virtually fire-proof stone fortress, according to Amherst New Era-Progress archives. The stone was brought down the mountain and cut by stone cutters who lived around the Elon area, a March 1981 article in the New Era-Progress states. After Dillard’s wife died in 1975, the home was sold and has had several owners over the next four decades.
Paul Kilgore, a local Realtor and former Amherst mayor, said he recently sold the property to the Turners and is excited about the planned uses.
“They want to share it with people,” Kilgore said. “It is the landmark in Amherst County. For them to open it to other people is pretty special, I think.”
The property is zoned Agricultural Residential, A-1, and Pamela Turner plans to use two different locations on the site for special events and photography venue. An area also is included on the concept plan to accommodate parking for the proposed special events.
“This site is one of the most well-known structures in the county and this will showcase it and the beauty of the county,” the application for the permit states.
Conditions for the permit include requiring guests to not park on any neighboring lots o any right-of-way outside the property unless given written permission and a parking attendant shall direct traffic during events with attendance greater than 75 people, according to county documents.
The permit request now heads to the Amherst County Board of Supervisors for review.
#lee-rev-content { margin:0 -5px; }
#lee-rev-content h3 {
font-family: inherit!important;
font-weight: 700!important;
border-left: 8px solid var(–lee-blox-link-color);
text-indent: 7px;
font-size: 24px!important;
line-height: 24px;
}
#lee-rev-content .rc-provider {
font-family: inherit!important;
}
#lee-rev-content h4 {
line-height: 24px!important;
font-family: “serif-ds”,Times,”Times New Roman”,serif!important;
margin-top: 10px!important;
}
@media (max-width: 991px) {
#lee-rev-content h3 {
font-size: 18px!important;
line-height: 18px;
}
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article {
clear: both;
background-color: #fff;
color: #222;
background-position: bottom;
background-repeat: no-repeat;
padding: 15px 0 20px;
margin-bottom: 40px;
border-top: 4px solid rgba(0,0,0,.8);
border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(0,0,0,.2);
display: none;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article,
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article p {
font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, “Segoe UI”, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, “Apple Color Emoji”, “Segoe UI Emoji”, “Segoe UI Symbol”;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article h2 {
font-size: 24px;
margin: 15px 0 5px 0;
font-family: “serif-ds”, Times, “Times New Roman”, serif;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article .lead {
margin-bottom: 5px;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article .email-desc {
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 20px;
margin-bottom: 5px;
opacity: 0.7;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article form {
padding: 10px 30px 5px 30px;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article .disclaimer {
opacity: 0.5;
margin-bottom: 0;
line-height: 100%;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article .disclaimer a {
color: #222;
text-decoration: underline;
}
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article .email-hammer {
border-bottom: 3px solid #222;
opacity: .5;
display: inline-block;
padding: 0 10px 5px 10px;
margin-bottom: -5px;
font-size: 16px;
}
@media (max-width: 991px) {
#pu-email-form-breaking-email-article form {
padding: 10px 0 5px 0;
}
}
.grecaptcha-badge { visibility: hidden; }
