ST. PAUL, Minn. – Every U.S. state has its share of invasive species, and in Minnesota, reed canary grass is one of them. But creative people know the common invader can also be turned into something artistic and practical.

Artist and Assistant Professor of Printmaking at Minnesota State University Moorhead Anna Haglin was part of the West-Central Minnesota Paper Plains project over the summer. She took her mobile studio to several locations, using reed canary grass to teach people how to make paper.

Haglin says kids were eager to take the paper they'd embedded with native prairie seeds home to plant in their backyard.

"I like to describe it as a magic trick,” laughs Haglin. “You take invasive grass and you're sort-of turning it into 'good' grass, so it's sort-of all about the conversation that then happened around that."

Haglin says Minnesota artists are fortunate, since the state has one of highest per-capita legislative appropriations to state art agencies in the country, spending $7.26 compared to $0.17 in neighboring Wisconsin.

Haglin says she can't remember a time she wasn't aware of climate change and its environmental effects, causing reed canary grass to spread. In the art world, her work is known as 'social practice,' because it focuses on the interaction between the audience, social systems, and the artist.

"An issue that I care about doesn't have to be something that I am shocking people with, or scolding them,” says Haglin. “We can all work towards a positive solution. Something that everyone enjoys."

The paper project is funded through a grant from the Fergus Falls-based West Central Initiative and Springboard for the Arts, an economic and community development organization.


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LA CONNER, Wash. - The exhibit of an artist who depicted the lives of farmworkers in northwest Washington has been recognized for its quality.

The Skagit County Historical Museum has received an award of excellence in exhibits from the Washington Museum Association for its retrospective on Jesus Guillen's work.

Guillen was a painter and farmworker in the region who died in 1994. His son, Miguel Guillen, provided input for the exhibit and works as a program manager in grants to organizations for the Washington State Arts Commission.

He said his father had a love of the worker.

"He had a comprehensive understanding of the experience," said Guillen. "That was really one of the drivers. I mean, he was an activist, he knew what needed to be done, he knew what he wanted to see done. But it came from a place in him that was of experience."

Guillen was born in Texas, spent his childhood in Mexico and then moved to the Skagit Valley in the 1960s, where he lived for the rest of his life. The exhibit, which was on display at the beginning of 2021, included his paintings, drawings and a diorama of his studio.

Kris Ekstrand is an artist and friend of Guillen's who curated "Jesus Guillen: An Artistic Legacy of Love and Courage."

She said his work was under-recognized and had never been shown as a group before this exhibit. Ekstrand said the exhibit was not just about his art but the story of his life and experience living in the Skagit Valley, which he loved.

"What makes his work unique is that the perspective of his paintings particularly is from the farmworker's point of view," said Ekstrand. "So it's really from the field looking out rather than from our point of view driving by, looking in."

Guillen said his father's work lives on because honest art always resonates.

"The fact that he poured so much of his soul into that work, so much intention into that work means it will never be irrelevant," said Guillen. "It will always be relevant because it speaks directly to the experience."

STOYSTOWN, Pa. -- Many have called United Flight 93, one of the four hijacked planes on Sep. 11, 2001, the first battle in the war on terror. This week, chalk artists from across the country are creating portraits, to honor those on board who attempted to retake control of the plane.

Flight 93 is the only hijacked plane from 9/11 that did not reach its intended target, believed to be Washington, D.C. Instead, it crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing the 40 passengers and crew members.

Erik Greenawalt, a chalk artist from Pittsburgh, will display his art, along with nine other artists, at the Flight 93 National Memorial near the crash site. Greenawalt said he is proud to create art on hallowed ground.

"Flight 93 is very close to our hearts, and still in our memory and still in our collective minds," Greenawalt reflected. "I think I, along with the artists, really recognize the solemnity of what it is that we're doing. And this is going to be one to memorialize those heroes from that day and, at least for a moment, let the visitors at the memorial see who those people were."

The portraits will be made on three-by-five-foot cement boards that are transportable in case of rain. The artists will use photos provided by the National Park Service, which runs the memorial.

Nate Baranowski, a Chicago-based chalk artist, visited the Flight 93 National Memorial during a road trip earlier this year and was moved by its tribute to the victims. He said he is looking forward to participating in the project, and using an art form like chalk is a great way to symbolically remember the lives lost on 9/11.

"Because in a lot of ways, honoring those on Flight 93 is honoring their lives, but also acknowledging the sort of ephemeral nature of life and how it is short in a lot of ways," Baranowski remarked. "It shows the beauty of lives, although tragically cut short."

More events at the memorial this weekend include a speaker series with local first responders and family members of Flight 93 passengers, as well as a lantern vigil.

BOSTON -- A new photo exhibit in the Seaport District showcases the surprising ties between a wide swath of Boston residents.

The Boston Uncornered Photo Project features larger-than-life portraits taken by photographer John Huet of the six people running for Boston mayor, beside former gang members and community leaders.

They're accompanied by stories of a time each person felt cornered by a negative experience, like racism, a traumatic event, or people not believing in them, and how they pushed through.

Michelle Caldeira, co-founder and senior vice president of Boston Uncornered, based in Dorchester, said it is important to amplify a variety of voices.

"So that the world can see that the gang-involved individuals are no different than you or me," Caldeira explained. "They have hopes, they have dreams, they have goals; they just need resources and opportunities to be able to achieve those things."

Caldeira added Boston Uncornered, part of College Bound Dorchester, was formed to help already influential gang leaders become positive, rather than negative, influences in the city. A 2020 impact study found 70% of Uncornered students go on to college; more than double the percentage of gang members who enroll nationally.

The photo exhibit is open to the public until Sep. 15.

Caldeira pointed out the upcoming mayoral election is a milestone for Boston. Five of the six candidates are people of color, including Acting Mayor Kim Janey, the first woman and the first Black person to serve in her role.

"This is 200 years in the making, right, the first Black woman leading the city," Caldeira remarked. "We can 'uncorner' Boston, we can end violence, we can create opportunities for young people in Boston."

Since the Uncornered program started, incidents of crime have been three times less prevalent in neighborhoods where Uncornered students were most engaged. Caldeira emphasized the portraits also are beautiful works of art, with powerful stories, and urged people to see them in person.