“Return to Normal?: COVID Diaries from Local Youth” Open House

Tomorrow (Friday, August 12^th), from noon-2pm, the public is welcome to attend an open house and informal question and answer session dealing with the exhibition “Return to Normal?: COVID Diaries from Local Youth” at the Otter Tail County Historical Society.

The exhibit, which was organized by Wesley Fawcett Creigh and Naomi RaMona Schliesman,   showcases work from several student artists from Otter Tail County. They are Nori Donais, Holly Gutzmer, Aurora Lindah, Maria Myhre, Sylvia Pesch and Alex Ramirez. These local artists created pieces exploring their pandemic experiences after doing interviews with local healthcare workers and exploring the emotional impact of the pandemic for frontline workers.

Schliesman explained, “We’ve given these youth an opportunity to have a voice and what they have felt through the pandemic and also being able to connect with local healthcare workers and how it’s affected them as well.” She added, “This exhibition consists of multimedia so there is video, there is photography, there is painting, and also installation art and musical composition so it hits all of the arts themselves and is a great exhibition.”

Friday’s event will feature discussion on the exhibition and project with the young artists whose original work is featured in the exhibit.

The exhibit itself will run through September 30, 2022 at the Otter Tail County Historical Society in Fergus Falls.

According to Schliesman, the hope is that, in the future, this project will continue to travel throughout Minnesota and beyond. People interested in hosting the exhibit in their communities can contact Michele Anderson at Springboard for the Arts.

This project, which has been in the works since January of 2022, is a partnership between the Springboard for the Arts, Otter Tail County Public Health, and the Otter Tail County Historical Society.

Click here and here for more information on this exhibit and open house event.