Visions in Photography: Stories of Now is a national juried exhibition that opened on October 17th in the Colonel Eugene E. Myers Art Gallery at the Hughes Fine Arts Center with a small reception to celebrate. The opening of the exhibition included refreshments and delightful live music as provided by talented cellists, pianists, and violinists of the UND Music Department. The exhibition, juried by visiting artist Cindy Steiler, includes the work of artists from all over the continental United States. Steiler is an exceptionally talented artist with a gift for visual storytelling and is currently the Artist in Resident of Photography at UND.  

Featuring a variety of art forms such as digital photographs, digital pigment prints, pigmented print and palladium, and more, the exhibition is a beautiful display of life as seen through the lens of a camera. The exhibition is sponsored by the Myers Foundations and the UND Department of Art and Design and awarded monetary prizes for the top three works of art as selected by Steiler. Submissions were open to both students and professionals over the age of eighteen. First place was awarded to Christina Kerns for her lenticular photograph, Untitled.  

The show was curated by current UND Professor Suzanne Gonsalez-Smith. Gonsalez-Smith explained that the showcase is the first major exhibition since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. She emphasized that she wanted the exhibition to feel real and honest. “I wanted it to be open to whatever people were feeling, where are you right now, tell me your stories,” Gonsalez-Smith said. The result is a profound display of humanity with photographs artfully communicating the isolation of the pandemic as well as the everyday tragedies of life, such as the harrowing experience of cancer, that define human existence. “That stuff does not stop,” Gonsalez-Smith said of the common pains of life. “These are quiet moments that people have, and it was a little different than what I thought would come out from this exhibit, but I think that is telling.” The exhibition contains a variety of artwork touching on all aspects of reality with the entries painting a picture of the complexities of modern life and the emotions associated with it. A stunning demonstration of the human experience, the exhibition is open now and will run until November 3rd at the Hughes Fine Arts Center.  

Gabrielle Bossart is a Dakota Student General Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].