Spotlight on the Arts

Spotlight on the Arts Greetings from the Northern Lights Arts Council!

By Amber Benoit

Amber Benoit, Northern Lights Arts Council I am excited to be writing my first column for The Borderland Press! I had a wonderful experience working with the staff at the Cavalier County Republican the past few years and want to thank Lori for everything she did for the NLAC. It was welcome news to hear of Bob and Diane Simmons launching The Borderland Press. Thank you to Bob, Sarah, and Jackie who have already been a joy to work with!

Now to some events! We are excited to feature the artwork of Adam Johnston through our program called “Art in Unexpected Places”. Adam is originally from Langdon and has fantastic artistic talent. We will be showcasing his sculptures in this exhibit. It will be displayed for a week at Bachman Goodman Ag Services 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday, Jan. 24 through Friday, Jan. 28. It will move the following week to the Cavalier County Library and will be on display Monday, January 31 through Friday, February 4, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. on Wednesday. This exhibit is free and open to the public, so be sure to stop by during any of these times to see Adam’s work.

After COVID postponed the Artist in Residence program for a couple of years, we are very happy to announce it will be back again! Hamzat Amoussa Koriko will be working with Langdon Area Elementary students the week of Jan. 24 with his residency week titled “The Craft of Storytelling”. Hamzat is the Director of the African Arts Arena based in Grand Forks, N.D.. He has a background in acting, storytelling, writing, and theater. He will be working with students to teach storytelling through music, dance, and song, and teaching about new immigrants’ cultures. His philosophy is “I do, we do; and you do” and believes that every student has the potential when given the chance. He will be teaching Togolese storytelling with drums and other percussion instruments. Along with his residency at the school, he will also be performing at Maple Manor Care Center. To showcase what the students learned throughout the week, there will be a public performance at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 28 in the elementary school gym. This will be free and open to the public. You can learn more about Hamzat by visiting the North Dakota Council on the Arts website, arts.nd.gov. This project is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Thank you to our members for your continued support! Hope to see you around soon!

Amber Benoit has been the executive director of marketing and programming at the Northern Lights Arts Council (NLAC) since 2016. NLAC is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the promotion of cultural arts and humanities by coordinating and providing a variety of events and activities for adults and children of Cavalier County. It was incorporated in 1993.

Elementary students from St. Alphonsus School display sleds that were dropped off at the front door of the school by a generous donor. Submitted photo.

January Art Student of the Month

Autumn Howatt Daughter of Van and Lisa Howatt Senior at Langdon Area High School

Braydon Jerome, a 2nd grader at Langdon Area Elementary enjoys the snow during outside recess after days of inside recess due to subzero temperatures and wind chills. Photo by Larry Stokke

Recess time at Langdon Area Elementary. Photo by Larry Stokke.