March 24 – July 9, 2023
Penny Niemi’s “Farm Island Anthology,” set against the backdrop of rural America, challenges a new generation to perpetuate the legacy of rugged, aging farmers who have passionately loved and worked and valued the land. It depicts an agrarian lifestyle that embodies simplicity and complexity in the same moment.
Its descriptions introduce scattered farm islands and their “farm islanders,” whose ancestors cut the virgin timber stands and tilled and planted virgin soil. The piece moves to the Island Man and Woman, main characters and equal partners in this rural life play. The island dog is another indispensable farm worker, lying in wait for any trespassers to his island kingdom. And inside the barn, pulsing, non-stop island action reverberates every hour, every day, every island year.
Inspired by years of all-season drives across southern Minnesota to visit family, “Farm Island Anthology” spotlights a fast-disappearing bedrock of American history and culture. It celebrates the individual spirit of those melting-pot builders of small farms and American agriculture. It is a call to action for youthful men and women all across the country to envision and implement innovative farming methods that will feed our future.
Read Farm Island Anthology here.
The works on exhibit at the Tubac Art Center (Tubac, AZ) and Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art (David City, NE) utilize the Farm Island Anthology Poetry as the descriptive centerpiece, inspiring a juried art competition. From among 37 participating artists, guest juror Molly Hobson Vaida of Landlock Gallery in Omaha selected the following award winners:
The People’s Choice Award will be announced at the end of the exhibition.
Congratulations to all our participants and winners!