Buy tickets here to participate in the live and silent auctions. To place a proxy bid, please email tina[at]newterritorymag.com

Featured artwork in our live art auction:

“Power’s Island”

This linocut print is from a series of six prints based on six maps of the Mississippi River along southern Illinois and Missouri created by the United States Coast Survey in 1865. The maps detail the river and its environs from St. Mary’s, Missouri, to Cairo, Illinois. Abstracted from the indications of towns and property owners on the originals, the prints emphasize the mercurial nature of the river: its swooping S-curves, its powerful cuts and islands, its sometimes explosive interaction with the earth, and its human-like corporality. The print is layered with egg tempera paint made with natural pigment from southern Illinois creek stones.

This series of river maps accompanies Josephson’s feature story “River Meanders” in The New Territory Issue 13.

Starting bid for this print at The Pageturner Fundraiser: $75

Marika Josephson and Her Connection to the Lower Midwest

I am the co-owner of Scratch Brewing Company, a farmhouse brewery nestled next to the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. Scratch makes beer with a sense of place, using Midwestern ingredients that are grown on our own farm or that grow wild in the woods around the brewery to create unique beer that expresses what is special about our part of the Midwest. My art follows a similar tack, exploring what is unique about southern Illinois utilizing found materials natural to our environment.

“It is my hope that through my work, and through venues like The New Territory Midwesterners are able to bring the stories and beauty of this part of the country to life for other people who aren’t as well acquainted with it.”

Hope for Art/Literature in the Midwest

Southern Illinois is a confluence of many biomes and consequently has some of the richest biodiversity in the country. I’m happy that nobody knows how beautiful it is so we don’t have to share it with anyone else! However, it is my hope that through my work, and through venues like The New Territory Midwesterners are able to bring the stories and beauty of this part of the country to life for other people who aren’t as well acquainted with it.

Buy tickets to The Pageturner here to see and bid on Marika’s work and experience Scratch Beer for yourself! Thanks to Marika for donating a case of Black Cherry beer and for donating this beautiful print.

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Buy tickets here to participate in the live and silent auctions.

Featured artwork in our live art auction:

“Boxed In”

Tickseed sunflowers, also called bearded beggar ticks, burst from the side of a drainage ditch in Springdale, Arkansas, in September 2016. This paved, desolate place would seem a poor spot for any living thing, and the background building and its reflection visually trap the subject in an artificial box. But even here the line between death and life is thin and easily cracked. 

Starting bid for photograph at The Pageturner Fundraiser: $100

About Dan Holtmeyer

“My hope for literature and other art in the region is that it continues to reflect we who live here in all of our colors and thoughts and backgrounds.”

I’m a photographer and writer living in northwest Arkansas with my husband and two dogs. I’ve lived within the mid-U.S. for all of my life, most especially Missouri, Nebraska and now Arkansas. There are a lot of elected leaders and ordinary people in these states that would prefer that I not live here, and at points it has been tempting to leave. But it’s my home as much as it is any of theirs. My hope for literature and other art in the region is that it continues to reflect we who live here in all of our colors and thoughts and backgrounds. Doing this can change minds. But even if it doesn’t, it lets us know we aren’t alone. 

Note from the editor: Dan was our longtime copy editor, and his photography appeared in The New Territory as early as Issue 02. He also donated his work for these Northwest Arkansas Postcards:

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Buy tickets here to participate in the live and silent auctions.

Featured artwork in our live art auction:

“Sumac Field”

Kelly Yarbrough (b. Plano, TX) is an artist based in Manhattan, Kansas. Her practice is rooted in an ecosystem that includes mixed media drawing, arts administration and creating meaningful opportunities for humans to engage with their environment. She enjoys unexpected collaborations, transdisciplinary conversations, and continual learning. Kelly holds an MFA from Kansas State University, and founded the Tallgrass Artist Residency in 2016. She is a Regional Field Representative and Art & Environment specialist for the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, a peer facilitator for Artist INC, a Konza Prairie docent, a TEDx Austin College presenter, and a 2023 PLAYA Wildfire + Water resident.

See a collection of Kelly’s work in The New Territory Issue 09: Rebuilding

Value of painting for The Pageturner Fundraiser: $500

About Kelly Yarbrough and her Connection to the Midwest

“I want my work to inspire others to become more land literate of their own places.”

My work is rooted in the prairie ecosystem and presenting views of place through an ever-expanding library of my lived experiences. The tallgrass prairie is called the most altered landscape on the planet, yet grasslands tell incredible stories of human history and their re-establishment can offer hope for the future of life in the Great Plains. I want to contribute to the growing body of knowledge and research seeking hopeful solutions to issues of climate crisis and rural depopulation in the places I call home.

In the studio, I make mixed media drawings and paintings that resist static views of landscape, inviting the viewer to engage and self-navigate. Ultimately, I want my work to inspire others to become more land literate of their own places.

Silent Auction Offerings

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Buy tickets here to participate in the live and silent auctions.

Featured artwork in our live art auction:

“Seep (They Tried to Warn Us)”

Allysa’s paintings explore dreams, experiences, and memories through the prism of nature. Her work depicts fascinating biological phenomena, often with a focus on intimate ecological portraits. She particularly enjoys unearthing obscured elements – the consequences of anthropogenic effects or the trajectories of evolutionary forces. While her paintings are visually united by natural subjects, they are also infused with emotions of the human condition.

See a collection of Allysa’s work in The New Territory Issue 07: Sanctuaries.

“Seep (They Tried to Warn Us)” was born from reflecting upon the importance of water, and the tragedies that the oil industry can inflict on the environment. In this painting, the killdeer performs a distraction display as a warning of the impact of human activity and inaction. Although a storm lingers, the clouds part for the sun.

Starting bid at The Pageturner Fundraiser: $180

About Allysa Rebar and her Connection to the Midwest

I was born, raised, and spent most of my adult life near the Great Lakes, though the Great Plains have been my home for the last 6 years. As a child I explored the forests and prairies of Illinois and admired the lakefronts of Wisconsin and Michigan. My university years led me to Chicago, and later Milwaukee, where I obtained my Masters in Biology (UWM). For a brief two years I worked in Cambridge (UK), but I soon found myself back in the Lower Midwest teaching Biology in Eastern Kansas (ESU). I now continue to explore these lakes, forests, and prairies with my son, and hope he grows to appreciate the beauty of the Midwest.

On Literature and Art in the Midwest:

Keeping that culture alive, feeding that community in any way possible, seems particularly important with our current social, economic, and political turmoil.

As someone from the Midwest, and someone whose adult life has largely taken place in the Midwest, I can’t say I have the ability to compare literature and art outside this region with literature and art within this region. What I do know is that art is just as valuable whether one is on the coast or inland. Living in rural Kansas has shown me that these crucial cultural contributions are just as giving as they are in larger cities, and they seem just as vibrant as those nearer to coasts. Keeping that culture alive, feeding that community in any way possible, seems particularly important with our current social, economic, and political turmoil. And to be honest, it’s always important. Art and literature are how people share ideas, push boundaries, innovate, and connect. Without that, how can we create change, shift values, or simply appreciate and learn more about each other?

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The post Allysa Rebar, 2023 Artist appeared first on The New Territory Magazine.

Buy tickets here to participate in the live and silent auctions.

Featured artwork in our live art auction:

“Neon Nights – Marshall County Fair”

This image was made at the Marshall County Fair in Blue Rapids, Kansas in 2022. The light was fading and the sky erupted in a fiery, display of colours, resembling the pink blasting from the neon lights on the rides. There’s a sweet spot every evening when the output of light from both the environment and artificially sync-up perfectly, and was grateful to find a spot fluttering with energy. I stayed there, by the exit of the Ferris wheel, as the scene matured into a vibrant warm/cold cross-light pattern. For me it’s all about the gesture in the flip of hair, illuminated by the pink light, emphasizing the excitement an anticipation in movement in her glance to the left, carving her face out in a sliver of cool blue light. It’s these small gestures that I look for. They’re hard to get to work but precious when they all come together.

Starting bid at The Pageturner Fundraiser: $425

“It’s these small gestures that I look for.”

About Luke Townsend and his Connection to the Midwest

The Midwest is where I come from. Its role this life, its connection to this life, my connection to it . . . I think these things are in constant motion, evolving, shifting. I can’t say there’s a specific thing, or entity, or characteristic of the Midwest that, alone, is a strong enough connection to put weight on, but rather a myriad of small moments, people, interests, nature, anything, that together create awesome connection points for our lives. It’s all of those connection points that have become strong enough to keep pulling me back.

Buy tickets to The Pageturner here to participate in the live and silent auctions.

The post Luke Townsend, 2023 Artist appeared first on The New Territory Magazine.

Buy tickets here to participate in the live and silent auctions.

Featured artwork in our live art auction:

“Upland Sunset-Lavender”

Lisa Grossman is a painter and printmaker based in Lawrence, Kansas, whose work focuses on the open spaces and prairies of Eastern Kansas and the Kansas River Valley. Her work is featured in the literature section of Issue 08 (sold out).

Starting bid at The Pageturner Fundraiser: $250 (actual value $650)

Lisa Grossman’s connection to and personal hopes for art in the Midwest:

“Painting on location in the expansive grasslands has enthralled me ever since and my work has been an exploration of what it feels like to be in that space.”

I moved to this region from Pennsylvania in 1988 and my first encounter with the Tallgrass prairies forever changed the trajectory of my life and work. Painting on location in the expansive grasslands has enthralled me ever since and my work has been an exploration of what it feels like to be in that space. I have often focused on the simple shapes of the flat-topped ridges and atmospheric perspective—the blueness of great distances. The challenge for me has been to make a dynamic and emotionally rich painting with an economy of means where space itself is the subject.

Buy tickets to The Pageturner here to participate in the live and silent auctions.

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Featured artwork in our live art auction:

“Dolls”

Haskell Indian Nations University, originally called the United States Indian Industrial Training School, was founded in 1884 in Lawrence, Kansas. It was an Indian boarding school operated by the US Federal Government designed to forcibly assimilate Native American children into Western culture. Haskell, like the hundreds of other Indian boarding schools constructed by the US Federal Government in the mid-19th century, was designed to “Kill the Indian, save the man” (Richard Henry Pratt). Today, Haskell is a four-year university that serves students who represent more than 150 different tribes, each tribe possessing its own distinct culture, language, and history. Haskell holds powwows multiple times a year to celebrate tribal resistance, redefinition, sovereignty, cultural survivance, and hope. People from across the country travel to Lawrence to participate in these events where dozens of Native American vendors sell handmade food, artwork, and clothing. These Indigenous dolls were created by vendor Marty McKinney.

Starting bid at The Pageturner Fundraiser: $250

About Haley Rains and her Connection to the Midwest

My family is deeply connected to the Midwest. My great-great-grandfather, James D. Berryhill (Mvskoke), graduated from Haskell in 1931 when it was a high school. Almost 100 years later, I graduated from Haskell with my Bachelor’s in Native American Studies. I am deeply inspired by my family’s connection to Haskell and the amazing Indigenous people I encountered as a student there. I witnessed the beauty of a vast array of tribal traditions – each one unique. That experience inspires this photograph, which celebrates Indigeneity in all its diversity, color, and vibrancy. 

See Haley’s work in print in the Lightroom section of Issue 14 and for the feature “Ceremony is Protest, Protest is Ceremony” in Issue 07.

Personal hopes for art in the Midwest:

“…We are very much present, active, evolving, and living in full color.”

Historically, non-Indigenous photographers and artists have depicted Native Americans as members of a mythical and vanishing race; for example, early sepia tone and black and white photographs of American Indians portray them as relics of an unrecoverable past, frozen in time. Moving forward, I hope that art featuring Native Americans (particularly those whose traditional homelands are located in the Midwest) reflects the remarkable dynamism and triumphant courage that Indigenous people (past and present) possess. Indigenous people are the original stewards of this territory and not only survived but thrived here for thousands of years. It is essential that we recognize – and celebrate – their rich knowledge, experiences, and histories. Art has the power and influence to challenge historical misrepresentations and remind us that Native Americans and Indigenous people are not artifacts from the past — we are very much present, active, evolving, and living in full color. 

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The post Haley Rains, 2023 Artist appeared first on The New Territory Magazine.

Buy tickets here to participate in the live and silent auctions.

Featured artwork in our live art auction:

“Moon with Clouds”

For Moon with Clouds, I wanted to offer a strong moon emblematic of the rugged American prairie below, a symbol of tenacity and grit, and a nod to the Kansas motto, Ad Astra per Aspera, to the stars through difficulties. To represent the plains farming heritage, I chose the cotton canvas of a vintage grain sack found in a rural antique store. The painting is raw and sculptural, comprised of paint, stone, indentation of wheat, rust and the black ash of freshly burnt prairie sage hand-gathered in north central Kansas. I use organic materials to connect people to the spirit of the wild things of the prairie. Rust symbolizes that time is fleeting. Grain reminds us that small things, well tended, can grow into greatness. Prairie sage encapsulates the pure energy of a hundred suns and moons absorbed through the plant’s leaves and roots. It is custom framed with reclaimed wood. (canvas 24×20 inch, 27×23 inch framed)

Starting bid at The Pageturner Fundraiser: $400

About Angela Müller and her Connection to the Midwest

Angela Müller is a visual artist and writer based in Russell, Kansas, a fifth-generation Kansan with a family farming heritage. She grew up on the prairie knowing the land and sky, but moved away as an adult and immediately felt a visceral disconnect. It wasn’t until she returned to the prairie years later so her children might enjoy a similar upbringing, that she saw this place with a new set of eyes and began to paint, incorporating hand-gathered earthen materials to connect people to the spirit of the wild things. She has shown work in group and solo shows across the county with an aim toward lifting up the ruggedness of the American prairie, creating with grain, stone, wild plant ash, cedar berries, rust, rainwater and other elements. Her studio is located on the mixed grass prairie at Fossil Lake. 

See Angela’s work in print throughout our literature section in The New Territory Issue 12.

Personal hopes for art in the Midwest:

“It is a place austere and wrapped in wind, where you can keenly feel your connection to something greater.”

My personal hope for art in the Midwest is that creatives continue to explore all the peculiar places, crevices and things that make this place distinctive. I think people who live on the land are connected to it in unique ways. We notice the geese migrating, sense thunderstorms forming on the horizon and pay attention to when the Cottonwoods change. That is because we depend upon the land. It is a place austere and wrapped in wind, where you can keenly feel your connection to something greater. When art opens your world to the innate beauty of a kernel of grain or causes you to think about the past life of a small fossil shell encased in limestone, you gain wisdom and an awareness of both eternity and impermanence. And that’s a special thing.

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Featured artwork in our live art auction:

“Laying Old Ghosts to Rest”

30″ x 22″, gouache on black Arches, and from the first 12 paintings in DARK MATTER.

Both are in museum quality frames. Framed size is 33 1/2″ x 25 1/2″.

This painting comes with a poem, hand written in silver ink on black card stock, inspired by and written after them by physicist and poet and physicist Agnes Vojta.

Starting bid at The Pageturner Fundraiser: $2,400

Early Dark Matter pieces

Two of his Greg’s early DARK MATTER pieces, minimum bid $500 each.

To bid at The Pageturner Fundraiser: Starting bid on two, for $1,000.

• “Bending the Truth,” 11″x8.5″, gouache on graph paper, 2020
• “Y Knot,” 11″x8.5″, gouache on graph paper, 2020
• “The Whirlpool Charybdis,” 11″x8.5″, gouache on graph paper, 2020
• “The Sea Monster Scylla,” 11″x8.5″, gouache on graph paper, 2020

About Greg Edmondson

“…It was the four years spent at a remote artists residency on the banks of the Gasconade River that offered me an authentic connection to Missouri as my ‘Place.'”

I was raised in Oak Ridge Tennessee, the “Secret City” of the Manhattan Project built in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. The Midwest was a foreign land when I first moved to St. Louis in 1983 to begin Grad School at Washington University. After graduation I received two fellowships to Europe and spent the next five years in Germany. In 1993, I returned to St. Louis, this time for good. Although my practice has now been based here for over a quarter century, it was the four years spent at a remote artists residency on the banks of the Gasconade River that offered me an authentic connection to Missouri as my “Place.” My childhood had been spent playing in woods, in creeks and on rivers. Missouri is a topography of wilderness and water, and the rhythms of its rivers are the heartbeat of its landscape. While my heart is in Missouri, my art is on the walls of Elton John, Halle Berry, and the Berkshire Museum.

See Greg’s work in print throughout the literature section in The New Territory Issue 14.

Personal hopes for art in the Midwest:

My primary hope for the Arts in our region requires a shift in perception. I hope we can drop the perception that Art and Culture must be imported to the Midwest from New York or LA, and begin to legitimize the Art and Artists being generated and incubated here. One reason we are so often thought of as cultural followers is that we indeed are often more willing to follow than lead… There is great work being made here. Unfeigned ideas are being explored all over the region, too often with insignificant opportunities to be presented, viewed, seen or heard.

“My primary hope for the Arts in our region requires a shift in perception.”

Greg Edmondson’s artwork:

My work is still informed by a lifelong interest in the natural world… its patterns of organic growth and decay, its systems of intricate interdependence… As an undergrad I studied painting, in grad school I studied sculpture and printmaking. Over my four decades plus as a working artist, my practice has ranged widely in scope, scale, material and subject matter. But I seem to always circle back to formal abstraction. When confronting the purely abstract, you are never dealing with a singular “What”, but always and only with an endless “What if.”

See Greg’s art in print in the literature section of The New Territory Issue 14.

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