The mural highlights the beauty of North Dakota’s rich heritage and land-grant mission, featuring bison, well-known as NDSU’s mascot, a colorful sunrise, as well as bees and sunflowers, representing the state’s abundant honey and sunflower production.
NDSU alum and local artist Anna Johnson’s artwork will be displayed at the NDSU Libraries Open House on Monday, April 7 from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Main Library. The event, which will officially kick off National Library Week, is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.
Among the artwork that will be showcased during the event is a mural Johnson recently painted in the library’s main staircase. The mural highlights the beauty of North Dakota’s rich heritage and land-grant mission, featuring bison, well-known as NDSU’s mascot, a colorful sunrise, as well as bees and sunflowers, representing the state’s abundant honey and sunflower production.
Attendees will also be able to view Johnson’s works from her Gigawaabimin (See You Later) Exhibit. The library is the first stop in Johnson’s traveling exhibit after being on display at Plains Art Museum.
Johnson, who graduated from NDSU in 2010 with a degree in printmaking and drawing, has painted several murals, including many throughout the FM community. Her artwork uses imagery directly from her Chippewa culture, as she incorporates various totem animals and traditional designs into her work.
“We are excited to have Anna Johnson’s mural in the Libraries as a permanent art piece, and thrilled to have her traveling exhibit in the Libraries coinciding with the Open House and National Library Week,” said Jolie Graybill, Dean of the NDSU Libraries. “I felt it was important to support a talented local indigenous artist, and it’s a double bonus that Johnson is an NDSU grad.”
In addition to viewing Johnson’s artwork, the Open House will be a time for the campus and Fargo-Moorhead community to explore the library, including the recently renovated Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, and to celebrate the library’s mission.
National Library week, which is held from April 6 through April 12, is a time to celebrate the value librarians, libraries and library workers bring to their communities. First observed in 1958, this year marks the 67th anniversary.
