MOORHEAD — Artists, collectors and patrons filled The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum on June 18 for the annual Midwestern Invitational.
VickyJo Bogart talks to Dave Duval (middle) and Gini Duval (right) on June 18, 2026, at the Rourke Art Gallery + Museum.
Lexi Hills / The Forum
The show, the largest at The Rourke each year, marks the anniversary of the Moorhead institution, founded by the late brothers James O’Rourke and Orland Rourke. The inaugural exhibit featured 18 regional artists. This year more than 100 creators with ties to the museum are featured.
Christian Boy (left) and Emily Williams-Wheeler (right) chat while attending the Midwestern show at the Rourke Art Gallery + Museum.
Lexi Hills / The Forum
“It’s what I’ve likened to as an artist family reunion,” said Rourke Executive Director and Curator Jonathan Rutter, referring to the opening on June 18. “It’s an opportunity for artists from the area or recent transplants, or artists who’ve moved away, to get together, show off something that they’re doing and play along with the challenge of the theme that we supply every year.”
Kensie Wallner (left) and Mustafa Fakhri (right) look at Tonya Stuart-Melland’s “This Land Was Made For…Rich Old White Men” on June 18, 2026, at the Rourke Art Gallery + Museum.
Lexi Hills / The Forum
This year’s theme is “The Pursuit of Happiness,” in honor of America’s 250th anniversary.
At the opening, photographer Chris Mortenson announced the winners for the Best in Theme Award. Mortenson and fellow Concordia College professor Tess Varner, who was out of the country, were judges for the category.
Dan Koeck’s photo “Pierce County Fair” won Best in Theme at The 67th Rourke Midwestern.
Contributed / Dan Koeck
Fargo photographer Dan Koeck earned top honors for his photograph “Pierce County Fair, Rugby, N.D.,” which shows two kids working in a food truck. Honorable mentions went to Meg Spielman-Peldo for her photo, “Portrait of a Lawn Chair,” Deanna Novack for her collage “Pertinent” and Rachel Hovelson-Olek for her sculpture, “A Place to Call Home.”
“I think they made some wonderful choices for the theme and also, unsurprisingly, they picked pieces that suited them as individuals as well,” Rutter said.
Deborahmae Broad’s painting “Freedom” won the Milton S. Yergens Memorial With & Whimsy Award at the 67th Rourke Midwestern.
Contributed / Deborahmae Broad
Painter Molly Yergens announced the winner of the Milton S. Yergens Memorial With & Whimsy Award, named after her late father. The award went to Deborahmae Broad of Twin Valley, Minn., for her painting, “Freedom.” The work depicts a dog walking, broken free from its chain. What appear to be spots on closer inspection are stickers or patches of where the dog has been, like the Fargo Airport, Medora, N.D., The Museum of the Weird in Omaha, Canterbury Park Dog Races and The Rourke.
“It’s less humorous than some years, but still filled with whimsy and heart, I’d say,” Rutter said.
Performance artist Billy X Curmano (right) poses for a photo taken by Margarita Baumann (left) on June 18, 2026, at the Rourke Art Gallery + Museum.
Lexi Hills / The Forum
Rutter is part of the museum’s purchase committee and announced the Anniversary Fund Purchase Award was given to Laura Youngbird’s “Liberty & Justice for All?”
Laura Youngbird’s “Liberty & Justice for All?” won the Anniversary Fund Purchase Award at the 67th Midwestern.
Contributed / Laura Youngbird
The print is part of the artist’s series in which she incorporates modern sewing patterns with images reflecting her heritage as a member of the Minnesota Chippewa, Grand Portage Band. Her work is inspired in part by her grandmother’s experiences at boarding schools and forced assimilation. She often depicts young women as faceless, but this time it’s the Statue of Liberty whose face is behind a lampshade.
Laura Youngbird comments as she accepts the Anniversary Fund Purchase Award from Rourke Art Gallery + Museum Executive Director and Curator Jonathan Rutter at The Rourke’s 67th Midwestern.
John Lamb / The Forum
“We’ve had Laura on our acquisitions priority list for years and this piece is just spectacular. And not only does it hit the exhibition’s theme on the nose, it’s an excellent example of Laura’s work. It touches on a lot of the abiding themes and techniques that she uses in her prints and collages.,” Rutter said. “It’s a museum-quality work too, which is exactly what we’re looking for as we grow the collections.”
The piece is the first of Youngbird’s in The Rourke’s permanent collection.
“It’s overdue, in my estimation,” Rutter said.
The Midwestern exhibit will be on display through Sept. 6.
For almost 30 years John Lamb has been covering arts and entertainment in the Red River Valley. He started writing for the High Plains Reader in 1997 and moved to The Forum in 2002. He is an Annenberg fellow, an occasional judge for talent shows and food contestants and co-hosts the weekly “Gardening Together: The Podcast.” He’s rubbed shoulders with Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, drank with National Book Award winner Colm McCann, had coffee with Grammy-winning classical musician Peter Schickele and interviewed countless other artists, actors, musicians, writers and assorted interesting people. Contact John at jlamb@forumcomm.com.