Project Unincorporated MN
In 2023, with a Minnesota State Arts Board grant, I launched Project Unincorporated MN. I photographed 33 unincorporated towns across Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Mahnomen, and Lake of the Woods counties, focusing on the nuanced narratives captured through man-made structures and the stories they tell about these rural communities' culture, history, and way of life.
It was important to me to shed light on these unique, often-overlooked towns, giving them visibility and a voice. I took people along on a virtual journey via social media as I photographed each town and exhibited the resulting work. I plan to create a book from this project.
I look forward to continuing this work by exploring more unincorporated towns in Northern Minnesota.
To watch the exhibit presentation click here.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Artist Statement:
This exhibit gives a presence and captures the essence of these rural, unincorporated towns. It tells a story of their resilience, self-reliance, and shared histories as seen through the lens of various industries such as railroads, logging, homesteading, and tourism.
The exhibit celebrates the natural beauty of these areas, recognizes their freedom from governmental constraints, and acknowledges the rise and fall of economics and commerce. It also serves as a tribute to the historical remnants of these towns and to the remarkable people who live in them.
-Laura Grisamore
Quick exhibit walk through before tear down.
MORE PHOTOS TO COME FROM THE EXHBIT. STAY TUNED :). In the meantime check out the project social meida pages, click on them below.
From left to right. Top row: Angle Inlet: Jim’s Corner, the last one- room school house in MN and the first telephone on the Angle installed 1989. Middle row: Country Store in Alida, shelves of goods and local art, Zerkel General Store & Gas Station. Last row: Church in the Pines in Gates Corner.
Click on the photo above oor below to read "Unincorporated Delights" featured in Art Beat quarterly magazine (pages 6-7).
Nature has reclaimed the lost village of Faunce and Gates Corner, located deep within the Beltrami Island State Forest. The markers above are the only remaining signs of these once-inhabited settlements. According to a newspaper article in the Rosseau Times, the 1910 census reported a population of 110 in the six townships in the Beltrami State Forest, which then grew to 935 by the 1920 census.