A local art project began earlier this year to inspire community involvement, pride, and connections.

It’s a little more than halfway toward its goal of 100 portraits and stories of community members.

The project is called ‘We Call Minot Home,’ and it’s a local spin on a global initiative called ‘The Inside Out Project.’

It’s a simple concept to connect community members, and so far, it’s evolved quite a bit.

“Since the flood and since the oil boom, in our community, the faces of who we are have changed,” said project organizer, Jessica Ackerman.

Among those faces are close to 50,000 people who call Minot home.

Every single one of them has their own story that led them to reside in the Magic City.
Plus, we’ve all got our own personalities that collectively make Minot what it’s come to be and what it can be in the future.

“We’re fortunate for the change that we’ve had in our community and it’s really a way to celebrate that,” said Ackerman.

With a candid snapshot and a simple statement, the project ‘We Call Minot Home,’ aims to encourage community members to express themselves, get involved and – most importantly – get to know each other.

Hope Anderson, a photographer for the project said, “Whether it’s a place you’ve lived your whole life or you’ve lived here for two weeks, that’s what we wanted, is to get a span of people to see what makes them proud to be here.”

Organizers applied to take part in the global project under the conditions that they reach a goal of 100 portraits and end the project by displaying every single one of them somewhere in downtown Minot.

Ackerman added, “Something so simple like this can really create a connection and a way for people to just make Minot a better place.”

So when the project is physically over, it’s really just begun…

“Just to see the different people and say ‘hey I know that person.. or that person works with me or is friends with my kid, or whatever it is – it’s such a variety,” said Anderson. “I think it’s going to be really fun when people can see the end result with these pictures pasted up that everybody’s going to be able to enjoy.”

If you have or haven’t heard of this yet, be sure to follow the project on Facebook and Instagram and if you want to be involved, a portrait pop-up will be held on January 22. Follow the Facebook page closely for more information about time and place.

Click here to watch the trailer for the documentary that explains the global ‘Inside Out Project.’