The Watermark Art Center in Bemidji was awarded a $6,000 Arts Access Grant to present the touring exhibition The Unchosen Ones and accompanying series, Out to Pasture, including an artist presentation and workshop by Photographer R.J. Kern.

“The Unchosen Ones” (on display at Watermark in 2020) encompassed a series of portraits of young people posing with the animals they have raised, cared for, and groomed for entry into a best animal competition, with dreams of the glory of moving on to State Fair victory. No victory is shown here, however. These animals and their young owners were not deemed champions; they came in second or third or not at all. Here, on the sidelines of the main events, these disappointed children and their beloved animals illustrate a small backstory, preserving a moment of failure, loss, love, and hope, as only photography can.