Terry J. Aman/MDN - - Works on display in the Northwest Art Center’s Biennial Faculty Exhibit include pieces by, clockwise from upper left, paintings by Walter Piehl, pottery by Jim Bailey, layered collageworks by Bill Harbort and whimsical animal figures by Doug Pfliger.

The Northwest Art Center has a symbiotic relationship with Minot State University, with an executive director who is also employed as a percussion instructor in the music department. It maintains galleries in Hartnett Hall and the Gordon B. Olson Library on campus, and manages two international competitions of solid reputation. The Northwest Art Center further demonstrates that connection through April 1 with the Biennial Faculty Show. “The faculty members decide what they want to submit, and we basically decide how to display them,” said Eric Benz, assistant director and student in graphic design. Benz has been working with the NAC for four years, but in the past year has assumed more responsibilities, leading him to seriously consider opening a graphic design shop in the area after he graduates. One of the graphic designers in the show is Patrick Sheldon, who had worked for six years in commercial design before coming back to Minot three years ago to teach.