Celebrated local artists to judge U.P. photo contest

Courtesy: Save the Wild U.P.

MARQUETTE — The Fall Intern Corp of the grassroots group Save the Wild U.P. will host a photography contest to highlight the unique blend of natural beauty and industrial history of the Upper Peninsula. Community judges Christine Hinz-Lenzen, Shawn Malone, and Melissa Matuscak will choose winning pieces to appear in a Save the Wild U.P. 2015 calendar in addition to contributing original work.

Judges Melissa Matuscak, Christine Hinz-Lenzen, and Shawn Malone are celebrated artists in the Upper Peninsula. Melissa Matuscak is the curator and director of the DeVos Art Museum at Northern Michigan University. Christine Hinz-Lenzen is an Assistant Professor at NMU, and her work has been shown across the country and in Nova Scotia. Shawn Malone runs a photography gallery of her work, Lake Superior Photo in downtown Marquette and her work has appeared on NBC, CBS, PBS and FOX.

The calendars featuring the winning photographs will be available for purchase in time for holiday gift giving. Save the Wild U.P.’s Outreach Coordinator Alexandra Maxwell believes this project “will be a fantastic way to unite the artistic and naturalist communities toward the common goal of protecting our wild places and sources of inspiration.”

“The Upper Peninsula has a wealth of beauty and cultural significance. I’m very excited to see the natural world and heritage captured by those who live it every day. This is an awesome opportunity for anyone with a camera,” said Intern Montana Cohn, a senior Environmental Studies and Sustainability major at Northern.

Save the Wild U.P.’s Internship program has continuously focused on empowering tomorrow’s grassroots leaders. NMU students design and implement unique projects dedicated to engaging community members as concerned citizens and advocates for economic security and environmental stewardship. A Sense of Place: Nature, History and Industry of the Upper Peninsula is led and organized by interns dedicated to creating community engagement through creative outreach.

“I am very excited to be working on this project as an intern with SWUP. It will be great to see all the photos and support from the community members.” said Intern Nick Puffer, a senior in the Environmental Studies and Sustainability program at Northern.

The contest is open to all residents of the Upper Peninsula.The theme of the contest is A Sense of Place: Nature, Culture and Industry in the Upper Peninsula. “This theme is really meaningful to the people of the U.P. because most citizens have been living here for generations and have a deep connection to the land and industry that is present here,” said Daley Matthews-Pennanen, a junior Environmental Science major at Northern. Interested photographers can start submitting photos on October 3nd, 2014 at savethewildup.org until November 10, 2014 when the contest closes. Winners will be announced mid-November and will receive a complimentary calendar featuring their photo.

“I hope everyone takes advantage of this opportunity to get their photos of this gorgeous and culture-rich environment published in a calendar that will be seen across the peninsula,” said Dylan Jones, a SWUP intern majoring in Environmental Studies.

More information can be found online at savethewildup.org, by emailing info@savethewildup.org or by calling (906) 662-9987.