Northwestern College's Te Paske Gallery features exhibit by NWC students

Northwestern College is opening its 2025–26 art exhibit season with “Camera Obscura—An NWCore Create Collaborative Exhibition.” The show will be on display in Te Paske Gallery through Oct. 17, with a public reception scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m.

The exhibition features images gathered during a campuswide NWCore Create event held last fall. Participants interacted with a large-scale camera obscura—a device that projects images inside a darkened space. 

“This precursor to modern photography is a wonderful way to create ephemeral, unfiltered images,” says Amy Williams, instructor of art and design. Using their phones, students documented the images they saw, resulting in a collection of portraits that reflect the Northwestern College community.

Most of the students involved, whether photographing or being photographed, are not art majors. Their involvement illustrates the importance of making creative, enriching experiences accessible to all students, staff and faculty—not only those pursuing visual arts as a career.

NWCore Create is a collaboration between Northwestern’s art and design department and the Core Committee with the goal of bringing a variety of creative opportunities to Northwestern’s campus. Additional contributions from other campus departments have included bookmark-making at DeWitt Learning Commons and personalized workout plans created by the kinesiology department. Each event is designed so participants can stop by easily and engage in a hands-on creative experience.

Northwestern’s Te Paske Gallery is located in the Korver Visual Arts Center on Highway 10 at 214 8th Street SW in Orange City. Gallery hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

Northwestern art students have had their work selected for off-campus juried exhibitions, won graphic design competitions and been chosen for elite internships. They're mentored by art faculty who maintain their professional practice while teaching, and they create in the well-equipped Korver Visual Arts Center.