Third Street Gallery exhibition and reception set for Aug. 3 The Third Street Gallery, 28 South Third Street, will host a public exhibition opening reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, for “Forgotten North Dakota: Works by Mike Mohaupt and Mariah Maskilo.” At the reception, which is free and open to the public, Mohaupt and Maskilko will be available to discuss their work and experiences traveling across North Dakota for this project. Mohaupt, originally from Las Vegas, is a student at UND majoring in commercial aviation. He has been involved with photography for over seven years and started working as a professional photographer over two years ago. Since his first photographs, Mohaupt has worked for Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, as well as USA Hockey. He currently works for the Grand Forks Herald as a part-time staff photographer. Mohaupt is noted for producing photo stories on “The Slippery Slope,” a story of ice climbers in North Dakota, and “A Family Affair,” the story on the Bob Martin Racing team. Mohaupt has taken many photography classes while attending the University under the direction of Rick Tonder and Paul Fundingsland. He feels that “the majority of his creativity comes through the stresses that are associated with being a 20-something-year-old college student.” Mariah Jay Holmberg Masilko grew up in Grand Forks. From grade school through high school she won several awards for art and participated in many regional art shows. She graduated from Central in 1992. At the University of Oklahoma, Mariah studied architecture for two semesters, then moved to Minneapolis and received a bachelor's degree in studio arts at the University of Minnesota in 1997. She worked in the North Dakota Museum of Art silent art auction in 2002 and 2006. Masilko currently lives in Somerset, Wis., with her husband Greg and their son Alexander, 2. This exhibition is the collaborative work of two artists working in different mediums with a similar purpose; to document the forgotten parts of our environment. Both Mohaupt and Masilko use color to give the image an other-worldly sense., almost appearing as if from a dream. Masilko explains in her artist statement, "the mystery of the past attracts me to the crumbling abandonment; its windswept siding like bare bones, its black empty windows a vacant stare, the wind through the trees the whispers of ghosts of a time long-gone. I am drawn to the subject of abandoned buildings because I find beauty in their loneliness, their desolation, their quiet melancholy.” Mohaupt has the same passion and appreciation for the objects he photographs, stating “throughout my work I strive to capture these buildings which are long since dead, and bring them back to life. I use my photographic defibrillator to jump start their hearts and bring the buildings back to life, to give them the love and warmth that they once had. This exhibition is sponsored in part by Dan Lyste, certified public accountant. Members of the Third Street Gallery are invited to preview the exhibition and attend a gallery talk at 6:30 p.m., Aug. 3, prior to the public reception. The exhibition is curated by Rebecca Sefcovic Uglem and Amy Lyste, co-directors of the Third Street Gallery. The public is welcome to all events. Those wishing group tours, including schools, should contact the Third Street Gallery at (701)775-5055. There is no admission charge but a $2 donation is suggested for adults and change from children. Third Street Gallery is a new non-profit arts organization created by artists for artists to provide exhibits and opportunities for regional and local artists and to revitalize the Greater Grand Forks community through the arts. The gallery will provide a space for local artists to exhibit, in addition to providing the citizens of this community the opportunity to view emerging artists from the Upper Midwest. For more information call 775-5055 or contact www.thethirdstreetgallery.com.