Driftless Pollinators Plus Photo Exhibition Opening & Decoding the Driftless Film at WAC

Sunday | February 20 | Reception 1-4 pm | Film 2 pm
Winona Arts Center | 228 E 5th St.
winonaarts.org

The Winona Arts Center presents Driftless Pollinators Plus, an exhibition of photographs by Scott Leddy opening on February 20, 2022, with a reception from 1 to 4 pm. There will be a showing of a film titled Decoding the Driftless at 2 pm during the reception, with a gallery talk following the film. The exhibit will be on display through March 26, with gallery hours on Sundays from 1-4 pm and Wednesdays from 4-7 pm, and from 6 to 7 pm prior to scheduled films or concerts. 

The Driftless Pollinators Plus exhibit contains 20 color photographs primarily of pollinators taken in their native environment, feeding on their favorite flowers. It gives the viewer the opportunity to see some rare and endangered species which are slowly being lost due to the loss of many native species and habitats.

Scott Leddy is a naturalist and ecological restoration practitioner who has lived in southeast Minnesota for decades, and has been documenting native species and pollinators with a camera and other methods for more than thirty years. He is intimately familiar with the bluff prairies of the Driftless Region, and is considered one of southeast Minnesota’s prairie experts. His images have been published in numerous catalogs, and other publications.  

Leddy received his training in photography at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and Design, where photography was his minor. He received his training in butterfly identification from the University of Minnesota and is self-taught in native plant, tree and shrub identification and their uses in ecological restoration. 

Leddy worked for Prairie Moon Nursery for seven years and has done contract prairie restoration work at multiple sites in southeast Minnesota. He has done numerous native butterfly and bee surveys . He is a highly sought-after field trip leader for various groups and his annual spring field trip at Mound Prairie Scientific and Natural Area in Houston County, Minnesota, is a perennial favorite for members of the Minnesota Driftless Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts.

The film Decoding the Driftless is a wild ride of adventure through the air, across rugged landscapes, on and under the water, through a secret underworld, and across time itself to explore and decipher ancient clues of archaeology, paleontology, geology and biology of the Driftless Region. It was directed by Jonas Stenstrom, whose life mission is to attempt to create a better understanding of the natural world we live in by inspirational and eye-opening story telling. The film depicts the areas where many of Leddy’s photographs have been taken. 

The Driftless Pollinators exhibit has been made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.

Please note proof of vaccines or a negative test taken within 72 hours of event and masks are required for all large attendance programs. 

For more information on this exhibit and other offerings through the Winona Arts Center, visit winonaarts.org.

Photos: An image from the Driftless Pollinators Plus exhibition; photographer Scott Leddy.

The Winona Arts Center is a member of the River Arts Alliance. To learn more about the benefits of membership, please visit: riverartsalliance.org/membership/.