By April Caprio

RENSSELAERVILLE — Medusa loves superb art — who knew is was so close? Medusa resident Hans Soderquist will be exhibiting his show, “Surviving the Dust Bowl,” at the Medusa General Store, beginning on Friday, Nov. 30. The exhibit opening is slated for 5 p.m., followed by discussion of our own state of sustainable agriculture, led by Chris Kemnah of Otter Hook Farm, a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and organic farm.

While Medusa is not new to art, we are especially excited to introduce this exhibit. Soderquist’s collection of new prints features the work of photographers such as Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and others hired by the United States government in the 1930s to document the impact of the economic, social, and natural forces together referred to as the “Dust Bowl.”

This group of photographs was selected and printed by Soderquist, an artist whose love of the medium first led him to study these outstanding records of American life a decade ago. Recent natural and economic events bring renewed poignancy to these images.

Soderquist is an American visual artist whose photographic work has been included in group shows in New York, Baltimore, and Nashville. Soderquist holds a master of fine arts degree from Yale University and has taught photography and digital media at Parsons School of Design.

Chris and Samantha Kemnah are the proprietors of Otter Hook Farm: www.otterhookfarms.com. They are organic farming on McCafferty Road, just outside of Medusa, in Greenville, and offer CSA shares to our community. In addition to a wide range of vegetables, they raise chickens and other livestock.

“We began as passionate foodies,” they explain. “It is our mission to deliver the best food we can grow to our members. We are continually working to improve our soils in order to grow the most nutritious and best tasting food available.”

We in Medusa hope that this event marks the beginning of a wider conversation focusing on how to nurture community resilience, self-sufficiency, and long-term prosperity in the face of troubled times. We have started a Facebook group, “Sustainable Hilltowns,” and have additional recreational and educational events planned for 2013.

Editor’s note: April Caprio is proprietor of the Medusa General Store.