By Ethan Roberts
JCRC Deputy Executive Director

August 13, 2025

I never expected that my photo, taken last May at the Nova Festival Victims Memorial, would be accepted into the Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Competition.

The process is notoriously competitive—this year, only 11% of submitted photographs were selected for display in the Fine Arts Building. I’ve submitted several times over the years, and this is only the second time one of my images has been chosen.

More than the odds, I was certain the Fair would be reticent to display an image depicting the devastation of October 7th. It seemed far too controversial for a fair best known for Sweet Martha’s Cookies, the Giant Slide (and pigs), and savoring the last days of summer. But sometimes, it’s more than okay to be proven wrong.

While I’m proud to see my work in the Fine Arts Building, I’m even more grateful that thousands of Fairgoers will be reminded of exactly how and when this terrible war against Hamas began. And if even a few take the time to learn more about the father and daughter murdered by Hamas terrorists at Nova—to whom my photo is dedicated—then perhaps I will have accomplished my goal: Honoring the Memory of Erick and Rut, Who Just Wanted to Dance.