This interview is also available as a zine.
“On Tree Time” is on view through July 31, 2025 at Silverwood Park Gallery, 2500 County Rd E, St Anthony, MN 55421.
I first met Meghan Duda during a visit to NDSU several years ago and was delighted to get this chance to see her photographic work in person. Below you will find a brief interview with Duda focused on this exhibition at Silverwood Park.

Artwork by Meghan Duda; Photo of work installed at Silverwood Park by Ellen Mueller
EM: How did you come to know Three Rivers Park District?
MD: I good friend of mine, artist and curator Tessa Beck, connected me with Eileen Cohen last year, as she thought my art practice would be a fine fit for Silverwood. In our first conversation, Eileen and I discussed the idea to photograph the parks, as I am particularly interested in photographing to learn more about specific places. I’m also really interested in trees and local ecologies, so it fit well to connect with the Forestry Management department to explore the parks from their perspective. I soon found myself camping in the parks and visiting to photograph 4 times over three seasons. It was just a wonderful immersion in the Three Rivers Park District.

Artwork by Meghan Duda; Photo of work installed at Silverwood Park by Ellen Mueller
EM: What criteria or process did you use to select sites for your pinhole photographs?
MD: I was really drawn to the narrative of restoration and forest building. Many of the sites I visited were once farmland which were donated to the Three Rivers Park District for conservation and recreation. After meeting with Shawn Howard at the Forestry Nursery at Crow Hassan, I came to learn about the efforts the people of Three Rivers are going through to allow the native ecology to rewild itself. The pinhole process, with its effort to stage and its very long exposures, also forces me to really slow down and appreciate space and light. This meditation had a huge say in the photos that were made. Each space has a story all its own.

Artwork by Meghan Duda; Photo of work installed at Silverwood Park by Ellen Mueller
EM: Reflecting on this beautiful series, what’s next for you in relation to this project or other upcoming projects?
MD: Great question! I truly am a dreamer and usually wait to see what lands in my lap. That said, the week of the opening at Silverwood we installed a temporary camera obscura in the classroom adjacent to the exhibition. I got to meet and have great conversations with so many visitors and campers in the space while reflecting on the magic of photography. I would love to get a permanent Camera Obscura installed in the sculpture garden at the park. Trees have also been a theme in my work recently, so I hope to connect with Forest Service Managers in the Minnesota Northwoods. They are doing some pretty awesome work to help prepare the forests for a warmer future. It would be great to take my pinhole camera and make some long exposures up there!

Artwork by Meghan Duda; Photo of work installed at Silverwood Park by Ellen Mueller