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Northwest Minnesota Arts Council News

The Latest in Regional Arts Opportunities

Exhibits, Grants, Announcements, Events, Trainings, Workshops, & More!

July 20 Art and Spirituality Exhibit Entries Due
July 26 Grant Training for School Administration 10 AM
July 31 Arts Grants Deadline
July 31 Student Art Exhibit Closes
October 8 Grant Training for School Administration 10 AM
October 10 Artists of NW MN Booklet Applications Due

Learn more about these programs, services, and events in this newsletter!

Don't Miss Your Chance to see this exhibit!

Student Exhibit Featuring K-12 Artwork from NW Minnesota

Northwest Minnesota Arts Council Gallery

NCTC in Thief River Falls through July 31, 2023

There's still time to visit the Student Art Exhibit, featuring K-12 artwork from throughout Northwest Minnesota. This exhibit is open through July 31 at the NWMAC Gallery at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls.

The exhibit will be open on Thursday, July 27 during the Art & Wine Walk and the musical at NCTC.

The exhibit features 105 pieces of art by area students throughout northwest Minnesota, including the schools of Sacred Heart in East Grand Forks, Crookston, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, Kittson Central in Hallock, Ada-Borup West, Fosston, Tri-County in Karlstad, and Roseau.

Watch this video for a virtual tour of the exhibit at https://youtu.be/UQX4C4upQqg.

Artwork in the gallery divided up into four sections:

Mask Making Tri-County High School and Fifth Grade, Karlstad / Mask Making Residency with Artist Lisa Arnold / Photos of mixed media masks.

Write On Roseau Community School District, Roseau / Essays for the Roseau Times-Region Newspaper from Roseau Community School District Students, 2023 / Newspaper essays

Art Inspired By Art

1) High School. This artwork was inspired by famed, as well as

obscure art pieces. Students drew inspiration from Vincent Van

Gogh’s Starry Night, MARINA’s song “Are you Satisfied?”,

Michael Angelo’s The Creation of Adam, and urban legend

Polybius and a song by Lemon Demon.

2) Kindergarten. Students at Kittson Central in Hallock created

pigeons as a directed drawing of the character from Mo Willems’

books (For example, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus).

Student art chosen by art teachers. This artwork is from Crookston, East Grand Forks, Fosston, Ada-Borup-West, and Warren Alvarado-Oslo. It features pen and ink, pencil, acrylic on canvas, mixed media, pottery, glass casting jewelry, Styrofoam prints, woodblock prints, watercolor pencils, watercolor, chalk, linoleum block print, oil pastels, aluminum metal embossing, and digital artwork.

The NWMAC Gallery is located at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls. The gallery hours are Monday-Friday from 8:30-5 PM and at other times when events are held at the college. During the summer, the college may be closed on Friday afternoons so please confirm before making a special trip. Enter through Door B, which is right next to the gallery. Visitor parking is free.

Learn More About This Exhibit

Some services we now offer in our office space!

Need an images of your art?

We can help!

Do you need a headshot?

Or images of you performing your art?

Take advantage of the photography room.

Arts Grants Applications have Upcoming Deadline for Organizations

Deadline is July 31

Grant training for school administration & grant writers

Wednesday, July 26 at 10:00 AM via Zoom

Grant training for school administration & grant writers

Tuesday, August 8 at 10:00 AM via Zoom

Applications are open for arts grants to nonprofit organizations and government entities. Applications are being accepted from our seven county Minnesota service area including Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Roseau counties.

Nonprofits and government organizations can apply for one arts project at a time. Grants deadlines for these are July 31, October 31, and February 29. Grants are between $500 and $10,000. Funding sources for these grants are Clean Water, Land and Legacy funds and general allocation funds from the State of Minnesota.

Organizational arts activities funded through this very important grant opportunity includes festivals, community theatre projects, folk music entertainment, sponsorship of visual demonstrations, creative writing workshops and many other activities that improve the quality of life of people in our communities.

We are offering grant writing training for school administration & school grant writers on Wednesday, July 26 at 10:00 AM and Tuesday, August 8 at 10:00 AM. You must RSVP and can join the training online. You are welcome to come to our office and join the training online from your computer. Reach out to our office with questions and to sign up!

To learn more about grant programs and start an application visit www.NorthwestMinnesotaArtsCouncil.org. The grant application process is completely online and NWMAC's Director Mara Hanel can help walk you through the process of using the grants portal to get accustomed to it. Please contact her at director@NWArtsCouncil.org or call 218-745-8886.

Let's Talk Art is our weekly radio interview and podcast with Pioneer 90.1's Ron West.

Let's Talk Art Podcast

Do you listen to our weekly podcast? If not, you are missing out! We feature artists, arts organizations, and arts events in our region. The podcast begins as a radio interview on Pioneer 90.1 radio. The interviews air on Tuesdays at 3:05pm. Then, we put the interviews on our website so you can listen to them at any time. It's a simple and entertaining way to learn about all the arts happenings in our region and even about some statewide arts organizations and efforts.

Some of the recent podcasts include:

7.11.23 Julie Elick Roseau Artist Julie Elick highlighted two programs in Roseau that have received grant funding from the NWMAC. 1) The Riverview Park Concert Series is a weekly series into August. The Roseau Women of Today, which Elick is a part of, plays a major role in putting this concert series together, along with the support of local businesses. There is a concert at the Riverview Park Gazebo, located in downtown Roseau, every Thursday evening at 6:30 pm. Upcoming concerts include: July 27: Divas Through the Decades, August 3: O’Neil Family Band, August 10: Holy Rocka Rollaz, and August 17: The concert series will wrap up with a Local Talent Showcase and the Relay for Life. 2) Project Write On. Select students from two Roseau Community High School English classes share their essays to be published in the local newspaper, The Roseau Times Region. Elick and two highschool teachers, Mrs. Kelsey Didrickson, and Mrs. Katie Laugen are directing this project. Currently, copies of the published essays are displayed in the Student Art Exhibit at the NWMAC Gallery at NCTC. Listen here.

6.20.23 Don Merkens. Norman County Fair President Don Merkens talked about events and shows at the Norman County Fair. This includes the acts of Magic Joe, Pikadilly (face painting), Studio 4:13 (mosaics) and Whittney Pittman (local performing musical artist). They received grant funds from the NWMAC The Norman County Fair in Ada MN was June 21-24. Listen here.

6.13.23 Misti Koop Misti Koop is a musician, actor, and well-known performing artist in our region. Learn about the details, as well as the new album she's working on. She also talked about the summer schedule and program for the Summer Safari Arts Stages, (which is touring a number of NW Minnesota communities performing Willy Wonka). To learn more about the Safari shows visit summerartsstages.com. Listen here.

Traveling Art Exhibit Visiting Area Libraries

The Northwest Minnesota Arts Council (NWMAC)'s annual Traveling Art Exhibit is touring NW Minnesota libraries. This year the exhibit includes 15 original pieces of art by regional adult and student artists, chosen from works submitted for our annual juried exhibit. The exhibit is in Roseau at the library until August 29.

The 2023-2024 Artists and Artwork:

Adults

Ross Hier, Crookston, Watercolor
Tim Anderson, Goodridge, Wood Bowl
Nancy Vraa, RLF, Hat and Mitten Set
Lillian Ramsey, TRF, Acrylic Painting
Kathy Panek, Goodridge, Acrylic Paint
Jodi M Smith, EGF, Photography
Dennis Lee, RLF, Acrylic Painting

Students:

Madilyn Crompton, Borup, Digital Photo, Ada-Borup-West
Makaela Longoria, Ada, Ceramic Sculpture, Ada-Borup-West
Emma Gunderson, Crookston, Acrylic Painting, Crookston School
Kaydence Skibicki, Fertile, Silk Screen Print, Fertile-Beltrami School
Carter Lee Johnsrud, Goodridge, Mixed Media Graphite Pencil, Goodridge
Quinn Pittman, Greenbush, Pen Drawing, GMR School
Rhiana Utter, Greenbush, Linoleum Print, GMR School
Maryjane Crane, RLF, Acrylic Painting, RLF School

Watch for the exhibit to make its way to your town!

Join our board! Would you like to be more involved in the arts in northwest Minnesota? Consider becoming an Arts Council Board Member! The Northwest Minnesota Arts Council has openings for representatives from Red Lake, Pennington and Norman. We are also looking for one at-large member who can be from any of our seven counties of Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Roseau.

The Arts Council meets five times a year usually in Warren or virtually and reviews and approves arts grants and arts policy and arts services for seven counties in Minnesota.

For more information and to receive a nomination form for yourself or a friend, contact Mara Hanel, NWMAC, at 218-745-8886; or email her at director@nwartscouncil.org. Visit our website here to learn more and for the nomination form.

Need a Head Shot or Photos of Work Samples? We’ve got you covered!

We now offer a photography room for artists to create work sample shots at no cost at our office space in Warren. The photography room offers amateur headshots, photography of instruments and samples of art pieces, as well as live recording shots.

You must make an appointment for this service. director@NWArtsCouncil.org or 218-745-8886.

Sista's Corner in Crookston and Tonnabell’s in Thief River Falls showcase local artist's works.Both stores are looking for artists who would be interested in teaching classes or demonstrating their art. Reach out to Kelly at Tonnabell's or Shirley at Sista's Corner to inquire.

Kate Hammer's Art of Addiction pieces are in our display case at NCTC near our gallery through the end of the year.

Art is Not Separate from Life

Gully Artist Cindy Kolling's work involves fine line technical pen drawing. She often works on carefully selected recycled fiber paper. She considers art as essential to life as eating and breathing. Her work will be exhibited in a display case near our NWMAC Gallery at NCTC until this summer. Stop by and see it!

#ITVSOpenCall funding window is now open! ITVSindies gives independent producers up to $350k to co-produce their documentaries with public media. Apply now to OpenCall through Aug 11. More info here: https://itvs.org/funding/open-call/

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To see all the trainings, events and other resources that Springboard for the Arts is offering, visit their events webpage here. These include zoom sessions on copyrights, trademarks, record keeping, pricing, websites, and more!

Artist Spotlight with Art Teacher

Gary Stegman

Watch this online discussion with retired art teacher Gary Stegman here.

Stegman spoke about students, motivation, the arts, artistic vision, his background, and much more. Some of Stegman’s students have artwork in the current NWMAC exhibit Student Art Exhibit at NCTC in Thief River Falls. The exhibit is open until July 31.

Minnesota arts & cultural organizations offering accessible programs and services are welcome to list events on the Minnesota Accessible Activities Calendar. An account is required; register today or log in to submit events. New accounts need to be approved by the Minnesota Access Alliance board before you’ll be able to submit events. Please allow 48 hours for your registration to be approved.

The Minnesota Access Alliance (MNAA) provides this Accessible Arts & Culture Calendar for patrons who use accessibility accommodations. At the their website you’ll find listings of (in order):

* Captioning,

* ASL interpreting,

* Audio Description,

* Sensory-friendly accommodations, and

* Disability-related events.

Each listing links to more details on MNAA’s online calendar (https://calendar.mnaccess.org). Be sure to check the listing or venue to find out its COVID-19 protocol and if you need to make an advance reservation for the accessibility service.

Minnesota Accessible Activities Calendar is here: https://calendar.mnaccess.org

If you previously had an account to submit events to VSA Minnesota’s Accessible Art Activities Calendar, your credentials for that calendar are still valid here.

This calendar only lists events that provide explicit accommodations for people with disabilities. Information about the accessibility of the event location and provided accommodations is a requirement in order to be listed.

To submit events and register start at this page: https://calendar.mnaccess.org/calendar/submit/

If you know of other accessible events, please ask those venues to submit their events to the MNAA Calendar (and to MinnesotaPlaylist.com).

Anyone can get this monthly calendar: email mactfactor@icloud.com and/or info@mnaccess.org and indicate which list you want: the entire list or specifically ASL Interpreting, Captioning, Audio Description, Sensory Friendly accommodations or Disability-related topics.

It's time to submit an entry for the 6th edition of our Artists of NW Minnesota booklet. Learn more and download an entry form on our website here. Or click here to download right now. Or for businesses and organizations, download and submit this document . Or email director@NWArtsCouncil.org or call our office at 218-745-8886 to receive a form via mail. The cost is only $20 for a listing + you receive 20 copies of the booklet! What a deal! Submissions will be accepted until October 10, 2023.

Find our a free print edition of our current booklet Artists of Northwest Minnesota at your local library, from featured artists, or in other public spaces throughout our region. This is the 5th edition of this publication. The directory lists fine craft and visual artists, photographers, writers, and performing artists who answered our call for entries, as well as arts organizations. It's an invaluable resource when you are looking for art and artists in our region.

Grant writing training will be offered 2 weeks before each deadline ... Sep 18, Oct 17, Nov 1, 2023 and Feb 16, Apr 17 2024. Reach out if you need help!

Fiber art created by Roseau Artist Aliza Novacek-Olson is displayed in one of the display cases outside of our NWMAC Gallery at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls. Aliza’s work will be displayed until the end of the year. Stop by to see it!

THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2023 AT 4 PM – 8 PM

TRF Zehlian's Art & Wine Walk 2023

$20 Over 25 artists and businesses downtown Thief River Falls.

Attention Metal Artists! Call for Art for Metal Arts Festival on September 9

The Prairie Renaissance Cultural Alliance is looking for artists to compete in their Metal Arts Festival metal art competition. All artists are encouraged to showcase their art at the Competition and Live Auction. All mediums are welcome if there is some metal component to the artwork, i.e. sculpture, welded artworks, mixed media, jewelry, 3-D art, fiber art, etc. All sizes accepted. Be as creative and inventive as you wish – push the boundaries of metal art! Deadline to register your artwork is August 25 by emailing prca@prairierenaissance.org. Please include your name, address, phone number, and the approximate dimensions of your piece or pieces of artwork and the value of your artwork. Attach a photo of your piece to your email. Deliver your artwork to Morris, MN on Saturday, Sept 9. For more information/details, contact Diane Trew at 320-314-2262 or visit prairierenaissance.org.

Sorenson Gallery in Fosston is featuring FHS Alumni during July. The Gallery is open today until 6:00, Friday 10 - 6, and Saturday 11 - 2. Located at the Fosston Library and Arts Center, 403 Foss Ave.

Mental Health Awareness Mural Unveiling Thursday, July 20th 4:30-6:30 pm for the Mental Health Awareness mural unveiling! Meet the artist, Victoria German, stay for food provided by Inspire Dance (free will donation) and sign up for prizes. Downtown Thief River Falls

If you're in Bemidji don't miss the Bemidji Sculpture Walk 2023. Roseau Metal Artist Sue Suess's piece "Strolling with the Wind" is one of the featured works of art!

You are invited to attend the upcoming Northwoods Art & Book Festival, taking place on Saturday, August 12, 2023, in Hackensack. The 2nd annual Poetry Safari is a part of this event — this year's theme is "Celebrating animals and the environments where they live and thrive."

For further information or any queries about the Poetry Safari, contact the Poetry Safari Headquarters at (218) 270-5648 or email kokoropoets@gmail.com.