Lake Region Arts Council will be hosting a multi-artist exhibition reception on Tuesday, October 8th, 5:30-7pm that is open to the public and we will have food and drinks. The title of the exhibition is, "Surreal Visions". Definition of Surreal art…” art that balances a rational vision of life with one that asserts the power of the unconscious and dreams.” We asked artists to stretch their imaginations and creative techniques. They responded with an exciting variety of styles and mediums. This juried exhibition has something for everyone. The exhibition will run October 7th to December 17th, 2024.

Our juried exhibitions are always very popular with regional artists and gallery guests. The exhibition features the very best work from our regional artists and is a must see for our Gallery visitors. This year the Lake Region Arts Council Gallery Board Committee chose 17 artists living in the LRAC 9 county region. The artists featured in the exhibition are the following; Olivia Hoppe, Tim Cassidy, Jacqueline Henning, Mary Williams, Maggie Peterson, Brad Wegscheid, Kevin Zepper, Laura VonBank, Kimberly Boe, Rebecca Kruger, Samantha Johnson-Purdie, Emma Tomb, Penny Kagigebi, Desiree Logan, Anna Lassonde, James Hopkins and Blayze Buseth.

For the month of October, Lake Region Arts Council is working in a partnership with Otter Cove Children’s Museum, Kaddatz Galleries and Otter Tail County Historical Society and are running a special program that you, the guests, can participate in for the month of October! October is National Museum and Gallery month and we are all partnering together in the creation of a Museum & Galleries Passport, sponsored by Mabel Murphy’s. Participates will be able to pick up a Passport at any 4 location on October 1st. During the LRAC Artist Reception on October 8th we will have a guest speaker, Executive Director of Otter Tail County Historical Society, Chris Schuelke. Chris will speak about the history of the River Inn building at 6pm at the artist reception on October 8th. Please join in the celebration of the exhibition, kicking off the Museum & Gallery Passport, and learning about the history of our historic beautiful building downtown Fergus Falls, and get your passport stamped at the artist reception.

The gallery hours are Monday – Thursday 9:00AM – 3:00PM and closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Please email or call before you visit the gallery to ensure that the gallery is open that day. Call the LRAC office (toll free in MN) at 1-800-262-2787 or 218-739-5780 or email LRAC4@LRACgrants.org

"This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Lake Region Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage fund."

About the Lake Region Arts Council:
The Lake Region Arts Council is a non-profit organization dedicated to encourage and support the vitality of the arts. The LRAC accomplishes this through providing grants to community organizations and individual artists in the region and providing a monthly ArtsNews letter, workshops and technical assistance. LRAC serves the counties of: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Otter Tail, Pope, Stevens, Traverse and Wilkin Counties in west central Minnesota.

Home of Memories: Portraits and Stories of Kurdish and Iraqi Minnesotans

October 15, 2024 - June 22, 2024

Come learn about the Kurdish and Iraqi Immigrant experience. Home of Memories is a traveling exhibit created by the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project. Thirteen color portraits and interviews capture what modern immigrants have experienced moving to and living in America. Joining this exhibit are portraits and interviews from members of Moorhead's Kurdish and Iraqi communities.

An opening reception will be held on October 15 from 5-7pm. This event is free and open to the public.

In the Gallery: TEACH

TEACH Gallery Exhibit
Peder Butenhoff & Michael Aasness
October 23 – November 30, 2024

The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center is pleased to announce its new gallery exhibit “TEACH” in the gallery from October 23 – November 30, 2024. A reception date will be announced soon.

This gallery exhibit features the work of Artists Peder Butenhoff and Michael Aasness, with a nod to Jim Borgreen. Jim Borgreen was Peder’s art teacher and inspired him in art and to teach, while Peder was Michael’s art teacher and inspired him to pursue art and become a teacher.

The show is about inspiration: the teachers we learn from and those who inspire us.

Peder Butenhoff Artist Statement

Known as Peder, PED, or Pete (no preference), I graduated from Fergus County High School in 1988. I was greatly influenced by Jim Borgreen’s teaching gifts. Being the little brother of three, I was also greatly influenced by the big brothers in good and bad ways! So, I too attended Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and earned a K-12 Art Education & 7-12 Social Studies Education Degree along with Coaching Certification in 1993.

I began my almost 30 years of teaching and coaching in Lisbon, ND. It was an honor to be the first Art Teacher Lisbon had in their school district, even though 80 percent of my teaching was Social Studies. With three great start-up years in Lisbon, I found my way to New York Mills, where I have lived for 26 years. I taught in NYM schools and coached for four years being a “Jack of all Trades” in Art, Social Studies, and Coaching. With the desire to just teach Art, I was blessed to find teaching positions in Staples-Motley (six years), Fergus Falls (eleven years), and currently in my sixth year at Perham High School.

I reflect at times back to the central Montana boy in 1988. Who thought, “Teaching Art and coaching football & golf?! That would be a pretty sweet gig in life.”.Well, here I am blessed to be doing just what I dreamed. I am blessed with a saint of a wife, Becky. We have been married and resided in rural New York Mills for the past 13 years. We enjoy our dogs and cat. I am a “Jack of all Trades” still, but master of none. We do numerous outdoor activities no matter if it is winter, spring, summer, or fall.

Jewett Benson’s work will be showcased in the Gallery in November

No stranger to visual arts, Jewett taught art in the Alexandria, Minnesota school system for 34 years. Presently, he works on paintings and commissions in a studio near his home in Alexandria Minnesota.

Jewett’s landscapes reflect the rural and lake setting of central Minnesota. His work in watercolor, oil and mixed media ranges from impressionistic landscape, still-life and colorful abstraction. His satirical graphic images meld traditional painting and drawing methods with computer graphics.

Working with his wife Barbara, Jewett has authored and illustrated a children’s book “A is for Aeronaut”.

This most interesting exhibit runs from November 1 to November 30 and may be seen during Gallery hours each Friday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. There will be an Artist Reception on November 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00p.m.

On View in Studio K from November 4 - December 21, 2024

Opening Reception: NOON -2PM Thursday, November 7, 2024
This event is free to attend and open to the public.
​
About the Exhibition:
In this exhibition, Fergus Falls artist and co-owner of Creation Shop Blayze Buseth explores the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the creative process of pottery. Viewing AI as a collaborator rather than a threat, Buseth uses AI to expand the boundaries of design exploration. His work demonstrates how AI can assist in generating new visual ideas while maintaining the essential role of the artist’s hand in the creation of each piece.

Buseth’s artist statement states: “AI opens a vast playground for design exploration. With a few simple text prompts, I can unlock thousands of new design possibilities, each one slightly or dramatically different from the last. Every word acts as a key, unlocking variations in medium, form, and decoration. The vessel’s form—whether tall and elegant, short and sturdy, or curved and abstract—can be reshaped and reimagined in ways that would take far longer through traditional sketching or modeling.”

On View in the Main Gallery November 4 - December 21, 2024 “CARLA BENJAMIN
​VENERATION: HONORING THE SPACE THAT SURROUNDS US”.

Opening Reception:
NOON - 2PM Thursday, November 7, 2024
This event is free to attend and open to the public.
​
About the Artist:
Carla Benjamin, a long-time resident of rural Pillager Minnesota, brings the simple splendor of the Northwoods to life through her innovative use of encaustic painting. Her work is deeply influenced by the textures and tactile qualities of bark, lichens, stones, and leaves. Through her art, she explores themes of awareness, healing, growth, and renewal, inviting viewers to see the familiar natural world from a new perspective.