- [Voiceover] The following program is a production of Pioneer Public Television.

This program on Pioneer Public Television is funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota, on November 4th 2008.

Additional support provided by Mark and Margaret Yakel-Juleen in honor of Shalom Hill Farm, a non-profit rural education retreat center, in a beautiful prairie setting near Windham in southwestern Minnesota.

www.ShalomHillFarm.org.

The Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center.

Your ideal choice for Minnesota resorts offering luxury townhomes, 18 holes of golf, Darling Reflections Spa, Big Splash Waterpark, and much more.

Alexandria, Minnesota.

A relaxing vacation, or great location for an event.

www.ExploreAlex.com Easy to get to, hard to leave.

- Welcome to Postcards.

I'm Dana Johnson.

You don't have to go far to experience unique art.

Today on Postcards, we take a journey to four different art galleries from our region.

First we travel to the SMAHC Gallery in downtown Marshall, and check out an impressive exhibit from Postcards Alumni Fred Cogelow.

- [Greta] SMAHC stands for Southwest Minnesota Arts and Humanities Council.

We were established in 1974 and we at that time served 21 counties.

We now serve 18.

A couple years after we were established The state of Minnesota decided to have reigonal arts councils, and we were designated as one of the 11 regional arts councils in Minnesota.

- [Nicole] The SMAHC Gallery is located in downtown Marshall.

We moved to this newer location for us in April of 2012.

We really love the space.

Even though SMAHC's been around for 35 years, now we have a gallery space that doesn't have to be overrun with tables and chairs for meetings occasionally.

It's a dedicated space that always is ready for the public to come and take a look at the show that's exhibiting at this time.

- [Greta] The exciting thing about our move downtown is that we can finally exhibit sculpture.

Up until then we could only have 2D work in our gallery because it also served as our meeting room.

Any kind of visual arts media we'll be able to display here.

- [Nicole] This galleries function is to provide a place to exhibit for artists who have received a grant from SMAHC, and so those artists may, or may not have ever exhibited before.

A lot of our artists are first time solo exhibitors, and so this gallery gives them the opportunity to have a show all by them self.

To have marketing done just for their work, and to have a really successful public display of their work.

All of our gallery openings are open to the public, as well as the gallery every day is open to the public from 8:00 to 4:30, Monday-Friday.

(people chatting) - [Greta] We have a reception at the opening of each show.

The artist gives us a list of people they would like us to invite, and we invite all our members, and anyone we know of that might be interested.

We're just so happy to have people come in and look around.

They have a chance to sign the guest book, leave comments for the artist, to give them some feedback.

It's been a really great opportunity for artists to get their work out there, and to get some exposure for their work.

- [Nicole] The exhibit we have here now is Fred Cogelow.

He's a master carver, internationally known, and lives in Wilmer, Minnesota.

He has received a number of grants from SMAHC, and is one of what we call established career artists.

The exhibit here shows a whole history of his work.

Not just the most recent things, but there are...

There is even a piece here that isn't finished.

So, we're really honored to have Fred show here.

This is our largest public attendance that we've ever had at the gallery.

We've had hundreds of people attend throughout the season of his exhibit.

- [Greta] His work, I think you'll find is just incredible.

We've had more visitors for this exhibit than any other.

People see it from the street, walk in to check it out, and they're just astounded.

The detail is incredible, and the interesting images, the quality of the work is just really something to see.

When Fred Cogelow had his opening reception there was actually one of the models for one of his works was here at the reception, so people got to meet the model, and find out, hear stories from Fred and from the model that were very interesting.

- [Nicole] He gave a gentlemen that was here, that I believe is sculpted in one of these, is the art, or the muse for one of these carvings.

He gave that gentleman, who happened to be 99 years old a ride on what he calls his Norse rullestol which is like a Norwegian wheelchair.

He has that here in this exhibit.

He gave him a super fast ride down the hallway as part of the show during the reception, and so we just had a really great night of music and Fred talking, and just viewing his amazing work.

Coming to Marshall offers lots of art opportunities.

Of course we encourage you to come and visit the SMAHC Art Gallery, showcasing known artists from southwest Minnesota, but as well there is whats called a Downtown Arts District in Marshall.

There's Marshall Area Fine Arts Council just across the street from SMAHC.

There's a beautiful mural on the same street that we're on.

There are a number of handmade marketplaces in Marshall that feature crafts and art from local citizens.

There is a mural just a block away in downtown Marshall featuring marching bands and music.

It's music themed.

And in the near future the city of Marshall is really hopeful to add a third mural in downtown Marshall featuring sports.

I think coming to the SMAHC Gallery is something that will give viewers an insight into southwestern Minnesota artists.

- [Greta] Our interest is in exposing the artists, and the public to good art.

So anyone is welcome to just come in.

It's not an elite situation.

It's something for everyone.

And everyone's welcome here.

- Now we meet up with a few arts enthusiasts at Nobles County Art Center.

This Worthington based gallery is an ideal place to view a wide collection of local and nationally renowned art.

- [Martin] We feel that we are providing a cultural avenue for people without much means, and also we're providing an opportunity for artists that haven't had recognition.

- [Jean] The gallery was started in 1961.

- [Martin] There were 20 pieces in the permanent collection, and that was a gift from the state arts board of a traveling print show.

They had it for a year, they had a print show that toured in the state of Minnesota.

The head of the art department at St.

Cloud State, and the head of the art department at the University of Minnesota were both printmakers that were renowned.

That was the start.

- [Jean] Our daughter was always interested in art, and the year before she went off to college we got her a kiln, and we put it up in the garage, and Sarah always fired her pottery and everything.

Well, here she went to college, and here this kiln is sitting out there in the garage, and so we said I think we'll go down to the college and take some ceramic classes, and we can use that.

The instructor that we had at the college invited us to come to the board.

We accepted, we came, and pretty soon we ended up as board members.

And, pretty soon we were directors, so that's how we got here.

- [Patricia] When I first came here, my teaching job was at the high school teaching art, and the person I was co-teaching with was a wonderful member, and she encouraged me to join, and that was 27 years ago, 28 years ago, and I just haven't left.

- [Martin] Well we've got this passion for art, and so this passion is what has sustained us through these many years, and the art center has grown.

We have a permanent collection now of almost 500 pieces, and we've had a new show every month, and we've met a tremendous number of artists.

What we have done through the years, is we've gone to a lot of receptions, and we have met hundreds of people, and so we have a huge reservoir of people that we can have shows from.

Well, I think what's special about this gallery is that as compared to a lot of galleries out there, we have a frequent turnover of shows first of all.

We just have one gallery space, and some galleries will have a show last for two or three months.

And we have a new fresh show every month, and we're always looking for emerging artists that have talent, and we are promoting people who haven't had recognition.

Giving them recognition.

And that is one of my principle goals, is to give recognition to deserving young artists who haven't had recognition.

And I think we have succeeded in doing that.

- [Jean] We have a little different philosophy for our area show, which is the main open show that we have.

Our show is completely open, and we do not interview the people, or jury the work before it comes to the gallery, and our theory behind this is that it's an educational experience, because many of those people, the younger ones, or the newer artists, have never even shown in an art gallery before, and so they kind of learn what the procedure is, and it's a learning experience.

- [Patricia] Any time you get a young student involved so that they can show their work, see the value of the work when it's actually up in a gallery space, and it's available for sale, and it sells.

You're promoting that feel good with them, and encouraging the younger student, and so they get that first glimpse of what it might be like as an artist to have a one person show.

They get that initial feeling of, "Oh, this is what this is about."

- We have artists from all over the area, and we have other countries.

A lot of Minnesota artists, but we are also very close to the border in both Minnesota and South Dakota.

- [Patricia] In a smaller town such as Worthington it's wonderful to have this opportunity to see local artists, and non-local artists, to see what they're doing.

It's just a way of expanding your mind, and maybe that you might say, "Hey, think I want to try this."

Any time a community member who is not an artist comes in and views the works of art, I think it allows for personal growth, and certainly for more understanding of what art is, and because the gallery has a wide variety of different shows, whether it's sculpture, or printmaking, or painting, whatever, it's just an educational tool, and a way for people to appreciate the arts more, and to expand their thinking.

I think one thing that the gallery really stresses, is that we are more inclusive than a lot of galleries are, and that's something that I like about this gallery, and it encourages people who have never had a show, to actually show, and any time you encourage a creative process, and bring in more people who are new to the arts, but maybe have that latent art spirit within themselves, then I think you've done a good job.

I'm very proud of the Art Center for that philosophy.

- [Martin] First of all, is it's inexpensive entertainment, and you are going to see new, fresh ideas, and putting together paint and objects, and ideas, and you know, it goes back to this idea about what art is all about, critical thinking, and creativity, and problem solving.

And you can learn about all of those elements of art by just coming to a gallery like this, and seeing what wonderful results are possible.

- Next we take a look at the vibrant colors of the Kaleidoscope Gallery in New London.

The Kaleidoscope provides a place for people to meet the artists, while they browse through a variety of interesting art mediums.

- [Voiceover] I think that there is so much fine local art in this area.

People tend to think if they want to see good art they've got to go to a metropolitan area, and that's just not true.

- [Voiceover] I love living in the New London, Spicer area because of all the arts that we have to offer, and this gives a sample of that for the community, and for people.

- We decided to start the gallery based on some discussions we had with the Arts Council, and we were looking for places in the Wilmer area that we could open a gallery.

New London is an arts centered community, and so we started meeting, and we started talking about the possibilities of a gallery.

- I've been on the Arts Council for quite a few years, three, four years or something like that, and I just think it's a great opportunity for our community to have a gallery here to represent the local artists.

- The main thing that makes us unique is that we are an artists cooperative, and it just has a totally different feel if all the artists are invested in it.

It's really nice for visitors, because every time they come in, they are going to talk to one of the artists.

We are a DBA, a doing business as, of the Arts Council, so that's how we got started back in 2010.

- [Violet] Our gallery is very unique with the talents that we have, with the local artists that we have.

We have painters, and we have jewelers.

We have potters, we have mixed media.

- I think it offers them a chance to see what is available locally, and to take pride in the fact that they live in an area that's very rich with a lot of very, very fine artists.

- I'm a potter.

I've been throwing pottery for about 5 years now, and when I retired from teaching I was looking for something to do, and it's kind of a fun thing to do.

So, I took a couple classes from a local potter here in New London, Bill Gossman, and enjoyed it.

I had a good time and joined the gallery here.

I become a founding member through my involvement with the area Arts Council.

I've been with the gallery ever since.

- I used to do a lot of art fairs.

A lot.

From the second weekend of June, to the second weekend of October I would be home one weekend, and I was gone every other weekend, and that gets really, really old, and it's really, really hard to do.

And with the economy art fairs are just not what they used to be.

But I still needed a place to show my work, and have it available, and I still needed some income from it.

So it's worked very well for me to be a part of this gallery.

- I've made art since I was a young girl.

It was kind of my thing as an escape as a teenager, and it just is a part of who I am.

It kind of tells my story of who I am.

The things that I do, the paintings that I do, almost always have a story to them.

In our area local sites, or towns, or historic type places, or churches.

You could come here and buy art that would represent our area.

- [Voiceover] There's a lot of good local art, and I think it's important for local people and visitors to come have a chance to see it any time they want.

Monday-Saturday we're open, and to take pride in what we have to offer in this area.

- [David] We offer a number of events.

We generally will participate in any of the types of things that go on here in New London.

For instance, today we're open for the Legacy Weekend.

We also have a guest artist, and this past month it was Bill Gossman.

Next month it'll be Eva Miller who is a sculptor.

November will be Viola Dock, who's a painter, and then in December it'll be myself.

We try to be as active in the community as we possibly can be.

- We have artists of the month, not every month.

We're having four this year, where we feature a local artist.

Sometimes it's a member of the gallery.

Sometimes it's another artist in the community.

So, those are well advertised, and we have a big sign out front that says Artist of the Month, and has their name.

We have a fall autumn arts stroll, and we have a holiday event.

Those are our big events.

- [David] Our audience basically is people from this area however, we do have a lot of tourism in this area as well, and so we do get the tourists that stop by, and we've got a number of resorts that are close by here, and so their people come in during the summer.

One of the neat things about coming here is you do get to meet the artist.

You know, it's not like going to a retail store, and buying something, and you buy it from a clerk.

Here you're buying it from the artist in many cases.

We are able to answer questions related to the item that they're purchasing.

I can give people instructions related to the pottery that I throw, and how to take care of it.

So I think that you get really very good customer service by coming in here and shopping.

- When you actually have the artist here setting it up themselves, rearranging it.

We all get together three or four times a year and rearrange everything.

It just feels so much more invested.

- It's very rewarding for me to have my art in a gallery, and it's very rewarding for me to do my art.

- We can't really think in terms of what we get paid by the hour.

I think we have to think of it from the standpoint of the satisfaction we get out of making something and using our creative ability.

- Finally we make another stop in Marshall to check out the Marshall Area Fine Arts Council Gallery and see how they're brought together two unlikely artists for a poetic exhibit.

- [Becky] Marshall Area Fine Arts Center has been active since 1999.

I have been on the MAFAC board since 201.

Have served since 202 as exhibit coordinator, which means that I coordinate our exhibits at the art center as well as the artists and display in our gift shop.

So our arts center currently is divided in kind of two portions.

We have an exhibit side, and we run exhibits from local and regional artists.

Nine exhibits a year, and they're up for about six weeks, and then on the gift shop side we have local regional artists as well with their artwork for sale.

We probably at any one time probably... have 40-60 different artists in our gift shop, and the majority of them are regional artists.

We have pottery.

We have prints, and original watercolor, oils... acrylics.

We have a variety of prints.

Just a great diversity of items in our gift shop.

We have a local person who kind of creates designs in knitting and crocheting.

We have a woman who has made mittens, wonderful designed mittens out of recycled sweaters.

A lot of the artists have made cards of their original artwork.

And people love note cards.

Luckily one of the two murals that we have done as a community in the last two years is across the street from us, and we didn't plan that, but that's the way it happened.

And this mural gives us a beautiful view of the history of Marshall.

A little abstract, but it was done by Josh Sarantitus of St. Paul.

Well the current exhibit is images in photography and poetry.

I was thinking how we could bring a different medium, poetry, into a visual setting.

This exhibit has really been well received.

I mean, it's something really different, you know, and composing... a setting of written word and photography.

People have just really enjoyed it, and the visitors to the art center.

- It was a collaboration between myself and Bill Van Der Hagen, the photographer.

I had never met him before.

We met last summer for the first time, and just started seeing how we could fit together the poems and the photographs.

- [Becky] This was kind of an experiment, but an effort to bring the visual arts together with the written arts, which is a complete...

It's the first time we've ever done this, so this was a completely new experiment in terms of putting these two art forms together.

- [Florence] A lot of the poems that are here have not been published.

They span quite a period of time.

They touch on a lot of the themes that are really important to my work, I feel, as a writer.

River that gives what it can, until it's depleted, despoiled, surely is kin, as the old ones claimed.

Partner in mutual, timeless, exchange.

We are held in debt to these waters.

Bound by honor as real as a child's blood.

Let the river rename us, put food in our mouths, weep over our heads, the prodigal ones.

Come now, with a need to belong, minds remade.

As an artist, it's been a great venue for me to for one thing, just get to know other artists work, you know, come and see their shows, and I gave a reading here after one of my books came out so it was a great space to do that.

And this show, I have just felt so supported, and appreciated in doing this show.

- [Becky] Also we have with the exhibit, we have a guest book where they can write notes to the artist if they couldn't get to the reception.

You know, if it's a personal note, or just comments, and so the artist has that to take with them after the exhibit is over.

- Most artists, except performing artists work in isolation really, you know.

It's a solitary act, and so when it does come time to share your work with the public, it's so great to have a place locally where you can do that, and where you feel really supported, and appreciated, and helped.

- That's all for this week.

For more information, go to our website.

See you again next time, on Postcards.

- [Voiceover] This program on Pioneer Public Television is funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4th 2008.

Additional support provided by Mark and Margaret Yekel-Juleen in honor of Shalom Hill Farm.

A non-profit rural education retreat center in a beautiful prairie setting near Windham in southwestern Minnesota.

www.ShalomHillFarm.org The Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center.

Your ideal choice for Minnesota resorts offering luxury townhomes, 18 holes of golf, Darling Reflections Spa, Big Splash Waterpark, and much more.

Alexandria Minnesota.

A relaxing vacation, or great location for an event.

www.ExploreAlex.com Easy to get to, hard to leave.