NWMAC Showcase Specialist Trey Everett Receives the

National Association for Rural Mental Health’s

Peter G. Beeson Rural Arts Award

The Northwest Minnesota Arts Council (NWMAC) is proud to announce that our staff person Trey Everett of Crookston recently received the Peter G. Beeson Rural Arts Award from the National Association for Rural Mental Health.

The 2023 award was presented to Trey Everett during their National Convention in Pittsburgh on September 20, 2023. Trey is a visual artist, pastor, teacher, and spiritual guide. He mostly works with pen and ink, which includes calligrams (images made with words), lectionary art, editorial cartoons, and commissions. He also creates murals, including an outdoor mural on a building wall in downtown Crookston titled "Unity and Diversity", and art related to cinema inside the Crookston Grand Theater. At the awards ceremony, Trey was recognized for his healing workshop with the residents of the Northwestern Apartments (NWA) transitional living facility in Crookston. Residents at NWA have mental health and often substance health challenges. Trey presented ideas of how art can be another therapeutic tool on the path of recovery. The workshop provided residents a way to touch on vulnerabilities and feelings sometimes not available in more traditional therapies. After an initial session residents spent a week with their art. Many created several art pieces. His work with people and the art he provokes are hopeful and healing, with a sense of wonder and humor, reflecting the best spirit of who we are and who we can be.

The National Association for Rural Mental Health established the Rural Arts Award in 2007 to honor the life-long contributions of Peter G. (Pete) Beeson to both rural mental health and the rural arts.

Congratulations, Trey and thank you for your positive impact on rural arts and mental health in our region!