Northwest Minnesota Art Exhibit Winners Announced

The Northwest Minnesota Arts Council is excited to announce the Northwest Minnesota Art Exhibit Winners. Student and adult artists residing in a seven-county region including Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Polk, Pennington, Roseau and Red Lake recently entered the Northwest Minnesota Art Exhibit and competed for $2,300 in cash awards. The winners were recognized at the Northwest Minnesota Artist Reception in Crookston on April 27. It was a wonderful day to celebrate these artists and the arts in northwest Minnesota.

Exhibit cash award winners were chosen while the exhibit was on display at the University of Minnesota in Crookston by qualified juror Glen Henry. 

Henry is a versatile and accomplished Indigenous artist whose creative journey spans a variety of mediums, including drawing, painting, and graphic design. He is the Director of Exhibitions at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He received his BA and MFA from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. His artwork often explores themes of identity, culture, and the complex intersections of the past and present, while using bold, expressive color palettes and innovative design methods. As an Indigenous artist, he incorporates aspects of his culture into his work, allowing for a unique narrative that resonates with both personal and universal experiences.

He explained that “jurying an exhibition can be a difficult process. There are numerous deserving artworks, with many exhibiting interesting subject matter, style, creativity and skill. However, these attributes are not the only ones considered when choosing artworks. I also consider aesthetic, ambition, insight and original thought. Congratulations to all the artists (the award winners and to the artists who were not selected) for their skill, ambition, and courage to submit artworks. Perseverance is key when creating and submitting art. Good luck to everyone in their future artistic endeavors. It was an honor to be the juror for the 2025 NW Minnesota Arts Exhibition.”

Walk through the exhibit at  https://youtu.be/QJeYb-pkZ-A?si=uAr8Rz1hzoX4PtJY

Exhibit Awards include:

Adults:

1st Place $500 Elizabeth Kitchell-Rockstad of Ada in mixed media for "In My Nature"

2nd Place $300 Denise Jenson of Badger in photography for "Underwater Pac-Men"

3rd Place $200 Jessica Lundeen of Thief River Falls in acrylic for "Bee's Marigold"

Merit $100 Cindy Kolling of Gully in pen and ink for "Slough pumper in Habitat"

Merit $100 Dennis Kinkead of Hallock in watercolor for "Where Are You Guys Going?" 

Merit $100 Fred Hartmann of Thief River Falls in folk/traditional fine craft for "Country Church" 

Merit $100 Jodi Peterson of Moorhead in fused glass for "The Wave"

Merit $100 Marj Mercil of Mentor in textile for "Little Boxes" 

People’s Choice $100 Beau Bakken of Hallock

Students:

1st Place $300 Alyssa Foster of Thief River Falls in drawing for "One Act Matters" 

2nd Place $150 Melody Voeltz of Lancaster in watercolor for "Field Bunny" 

3rd Place $100 Addison Severts of Grygla in sculpture for "Serenity" 

Merit $50 Ava Halvorson of Goodridge in drawing for "Grandpa Lewie" 

Merit $50 Autumn Osse of Wannaska in digital photography for "Tank" 

Merit $50 Mahli Holter of Red Lake Falls in photography for "All You Have to Do" 

Merit $50 Issybelle Johnson of Fosston in sculpture for "The Well" 

Merit $50 Aimee Ross of Fisher in mixed media for "Alaskan Dolly Varden" 

People’s Choice $50 Aimee Ross of Fisher

Fourteen exhibit pieces of student and adult art were chosen to be included in the Traveling Art Exhibit, which will travel this next year to area libraries. Watch our website and social media for the schedule to be announced and for it to arrive in your community. Five exhibit pieces of student art were also chosen to be hung in the hallway of Senator Mark Johnson’s office in St. Paul. These students and their work include Courtney Webster of Lancaster “Sunflower,” Kyleigh Halvorson of Erskine “Existential,” Aimee Ross of Fisher “Kachemak State Park, AK,” Autumn Osse of Wannaska, “Tank,” and Addison Pal, of Crookston “Reflection.”