MANKATO — Twin Rivers Council for the Arts will hold the next of its “Creative Connections,” which exposes local artists’ art in natural settings and highlights arts-supported businesses, when it visits The Free Press offices 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The micro gallery series has landed in such businesses as Rooms and Rest Furniture and Mattress, Mom & Pop’s Ice Cream and Wooden Spoon, and has enjoyed great acceptance, said Twin Rivers’ Justin Ek.
“We have met our sponsorship goals and have passed it along to artists locally,” he said. “It’s stimulated pride and empowered artists to connect with businesses and find unconventional partnerships.”
Featured artist is Amber Rahe, an ink painting artist and adjunct faculty member in the Minnesota State University art department. While at The Free Press offices at 418 S. Second St., visitors also can meet new publisher Todd Bense and other staff members.
On her website at amberrahe.com, she wrote: “My paintings begin as a random act by pouring the dripping ink or paint. The formations are mostly out of my control, and the ink or paint continues to move and shift until they dry.” From there, she finds and develops shapes and lines that suggest an organic image.
Creative Connections is an initiative created by Twin Rivers in collaboration with local businesses and artists to bring art to the community in unique business settings — transforming spaces into galleries and offering artists a platform for visibility and sales.
As further proof of the successful creative connection, Ek said, they have seen artists sell artwork and make new connections to enhance community partnerships.