ArtReach of Red Wing is a 501(c)3 non-profit organizations whose mission is to promote creativity and provide quality visual arts opportunities to people of all ages and abilities. We envision a community connected through the healing power of art, and strive to provide diverse art experiences in a comfortable and encouraging atmosphere.
ArtReach currently serves more than 2000 people each year through innovative, community-focused programming including open studio time, affordable visual arts and craft classes for a variety of age and ability groups, and healing art experiences for local support groups.
ArtReach’s Core values:
- We believe that creative expression is a fundamental need of all people.
- We believe that creating art helps the artist discover something positive about themselves.
- We believe that creative art experiences are important and must be available for all members of our community.
ArtReach Rules
- Be Respectful!
- Respect yourself: Allow yourself the freedom to be creative without judgement. Be kind to yourself! Enjoy the process. Work safely.
- Respect others: Be kind. Share. Offer encouragement. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Work and move around the space safely and be aware of others’ space.
- Respect the materials: Use materials appropriately. Take only what you need. Don’t abuse or waste supplies. Clean and return items when you’re finished with them. Avoid damaging tools.
- Respect the space: Messes are part of art — so is cleaning up. Be careful and keep the studio safe and useable for everyone.
- Accessibility: All ages and abilities are welcome! Our goal is to make art accessible and fun for everyone. Ask for help modifying tasks as necessary. Let us know what you need and we’ll do our best to accommodate and make adjustments for the future.
- Food/drinks: Outside food and beverages are welcome. Please be careful to avoid damaging your own work and others’ from food/drink spills. Pro-tip: keep your beverage away from your brush rinsing water to avoid making a gross mistake!
- Content: We are not interested in censoring your art or your expression. That said, please keep in mind that we welcome all ages to ArtReach and it is a safe space. Out of courtesy for others, please avoid explicit content such as violent depictions, profanity, and sexual content within the sight/hearing of others. Hate speech is strictly prohibited. Please see our anti-discrimination policy for more information.
ArtReach Anti-Discrimination Policy
ArtReach is committed to creating a safe space in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Staff, volunteers, and clients have the right to be free from discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, national origin, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. ArtReach prohibits any such discrimination or harassment. ArtReach encourages reporting of all perceived incidents of discrimination, harassment or retaliation, regardless of the offender’s identity or position. Individuals who believe that they have been the victim of such conduct should discuss their concerns with an ArtReach staff or board member.
Brief Overview of Programs
ArtReach is a nonprofit arts organization whose mission is to promote creativity and provide quality visual arts opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. Our goal is to strengthen our community through the power of art and creativity. Regular class offerings include free and low-cost classes for preschoolers, elementary students, children who have been victims of domestic violence through Kids Count, at-risk teens with Youth Outreach, teens with developmental disabilities through the STEP program, adults with disabilities through Community Education, residents of Jordan Towers low-income housing, seniors in assisted living, adults with memory loss through the In the Moment program, and visitors to the Goodhue County Historical Society’s Free Family Fun days. In addition, ArtReach provides affordable art classes to the public in a variety of media including fine art and crafts. The ArtReach studio is open to the public on Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm and is free for guests to use the space to work with their own materials, use the free materials that ArtReach provides including markers, crayons, pencils, scissors, glue, and recycled materials, and/or to purchase additional materials such as canvases and paint. For more information about individual programs visit https://artreachredwing.org/programs
Brief History of ArtReach
ArtReach was founded by Carol Sweasy in Red Wing, Minnesota in 2000 to provide art therapy programs for individuals as well as public class offerings by local artists. In 2006, the ArtReach board worked with Jones Consulting to develop a strategic plan and to reshape the organization’s business model. ArtReach’s new mission focused on outreach to the social service sector. A period of economic downturn in 2009 caused ArtReach to scale back and restructure once again. From 2010 through the present, ArtReach has maintained a solid base of low-cost art programs for children and underserved populations such as low-income adults and teens and adults with disabilities, while adding valuable community classes that are now part of the regular programming. Throughout its history, ArtReach has excelled at developing partnerships with other non-profit organizations in the community. Now ArtReach has taken the next step in its development to move into a larger downtown studio space, which has increased its ability to provide even more individuals with much-needed access to the arts.
ArtReach Privacy Policy
ArtReach Accessibility Plan
ArtReach Funding
We are able to keep our classes & activities affordable (or often free) thanks to the generosity of individual donors like you and grants from Xcel Energy, the Jones Family Foundation, the Red Wing Area Fund, the WINGS Foundation, the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council, and the Red Wing HRA.
Please consider making a tax-deductible gift today to keep visual arts programming available for all ages and abilities in our community. THANK YOU!