Collective Member Ruth Lais Receives 2017 VSA MN Emerging Artist Grant

A congratulations goes out to Ruth Lais for receiving the 2017 VSA MN Emerging Artist Grant! Ruth is the 4th Collective Member to receive this wonderful recognition! Previous grant recipients are Tobias, Peter F. Hinze and Christi Furnas.

From VSA MN's News Page:

Six Minnesota artists have been awarded 2017 Emerging Artist Grants of $2,000 each by VSA Minnesota. The 21st annual awards, funded by the Jerome Foundation, recognize excellence by emerging Minnesota artists with disabilities and encourage them to create new work. Selected from 55 applicants, grantees are:

Ayesha Adu, Minneapolis — screenplay writing
Sarah Drake, Sauk Rapids — painting & mixed media
Ruth Lais, Minneapolis — mixed media
Luke Lyons, Minneapolis — ceramics
Carrie Salberg, White Bear Lake — creative non-fiction writing
Joey Schad, St. Paul — music performance

The grants were awarded following a jurying process conducted by individuals with backgrounds in the written, visual and performing arts. Panelists looked at samples of the artists’ work, resumes and artist statements. Artists scoring highest in artistic quality and received awards. All grantees are first-time Jerome grant recipients.

Ruth Lais
from Trees and Stars series (2017)
Mixed Media

The Beauty of it All - 2nd Year Partnership

Spectrum ArtWorks is proud to announce that The Beauty of it All - Year Two, a collaboration with The Family Partnership, is on display with all new art! This is an ongoing exhibition that is exhibiting in the lobby and clinic hallways.

Art by Shining Starr

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Collective Member Martha Bird has been front and center over the last couple of months because she is a strong mental health advocate. A professional artist, Martha, has been leading the collective with their latest show at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, RESOURCE featured her story this month in a new blog post. Read here.

Martha joined RESOURCE’s Spectrum ArtWorks program’s Artist Collective in August of 2016. She’s an artist living with a mental illness, but prefers to be known for what she does and who she is, not her diagnosis. “I’m an artist. Period.”

Martha with a recent sculptural basket of hers