Let's Wrap Up 2020, Here Comes 2021!

Hi All,

Just thought I’d send out a general 2020 wrap-up email to all our donors, advocates, volunteers and artists. It was a year quite unlike any other we’ve encountered! It’s forced us to re-evaluate and then make decisions that we thought would never be ours to initiate.

We had a great deal planned for 2020 and only a small portion of that came to fruition, however, plans are again being made and once it is safe for us to re-open our doors, you will be able to get re-involved. It’s been a difficult year financially, with all our income streams stopped, but still being responsible for facility costs and other overheads, it’s been quite the balancing act. Thank you to all those that made donations throughout the year, without you, it would have been so much more of a struggle.

January brought us cold and snow and with it our Photography Show.

During March, we hosted The Green Show, which was generously sponsored by Great River Energy. We also had some artwork from North Hennepin Community College.


Late March to current time, unfortunately we had to temporarily close. We also had to cancel the Arbor Lakes Art Fair. All these decisions are not ones that took lightly, but obviously the health and well-being of our artists, guests, volunteers and donors superseded all other considerations.

We’ve kept in touch via Zoom this year and in fact our Writers’ Studio continues to meet every Wednesday via video conferencing. We have increased our group membership and just published our second anthology, which is available on Amazon.

2019 was our inaugural Jacob Beneke Scholarship donation and we were planning the same event for May 2020, which we had to cancel. We are again in the planning stages for a Virtual 2021 Scholarship and District 279 Student Art Show. Please help us by donating today to this important program. This annual award, is given to a 12th grade student, preparing to study for an arts degree.

The Arbor Lakes Art Fair was canceled in 2020, but we are planning for an event this coming July 17th & 18th 2021. With the wonderful support of The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes, we will be able to offer Early Bird pricing once again The application will be available online in early January.

Tom Sack, one of the “regular and loved” artists.

Tom Sack, one of the “regular and loved” artists.

We’ve continued to strengthen our board and we are truly looking forward to seeing you all again in the not too distant future.

So, as stated earlier we could not have survived 2020 without our donors, advocates, artists and volunteers. So, if you enjoyed all that Maple Grove Arts Center produced and shared with you in the past, please consider us for your year-end donation giving. We have two main donation programs; our General Fund and The Jacob Beneke Fund. The choice is yours!

Thank you so much for your generosity and we all wish you a Happy & Safe New Year!

Lise Spence-Parsons
President & Treasurer
763 607 3824

All images courtesy of John Maciejny - Natural Images



Give To The Max 2020 - Is Almost Here!

Hello Everyone!

The biggest fundraising day for non-profits throughout Minnesota is almost upon us! It’s Thursday 19th November, just a few days before we all give Thanks for what has been a very different kind of year! I’m sure you are all completely overloaded with requests for donations this giving season. I know that I’ve been receiving even more than normal, but these are exceptional circumstances that we find ourselves in! I’m just hoping, on behalf of Maple Grove Arts Center, that you can find a little something extra to donate this coming week to help us keep the arts thrive and survive in Maple Grove.



What we really need this year, is someone with a connection to help us secure a corporate match for the 19th, so that we can really maximize our donor reach! If that is something you think you can help organize then please contact me. The matches can be for limited times, limited amounts, a mix of criteria or all day. In return we would add your logo to our pages and website as a sponsor of the arts! Just think, what we could achieve together for the arts in Maple Grove going forward!

Our dedicated Give to the Max campaign has several levels of suggested contribution, and any donation of $100 or more gives you an annual advocacy, which gives you great benefits for an entire year! Normal price for this great benefit is $45.

As I mentioned at the beginning, we are aware of all the demands, placed on you, this year for funds, we just hope that you have a little left for The Maple Grove Arts Center.

Thank you!

Lise

On behalf of Maple Grove Arts Center,

Lise Spence-Parsons
President & Treasurer





Give To The Max 2020 - Minnesota's Day of Giving!

Hello Everyone,

Hoping that this newsletter finds you all well and enjoying our extremely variable weather. Next week looks amazing for the first week of November, long may it continue! Maybe there will be time to rake up some leaves before we settle into winter proper.

Today, I wanted to talk about Minnesota’s Annual Day of charitable giving - Give To The Max. This year the day is Thursday, November 19th, with early giving starting tomorrow, Sunday November 1st. Our target is $5,000, which covers the majority of our space costs for one year. We have decided to keep our doors closed at present to keep all our staff, volunteers and guests safe, but we still have our bills to pay. Normally, we have income earned from our annual art fair held in July, but of course, this was cancelled. We are hoping to that 2021 will allow us to put that event back on the social calendar. We are also selling art through our Business of Art programming, that partners us with several Maple Grove businesses, this arrangement benefits the Arts Center, the artists and the local businesses.

We plan to divide any donations that we receive from GTMD20 between our general fund and our annual Jacob Beneke Scholarship , as we have done in previous years. Plans are being made to award a Scholarship in 2021 in a virtual format.

This year you can access our donation page by clicking the image above or by using the button below.

We have several levels of suggested donations or you may pick your own amount. Any donation of $100 or more, will include an annual advocacy for your household, value $45. This valuable benefit gives you 10% off any art purchase, made through the Center, and also 10% of classes, both in-person and virtual. Also, if you an artist, it gives you preferential commission rates on art sales made through Maple Grove Arts Center.

This year we have a couple complimentary downloadable files for you, to use as your Facebook avatar, once you have made a donation. This will help us to spread the word on social media. You can just right click on an image to download, save and use.

It just leaves me, to thank all of you, who support the arts in Maple Grove, be it through financial means, through giving time as a volunteer, buying art from local artists or by attending our events and classes. So, here is to hoping for a return to normal activities in 2021, we can’t wait to re-open our space and get our art back on!

Lise

On behalf of Maple Grove Arts Center,

Lise Spence-Parsons
President & Treasurer





What Is An Arts Advocate?

How does the community you live in benefit you and those around you? What are things you can do to uplift your community, and create an environment that is inclusive, fun, and beneficial for all? These are questions I have asked myself when deciding to become an Advocate for the Maple Grove Arts Center. I have seen first hand the effect that art can have on a community through art shows, art fairs, community events, and classes. Becoming an Advocate for the Maple Grove Arts Center means that you are supporting the community and helping the arts thrive. The Art Center is a Non-Profit that plays a major hand in all of the above events. 

When you become an Advocate, the yearly fee of $45, doesn’t just get you a great ten percent discount on classes and art purchases, but also a discount on commissions if you happen to sell a piece. It will also give you precedence in an already over-subscribed show and offers you the ability to have more pieces considered.  By purchasing an annual advocacy you are supporting art throughout the community. Your money will be invested towards our annual $500 scholarship in memory of Jacob Beneke. This scholarship is allocated to an up and coming District 279 high school graduate considering art college. This usually occurs in March each year and is run in conjunction with the District 279 Student Art Show, held at the Maple Grove Government Center.

Images from 2019 Jacob Beneke Scholarship

We also use your advocacy payments to keep our beautiful space operational, although donated, we are responsible for all utilities, and even whilst closed, these mount up each month. The Maple Grove Arts Center, also partners with the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes, to host The Arbor Lakes Art Fair. Our other major community investment is our Business of Art programming, and your advocacy payments help to fund that art in the community project.. We also recruit instructors to teach quality art classes for both kids and adults. The Arts Center is all about community art and enriching the City, so when you purchase an advocacy, you are making a real and calculable difference to our environment. To give the current and next generations an outlet for creativity, expression, and arts appreciation, we need your help via an advocacy. We are always humbled by your support and grateful if you decide to become a part of the Maple Grove Arts Center’s Advocacy program.

Our Space at 11666 Fountains Drive, Maple Grove, MN 55369

Our Space at 11666 Fountains Drive, Maple Grove, MN 55369

We are run entirely by volunteers, so if you would ever like to donate your time, we’d love to talk!. I look forward to continuing our work together in creating a community that uplifts one another through creativity, expression, and appreciation. 

If you are interested in becoming an advocate, please sign up here:

If feel you’d just like to make a donation to the arts, you may do that here!

Thank you taking the time to read about Maple Grove Arts Center,

Katie Walters
Advocacy Director, Maple Grove Arts Center

*Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Maple Grove Arts Center’s physical space is currently temporarily closed. However, our online platform remains open! Please check out any online happenings at our website.

What's New at Maple Grove Arts Center - July 2020

Hi All,

Wow! It’s been a hot few weeks with a few thunderstorms thrown into the mix!

We do not anticipate being able to open our doors in Maple Grove for the foreseeable future. As a totally volunteer staff with limited resources, it is impractical and unsafe to even contemplate that presently. Our primary concern must be to protect our staff, volunteers, guests and artists during these difficult times.

However, we have managed to get our Business of Art programming restarted with the added bonus of it now being available for purchase online as well as at the venues themselves. So, if you see a piece of artwork that you’d like to purchase for your home or office, you can purchase either way. We are currently hosting art in several locations around Maple Grove; Dunn Brothers Coffee, Topline Federal Credit Union, Maple Grove Government Center, Whole Foods Market and Rock Elm Tavern, We also have two artists in our own space and you can see all that artwork through our street side windows. Again, it is all available for in-person or online purchase. If you are a business wanting to host artwork please contact Teri Iverson, our Gallery and Business of Art Director.

Examples of available artwork in each location

We are also trying to develop some online class offerings, after some initial success with a few of the Youth Summer Camps. We will be posting available options on our class schedule with instructions as they become available.

We did manage to run our “Chalk It Up” Summer Camp using a space at the Maple Grove Community Center, that we divided up into socially distant spaces for each attendee. This was a multi morning event and all the students produced amazing chalk art. We hope to see them continue their art endeavors in the future.

All that is left for me to do, is ask if you are in a position to help Maple Grove Arts, that you could consider making a donation, buy an advocacy or purchase a piece of art via The Business of Art program. We also offer electronically delivered gift cards. We thank you for supporting the arts in Maple Grove.

Lise

On behalf of Maple Grove Arts Center

Lise Spence-Parsons
President & Treasurer

COVID-19 - Extended Closure to May 18th, 2020

Hello Everyone,

Hoping that this quick update finds you in relatively good spirits.

As you are all aware Gov. Walz has decreed that we remain in a slightly lessened state of lock-down until May 18th, when I’m sure he will issue further directives. In compliance with the order, we will remain closed until at least that date.

We are aware that some of you have art from the Green and Recycling Show at the Center. I’m also aware of some classwork that needs to be collected. If either of these applies to you and you would like to get that back in your possession, please send an email to myself and Teri Iverson. Once we have an idea of numbers we will email out some times that we can offer a call-a-head curbside pick-up.

Obviously, not being to open our doors and generate revenue, it’s starting to hurt our bank balance. To that end, we ask if you are able to perhaps make a donation or buy a gift card that can be redeemed against a class or art purchase once we re-open. You can also support us by buying an advocacy.

Thank you in advance and as Thomas Fuller first coined in 1650 “ the night is darkest before the dawn.”

Please send any questions to me and I will do my best to answer.

Keep well and safe!

Lise

On behalf of Maple Grove Arts Center

Lise Spence-Parsons
President & Treasurer

COVID-19 | Extended Closure & Cancellation of Art Fair

Hello Everyone,

It’s been a couple weeks since our last update, we hope this note finds you well and keeping occupied. As a reminder, the Center is closed until at least May 4th, 2020 as directed by Governor Walz. This in turn impacts classes, gallery shows and other group activities. Some of groups still meet virtually on Zoom each week, to check in and keep each other motivated.

Summer Art Camps are still open for purchase, as are adult classes in later May and beyond, however, this situation is fluid and we may have to cancel these activities as they draw closer. Rest assured anything you have or will purchase will be 100% refunded if we have to cancel.

Unfortunately a major casualty of our summer schedule has been The Arbor Lakes Art Fair. The MGAC board made the decision to cancel 2020’s fair. This is not a decision we took lightly, but after balancing where we are with this situation and the welfare of artists, staff and the general public, we decided it was for the best. All our registered artists and food vendors have received 100% refunds and also an offer of a spotlight post on our dedicated Facebook page and we hope that people will visit artist websites and perhaps buy a piece of art. We hope that they and you will return for the 2021 event.

We have also had to cancel our District 279 Student Art Show and the Jacob Beneke Scholarship Award, but both these events will be back on the agenda next year.

We have various plans in mind for our gallery shows, if we can re-open in early July, we will have three events or if a little later just two curated shows. There will be art on the walls again!

Please check our website often for additional updates and the status of events.

Thank you for your understanding. Any questions please email me.

On behalf of Maple Grove Arts Center

Lise Spence-Parsons
President & Treasurer




COVID-19 - Extended Closure

Hi All,

Super quick note to let you all know that the Center is closed until at least the end of April 2020.

We are in the process of informing & refunding all booked and paid for April classes.

We are also cancelling our next gallery event - The Schroeder Show. This will hopefully be rescheduled later in the year. The 279 District Student Art Show and Jacob Art Scholarship are also suspended for 2020.

We will be watching all the updates and changing this as it becomes clearer what our situation will be in the coming days and weeks. If it becomes advisable to close for longer, we will do that and issue further communications.

Thank you for your understanding. Any questions please email me.

On behalf of Maple Grove Arts Center

Lise Spence-Parsons
President & Treasurer


COVID-19 Update - Maple Grove Arts Center Closed

Hello Everyone,

After the developments at the weekend and direction received from State of Minnesota and local City postings, we have decided to close the Center to until at least March 31st 2020.

The health and welfare of all our volunteers, staff, artists and guests is paramount.

We will be watching all the updates and changing this as it becomes clearer what our situation will be in the coming days and weeks. If it becomes advisable to close for longer, we will do that and issue further communications.

All paid for classes up to the end of March 2020 will be refunded and all participants will be notified via email very shortly.

Thank you for your understanding. Any questions please email me.

On behalf of Maple Grove Arts Center

Lise Spence-Parsons
President & Treasurer

COVID-19 Update

Hello Everyone,

We at Maple Grove Arts Center are watching the news, and like you, are trying to follow common sense precautions. However, it does appear that COVID-19 (Coronavirus) will affect us all at some point, either directly or to someone we know. Our first duty is to our staff, advocates, artists and guests to safeguard health as much as possible.

To that end, we are relaxing our rules on canceling classes, so that if you feel in the least way unwell, then please just call us or email us the fact that you cannot attend your class. We similarly will keep you informed on class status. We can either refund your class or we can reschedule to another class.

Just to restate the CDC’s official guidelines as they stand at present:

  • If you are sick, please stay at home and seek medical advice. We will do our best to reschedule your classes or offer a refund.

  • Please do not come to the Arts Center, until you are completely better; self-isolate.

  • Wash your hands often for a prolonged amount of time with soap and water. Cough or sneeze into a paper tissue and then dispose of it hygienically.

Sorry to make this sound dramatic, but better safe than sorry. We can all do art another day!

Any questions, please feel free to email me.

On behalf of Maple Grove Arts Center

Lise Spence-Parsons
President & Treasurer

It's Almost Spring - Time to Jump into Arts Action!

Hi All,

The better weather is coming and we had a serious taste of it this weekend! Hope you all got out and did some fun activities! We have a lot going on at the Arts Center right now.

The Green and Recycling Show, opens today with some fantastic artwork on the walls. The formal opening, with awards, is this Thursday evening (3/12/20) from 6:30 pm at the gallery. We will have lots to share with you whilst you enjoy the refreshments. The event is free to attend and we look forward to meeting you. Please RSVP here, to give us an idea of numbers.

Green_Landscape.jpg

This summer we have a variety of summer art camps for kids from 5 -16 years of age on offer. These are selling fast and you might want to look at these and book some up for your children. Some are old past year favorites, but we have some new offerings , from new teachers to add into the mix this year!

garden+path.jpg
chalk.jpg
r945+IMAGE+Narwhal+and+friends+watercolor.jpeg
DamsonJam_1.jpg
Katie+Summer+2.jpg

You find all these classes on our Art Camps page, with an easy to use sign up form and secure credit card payment option. We can’t wait to meet all the children!

So not to make you all feel left out, we also have a abundance of adult art classes on offer right now;

  • paint pouring with Dan McAvey

  • tag and mandala classes with Lisa Kindle

  • silk scarf making and wood-burning with Lisa Vitkus

  • Nancy Larson is offering her ever popular watercolor class

  • Air & Alcohol fun with Umbreen Hasan


All these and more can be found here, again with easy sign up and secure payment methods. Read all about our instructors here

We are in the middle of planning the Arbor Lakes Art Fair 2020 right now. This is a super fun weekend for artists to showcase their beautiful handmade artwork and for the public to come, look, see and buy.
We still have artist Early Bird pricing until this Friday (3/13/20).

We are looking for:

  • Artists

  • Volunteers

  • Food Vendors

So, if you know anyone, please direct them to our website page for everything art fair related. Thanks!

Phew! That’s about it for now, hope to see you all soon at the Center, or at an event.

Love is in the air!

Are you ready for Valentine’s Day?

Whether you are looking to treat a special someone or treat yourself, an art class makes the perfect gift.

Making art is a great way to spend time together with friends and loved ones. Not sure which class to choose? No problem, we offer gift cards to use towards classes or towards the purchase of artwork displayed in our gallery.

Visit us online to book a class or purchase a gift card today!

Perfect Valentine’s Day Gift.png

Let's Wrap Up 2019, Here Comes 2020!

Hi All,

Just thought I’d send out a general 2019 wrap-up email to all our donors, advocates and artists. Hope you enjoy reading the re-cap of 2019.

It’s been a fantastic year, albeit with a few headaches and last minute rushes, but as usual, things had a habit of coming together. We achieved a great many projects and shows and we feel stronger than ever going into 2020.

January brought us cold and snow and with it our Fabrication Show.

During March, we hosted the travelling portion of Arts in Harmony and we had some wonderful international artwork on our walls for you to see!

“Peas of Spring” by Val Bourassa

“Peas of Spring” by Val Bourassa

“Baylee on the Rocks” Mark Caselius

“Baylee on the Rocks” Mark Caselius


April and May brought us showers and some late snow with our Green and Recycling Show, coupled with a show of artwork from North Hennepin Community College.

June and July, was a super busy time of promoting the upcoming Arbor Lakes Art Fair, the Fair itself and also the Schroeder Painting Show at the gallery.



Our annual Advocate’s Show was hosted in August, and we were offered some amazing artwork to add to our walls for the public to enjoy.

October was The Monster Show, our bi-annual show for dark art and the fun costume party! We definitely got both this time out!

“Peek-a-boo'“ by Greg Sullivan

“Peek-a-boo'“ by Greg Sullivan

Lise Spence-Parsons (President/Treasurer) & Lorrie Link (Founder/CEO)

Lise Spence-Parsons (President/Treasurer) & Lorrie Link (Founder/CEO)

Teri Iverson (Gallery Director)

Teri Iverson (Gallery Director)

Gayle Moxness (Volunteer Coordinator) and artist Jocelyn Ferrell

Gayle Moxness (Volunteer Coordinator) and artist Jocelyn Ferrell

November and December, we hosted the always successful show, The Black & White Show. Again we were spoilt with great artwork options and our Gallery Director, Teri Iverson, had to make some choices!

Scott Krohn; artist of the winning artwork.

Scott Krohn; artist of the winning artwork.

Lisa Kindle; artist of the mandala, with fellow artist John Mandt

Lisa Kindle; artist of the mandala, with fellow artist John Mandt

We also grew our weekly drop in peer-to-peer groups in 2019. We added a couple of new groups on a Friday each week, Art Coffee and Open Art Studio, and you can read all about groups here. Wednesdays gives us the Writers Group and they released their first book on Amazon in December, Bits and Pieces. Go and check that out!

2019 was our inaugural Jacob Beneke Scholarship donation and we are planning the same event for May 2020. Please help us by donating today to this important program. This annual award, is given to a 12th grade student, preparing to study for an arts degree.

The Arbor Lakes Art Fair was another hot one weather-wise, and we had another successful year at Arbor Lakes with artists and the public all having a fun time. Next year, 2020, will be another great event, with the Shoppes having been recently renovated, we are excited to host again and continue to grown this annual event.

Tom Sack, one of the “regular and loved” artists.

Tom Sack, one of the “regular and loved” artists.

We’ve had some internal growth too, strengthening our board with two new board members and also grown our staff and volunteer base. We also have a fresh and inviting new website, which we hope you will find user friendly.

2019 in a box!

2019 in a box!

So, we could not have done any of these things without our donors, advocates, artists and volunteers. So, if you enjoyed all that Maple Grove Arts Center produced and shared with you in 2019, please consider us for your year-end donation giving. We have two main donation programs; our General Fund and The Jacob Beneke Fund. The choice is yours!

Thank you so much for your generosity and we all wish you a Happy New Year!


Lise Spence-Parsons
President & Treasurer
763 607 3824

All images courtesy of John Maciejny - Natural Images



Welcome to Maple Grove Arts Center's New Website

Hi All,

Hope you are all keeping nice and warm during this cold spell.

We have been keeping very busy at the Arts Center preparing for a new decade - 2020 is almost here! Can you believe it?

One of our initiatives is a brand new website for you to take a look around. You access it from the same web address that you used previously, www.maplegroveartscenter.org that has not changed. What has changed is our layout, content, security and ways to purchase advocacies, make donations and buy art classes. Each of these areas have a separate page within the website that can be accessed from the top drop down boxes or from the images and text on the main landing page. All our payment pages are third party encrypted, secure and chip card compliant. We still have access to manual forms too, if you prefer to send a check.

To those of you that are advocates and make use of the 10% discount on class purchase, I will be contacting you very soon with your unique code that you enter on the final check-out page to obtain the discount. We will only be showing the main headline price of classes, you will need to enter the code at check-out yourself.

We now also offer gift cards as an option too if you are looking to give a gift of an art experience, they are available in many denominations. This is facilitated by an email going to your intended recipient and they will receive a secure code to input at check-out to redeem your gift.




For donations, you can now decide between our General Fund or be more specific by donating to our Jacob Beneke District 279 Arts Scholarship Fund.

For artists wishing to apply to a show, we have all our shows on an events page, with a clearly accessible pdf application form with instructions, dates and fees all laid out with contact emails.

For people wanting to experience art on a weekly basis we have our Groups, Writers, Art and Art Coffee. These are peer-to-peer groups that you can attend with the purchase of an advocacy.

Our Business of Art program is now gearing up and we are in several locations around Maple Grove. You can read more about that program here, both from an artist’s perspective and from a art lover’s view point.

There is a lot going on with the new site, and we do hope that you take advantage of all opportunities that Maple Grove Arts Center has to offer in the coming months.

Any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me, I’m happy to help in any way I can.

All that is left for me to do is wish you a wonderful Holiday Season.


Lise Spence-Parsons
President & Treasurer Maple Grove Arts Center
763 607 3824 (cell) 763 370 3003 (art center)