Arts - Artists and art lovers celebrate - Artists and art lovers celebrate

    Welcome to the next wave of art and expanding opportunities flourishing in the Northside. This refers directly to the Northside Art Collective’s (NAC) annual meeting and membership party on November 9, hosted this year at the new official home of NAC, the historic Capri Theatre at 2027 West Broadway. NAC is a membership-based, non-profit organization aimed to help artists on the Northside through resources and collaborative efforts. The entire night was a rich assortment of art, food and enthusiasm about the Northside. There were live music performances from singer/songwriter Michael Austin, sax/flute by Mark Yannie and Celtic rock “melodies with an ancient flavor” by Felonious Bosch. During the evening folks perused the multitude of raffle donations and silent auction items, and watched Christopher Harrison (pictured) paint a watercolor portrait offered in the silent auction at the end of the evening.

    During the ‘business’ portion of the evening, NAC searched for four new members to fill its board of directors. With much determinism that task was filled immediately. The new members are Thornton “TJ” Jones, Debra Stone, Roger Tang and Caroline Durham. Debra Stone was also one of the founding members of NAC. As I listened to the new board address the members in the audience, a few things stood out to me: each member was intent on supporting the growth of the arts in North Minneapolis, there was passion in what they spoke of, and their individual backgrounds would arm NAC with a strong pool of resources to draw from in the upcoming year. 

    NAC President Connie Beckers’ presentation was delightful. She gave a financial snapshot of what NAC has been up to, illustrating that several grants are being awarded to NAC, creating the financial resources to begin working with a soon to be hired executive director. Connie is well known in the Twin Cities area and is one of the Northside’s biggest advocates. One of NAC’s goals she said is “Raising visibility on the Northside, becoming known for our arts, especially on Broadway, instead of all of the other negative stuff… it’s all about taking little steps at a time.”  Connie is also a working glass artist, namely the Goddess of Glass.

    To find out more about the Northside Arts Collective visit www.nacarts.org. Memberships start at $25 for individuals. Sign up today and get a complimentary resource catalog highlighting art in the Northside.