The Arts flourish in rural Minnesota

Reprinted from a story by Patricia Corrigan that was published Feb. 16 on nextavenue.org website.

Last summer, Gloria Pfeifer took a class in plein air painting through the Art Colony, and now she’s scheduling a related workshop in Farwell, a town in rural farm country some 336 miles southwest of Grand Marais. Pfeifer is one of several older adults who over the past six years has helped restore four historic buildings there, turning them into art spaces to display the talents of artists and musicians from the region and beyond. 

“I plan art classes and shows, pop-up art sales, storytelling workshops and music concerts from May 1 through October 1, and we even have a gift shop,” said Pfeifer, 66, who lives in nearby Starbuck. All the events take place in the restored one-room schoolhouse, a service garage, a creamery and the Farwell Norwegian Lutheran Church, built in 1907. Ted Irgens, a corporate lawyer in Minneapolis with family connections in Farwell, bought the long-vacant church in 2017.

Later that year, Irgens hired Pfeifer to restore the decorative painting inside the church, and Pfeifer’s husband, Jack, signed on to help with building repairs. That Christmas, hundreds of  visitors attended the reopening of the church. Soon after, Irgens bought the additional buildings. Volunteers came forward, including Rose Meade, 71, manager of the Bremness Gallery in Glenwood, and Deb Holmes, 73, of Lowry.

“The work was completed last fall, and we’ve planted trees and put in gardens that bloom from early spring to late fall,” Pfeifer said. “Right now, I’m scheduling events and we’re working with nearby towns to bring more people to this special place where we can gather through the arts. It’s all been a giant experiment — and the result is epic.”