How the Anderson Center become an artistic hub for southeastern Minnesota
The artistic energy at the Anderson Center in Red Wing may make visitors feel like they’re somewhere other than small town Minnesota, but never like they’ve left Red Wing.
Founded in 1995, the center brings artistic opportunities, connections, and experiences to its bluffy, river-hugged corner of southeastern Minnesota. Its 350-acre campus is home to public galleries and a sculpture garden, as well roughly 20 local artists and art entities who rent studio space on the site. Artists also pass through on temporary bases, whether as part of a residency cohort, or as part of the center’s programming.
This fall, Anderson Center’s Books in the Barn series returns with three acclaimed poets at the cutting edge of the art form. Former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy K. Smith begins the series on Oct. 1, followed by Chris Martin on Oct. 15 and Layli Long Soldier on Nov. 5.
Tracy K. Smith served as U.S. Poet Laureate from 2017-2019.
According to executive director Stephanie Rogers, all three writers have “the ability to truly shift the culture around how we talk and think about shared experiences, or personal experiences, for that matter.”
These readings are part of Anderson Center’s interdisciplinary approach to the arts; a visit to the campus makes others readily apparent.
“When the Anderson Center uses the word ‘artist’, we mean that in the broadest sense possible. So anytime I talk about artists, I mean literary artists, performing artists, visual artists - people who don't fit neatly into categories. We are totally interdisciplinary in that way,” says Stephanie Rogers, Executive Director of the Anderson Center.
According to Rogers, the campus fosters interactions between disciplines by acting as a connector for the artists on campus and the community at large.
Residency cohorts at Anderson Center are designed with diversity in mind, whether that’s of medium, geographic location, or ethnic backgrounds; the September artists are practitioners of music, painting, poetry, children's literature, and film/media arts. Visiting artists frequently engage with Red Wing in some way, such as speaking to high school students or leading public workshops.
“That creative community and connecting with other people — the exchange of ideas — is so easy when you're in a big metro. But here, we bring the cutting edge ideas to Red Wing, in southeastern Minnesota,” says Rogers.
Open daily to the public are a 15-acre sculpture garden and three galleries: one featuring rotating exhibitions (currently five Minnesota artists working thematically with food and sustenance), another featuring pottery. The third houses the permanent collection, which includes Picasso prints and works by artists like Matisse and Warhol.
Learning and living in the midst of all this art are the students of Tower View Alternative High School, located on the Anderson Center campus.
“We get to have first dibs on some of the artists that are doing residency out there,” says Sheena Tisland, language arts teacher at the alternative school.
Her students have been taught by professionals about everything from spray paint to wildlife photography. Jeremy Messersmith played a free show for them. Musician Gina Chavez had students write a song while she played it, and author Junauda Petrus-Nasah read and led a workshop.
“We can go outside and work in this beautiful green space with sculptures and resident artists right around us. There's something beautiful about having art being validated. We don't have to be one or the other, we don't have to be black or white. We are humans who have all sorts of aspects of us. And we can think that there's value in all of those aspects,” says Tisland.
As Tisland says, money doesn’t equal value. She points out that, since adults are role models in schools, a school school set among working artists imbues artistic pursuits with more legitimacy. Tisland, a former Teacher of the Year finalist, singer, and Djembe player, leads by example.
Finding connection through art
Rogers loves seeing people connect with the art on the campus. After an exhibit about major depression, she was approached by a teary-eyed patron thanking her for bringing such powerful work to town.
“We have a children's book festival here,” she says, “And one of my favorite moments from that was watching a group of middle school girls literally bouncing up and down because they were waiting for their favorite author to sign their books. They were so excited to meet her.”
“Everyone is hearing the way the words hit them at the same time.”
Readings in the barn are also powerful; the space is intimate, with pristine acoustics and capacity for just over 100 people. The experience is a far cry from the solitary experience of reading poetry alone.
“Everyone is hearing the way the words hit them at the same time. There's energy coming, shared between the audience and the reader in the room as people are reacting to the words together,” says Rogers.
The poets for the upcoming series have national audiences, but each has a connection to Minnesota thanks to our state’s wealth of nonprofit publishers. Coffeehouse Press has published Christ Martin books and Graywolf press has published work by both Tracy K. Smith and Lilly Lone Soldier.
The Books in the Barn Series is funded by The Minnesota State Arts Board, with sponsorship from the Xcel Energy Foundation and Graywolf Press.
Readings will be followed by Q&A sessions and book signings with books for sale from Fair Trade Books. Graywolf-sponsored happy hours with Smith and Long Soldier will take place prior to their readings.
To ensure safety from COVID-19, the series requires proof of vaccination (or a negative test from the last 72 hours) and mask-wearing. Ionization units are in all the barn’s HVAC systems, too.
Books in the Barn begins on Friday, Oct. 1 at the Anderson Center.
For Rochester residents looking to make a day of their visit, the Anderson Center does offer docent-guided tours which explore both the artwork and history of the site.
One history highlight is the tower, which was built in 1915 by Anderson Center namesake and famed cereal scientist Alexander Pierce Anderson, who designed it as a homestead and research facility. He built it using the same distinctive red bricks that appear throughout Red Wing. That architectural tie between spaces is a constant reminder of Anderson’s respect for local craftsmen and his community.
“It's such a cool thing to have, in this small little town, a space for residents. Just your average person off the street can show up and just walk in and see beauty in its various forms. I tell you, it's a special thing,” says Tisland.
Gallery hours are from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The sculpture garden is open to the public every day during daylight hours. Further information about the Books in the Barn series is available at https://www.andersoncenter.org/books/.
