Our Mission

Our mission is to build a vibrant community fueled by the arts. We enrich lives by connecting, celebrating, inspiring and leading through shared art experiences. Our vision is a community alive with creativity.

Red Wing Arts believes that diversity, inclusion, and equity are essential to fulfilling our mission. We embrace differences and commonalities across race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental and physical ability, religion, and age. We commit to expanding our awareness about, and representation in, the greater diverse arts experience and strive to make art an intrinsic part of everyday life.

Our History

Since its inception in 1952, Red Wing Arts (RWA) has been a cornerstone of the arts in the Red Wing community and throughout the region. Begun as an interactive arts education program, it has transformed over its history into an anchor of an arts ecosystem. It is the goal of RWA to incorporate art into the dialogues, influences and economic impacts of this community. Each year Red Wing Arts supports over 350 artists in our gallery and festivals and over 30,000 visitors to our free events and exhibits.

Our Leadership

Emily Guida Foos has been involved in the Red Wing Arts organization for over 15 years. Joining as our Executive Director in 2018, Emily has brought 20 years of leadership experience and has played a vital role throughout these past few years of Red Wing Art's transition to bring art outside our physical location and contribute to the economic impact of the arts throughout our community. She brings a wealth of experience to this position and is pleased to be following in her father’s footsteps; Dan Guida was director of Red Wing Arts Association for over 13 years. A Red Wing native, Foos earned her bachelor’s in International Affairs at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR.

Staff

Emily Guida Foos
Executive Director

Heather Lawrenz
Assistant Director

CLAY & CREATIVE CENTER

Kim Lampe
Special Initiatives Director

Cherish Haskell
Education & Engagement Manager

Bitsy Joy
Resident Clay Artist

Carli Waddell
Clay Studio Intern

DEPOT GALLERY

Shawn Niebeling
Gallery Manager

Molly Quinn
Gallery Coordinator

Lee Sadler
Gallery Sales Associate

Liv Wiggin
Intern

OPERATIONS

Emily Haskell
Administrative Assistant

Robin Block
General Operations Support

Gabby Foos
Administrative Intern

Board of Directors

Rachel McWithey | Chair | Sales Operations and Process Optimization, SAP Concur

Kirsten Ford | Past Chair | Owner/Creative Director, Focus Design

Jerry Olson | Board Treasurer | HR and Business Consultant

Pam Horlitz | Board Secretary | Retired Senior Specialist Community Engagement

Leah Buysse | Business Owner and Practitioner

Lynn Brown | Artist, Director of Horton Holding, Inc.

Kris Toegel | Court Operations Associate

Jason Reding | Financial Advisor, Edward Jones

Ian Scheerer | Managing Director / Senior Financial Advisor - Wells Fargo Advisors

Interested in joining our leadership team? Apply to be on our Board of Directors.

Red Wing Arts respectfully acknowledges the Center is located on the traditional ancestral and contemporary homeland of the Mdewakanton Dakota and other Indigenous sovereign nations. We are grateful for the people who have stewarded this sacred land throughout the generations, including the Prairie Island Indian Community (Tinta Wita).

2021 Impact Report
Red Wing Arts is a pillar of creativity in Red Wing providing the city music in the summer, a major art festival in the fall, and the vision of the region’s gifted artists all year long. A cultural and economic driver, a source of community cohesiveness, Red Wing Arts is the home for the imaginative spirit in the region.
— Sean Dowse, Former Red Wing Mayor