2025 Red Wing Arts plein Air
April 10 / Application deadline
June 12-19 / Artists Paint Red Wing
Fri, June 20, 6-8 pm / First Glimpse & Awards Reception
Sat, June 21, 9-11 am / Artist Quick Paint
June 21-Aug 24 / On Exhibit
Imagine painters situated along the Seine in Paris and transport them to the banks and bluffs of the beautiful Mississippi River in Red Wing, MN.
Red Wing Arts celebrates our 19th annual event in 2025, bringing artists to our community from around the region to paint “recognizable” Red Wing en Plein Air. Meaning approximately “open air” in French, Plein Air is a study of how light and shadow interact with things, creating a snapshot of one moment in time that can never be repeated.
Red Wing sits at the entrance to the Driftless Region. We are a stunning place with a charming downtown, dramatic bluffs, rolling hills, vistas and winding rivers that define our historic town. Our exhibit includes over 100 works that are judged and hung in our Depot Gallery.
We are pleased to announce that artist, Nina Wiess will judge this year’s exhibit, awarding $5000 in cash prizes. Applications to participate as a Featured Class Artist are now open, with an April 10, 2025 deadline. Questions? email pleinair@redwingarts.org
Apply to Participate in 2025 RWA Plein Air!
Apply as a Juried Featured Artist
Applications are now open to participate as a Juried Featured Artist in our 2025 Red Wing Arts Plein Air, awarding $5,000 in cash prizes. To participate, apply online by submitting 3 recent plein air images and paying a $45 application fee by April 10, 2025. Artists will be notified of their status by April 25, 2025.
Juried Featured Artists paint Red Wing between June 12-19, 2025 and must submit 3 paintings for the exhibit by 10 am on Thursday, June 19, 2025. If invited as a Juried Featured Artist, you are welcome to participate in all artist events, including Quick Paint on Saturday, June 21, 2025. Artists not juried in as a Featured Artist will be automatically eligible to participate as an Open Class artist, and welcome to participate in all artist events, with no additional participation fee.
Questions? email pleinair@redwingarts.org
Submission tips
Good photos of paintings – clear, in-focus images, eliminate frames and background
Works that were completed entirely en plein air, no studio paintings
Consistent media – submit paintings that are in media you will use during the competition
Paintings that show versatility of subject matter
Participate as Open Class Artist
For artists participating as Open Class only, the participation fee is $45. Fees may be paid online, by phone, or mail by June 12, 2025. Open Class Artists are invited to submit 1 painting for the exhibit by 10 am on June 19, 2025.
Participate as a Youth Open Class Artist
Artists ages 14-22 are welcome to participate in our Youth Open Class category. The participation fee is $15. Fees may be paid online, by phone, or mail by June 12, 2025. Youth Open Class Artists are invited to submit 1 painting for the exhibit by 10 am on June 19, 2025. Youth artists will be invited to an orientation/information session before June 10, stay tuned for details.
Meet 2025 Judge, Nina Weiss
Nina Weiss
Nina Weiss is a nationally renowned artist who has been painting and drawing the landscape for over 40 years. She holds a BFA from the Tyler School of Art and graduate study at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Further study includes pre-college instruction the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Art Students’ League of New York.
Her work is held in private and corporate collections throughout the United States including United Airlines, Aetna Insurance, McDonalds, Eli Lilly, Avon, and United States Customs.
Her paintings and drawings can be seen in two Hollywood films: John Hugh’s “Just Visiting” and Harold Ramis’s “Ice Harvest” and in the T.V. series “Chicago Fire”. Solo shows include the Mary Bell Gallery, Great River Road Museum of contemporary Art, Union League Club and Union Street Gallery. Television and radio appearances include WBBM News radio 780 “Made in Chicago”, HGTV’s Artist’s Loft Segment; “Artist to Artist” with Enid Silverman, and “Inner Quest”; Infinity Foundation. Videos include an instructional Landscape Drawing DVD for Prismacolor Colored Pencils; and two videos for Bluprint.com.
She taught a combined thirty six years at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia College Chicago. Nina currently teaches at the Evanston Art Center, the North Shore Art League, and the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Nina frequently teaches workshops throughout the Midwest and in her Evanston Art Endeavors Studio. She travels with students every summer to teach her European Landscape Painting & Drawing Workshops.
See Nina’s work at ninaweiss.com; classes and workshops can be found at Nina’s education website; artendeavors.org
2024 Red Wing Arts Plein Air Events
2025 events will be updated in February
Between June 12-21, don’t miss the opportunity to experience the beauty of Red Wing through the eyes of some of the region's most talented artists! These events take art out of the gallery and onto the streets, parks, and riverbanks, providing a unique opportunity for passersby to admire the artists at work and watch them capture the beauty of Red Wing's scenery in real-time.
Thank you to our 2024 Plein Air Sponsors!
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.
“The Red Wing Plein Air Event is about this place. Since this event started, over a thousand paintings have been created of Red Wing and the surrounding area. That’s not common, but neither is Red Wing. ”
Artist Derek Davis painting en plein air
Artist Hannah C. Heyer painting en plein air