Our Mission and Vision
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 650 artists in our gallery and festivals and over 45,000 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
Cherish Haskell
Education & Engagement Manager
DEPOT GALLERY
Molly Quinn
Gallery + Artist Coordinator
Lee Sadler
Gallery Sales Associate
OPERATIONS
Robin Block
General Operations Support
Kim Lampe
Project Manager, Honoring Dakota Project
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
Julie Jacobs | Business Owner
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).
“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.”