On a good-weather-day, skylight windows illuminate Albert: A large, metal albatross frozen in flight.
Though not a bald eagle, the seabird is the symbol of patriotism here.
The sculpture is on display in a two-story brick building in Grand Forks, North Dakota, nestled along the Red River across from Minnesota.
The artist: Randi Goodoien. He, like many others in the space, is a veteran. He joined the Navy out of high school, spending four years as an aircraft mechanic.
Along the way, he found art.
“I went into autobody work … and it really interested me how I was able to make the metal move and be creative,” he says. “That’s when I realized I was an artist.”
Cue Arts for Vets, home to Albert—and a cache of studio artists, neighbors, and visitors sharing the locale.
It was founded nearly a decade ago by artist Kimberly Forness Wilson, who comes from a family of veterans. It grew from four to over 100 people involved in one year and has had a brick-and-mortar spot for six years.
“Arts for Vets is a veteran-initiated community arts entity. We do community arts in the physical—at our gallery—and we also bring community arts out,” Forness Wilson says, such as school visits.
Thirteen of Grand Forks’ 50,000-some residents rent studios at the small business. Some teach, others sell their work; everyone creates.
“It should be called Arts by Vets, the way it’s evolved,” she says. “The veteran teaches the community. It’s a way of serving.”
A Gathering Force
Arts for Vets studio artist and volunteer Senta Grzadzielewski hasn’t found anything like it.
“It’s kind of cool to be around people who value people who have committed, at least some point of their life, to serving the country. So to me, that’s super important to be a part of,” the Air Force officer says. “It actually cemented me in the community, made me feel like I had a purpose and that I belonged here.”
Grzadzielewski is an impressionist artist, focusing on landscapes in the Midwest.
Her creative output—vast skies, flowing hills, colors galore—is a stark contrast from the militarism she’s known for over 15 years.
“I work in a lot of absolutes, a lot of black and whites … My art has allowed me to escape from that and expand into more of an unknown,” Grzadzielewski says.
Arts for, Well, Everyone
Arts for Vets isn’t just for vets or even capital “a” Art, really.
Studio artists invite community members who maybe, say, create for fun or for cultural tradition. Anyone can come for classes, gallery openings, you name it.
That’s intentional, Forness Wilson says.
“We feel a patriotic act to make sure that all can participate,” she says. Everyone is invited to share their story, through art or practice.
“Once they sit down and they’re part of the group, their creativity starts flowing and it’s like, ‘Wow, I didn’t think I could do this,’” Goodoien says.
“It builds a little more community, one brick at a time, one person at a time.”