WBCA Stories – White Bear Center for the Arts

Stretching the Imagination: A New Experience in the Ford Family Gallery

Galleries have historically been thought of as neutral spaces to observe art, designed to present works in a controlled environment that invites intellectual reflection with their white walls and stark lighting. Now, White Bear Center for the Arts is bringing back a different way to engage with art: through mind and body. This December, the…

“Creative Pursuits” Advocates Creativity Among Those With ALS

Ken Baltes was many things, a lifelong computer technician, a late-blooming artist, a creative advocate, and above all, a cherished member of the community. Two years after his passing from ALS, White Bear Center for the Arts hosts “Creative Pursuits,” a pop-up exhibition in collaboration with the ALS Association. The exhibit highlights the creative talents…

Jessica Turtle Creates a Community Mural at WBCA

This summer, White Bear Center for the Arts collaborated with celebrated public artist and WBCA teaching artist Jessica Turtle to create a community-driven mural installation. It’s in the name, but you wouldn’t believe the connections made over a community mural. Over the course of five days, Jessica was joined by over 100 people to paint…

The Power of Plein Air: The Benefits of Doing Art in Nature

Seeing sunbeams after the long dreary winter days, have you been finding your home or studio lacking in inspiration? You might want to try art en plein air. En plein air is a French expression, meaning simply, “in the open air.” As with most things when said in French, it gains a romantic quality. But…

WBCA Launches Paid High School Internship Program

Inside White Bear Center for the Arts’ administrative office, high schoolers are busy at work, learning how to install exhibits, design promotional materials, and work in arts administration. Seven students from local high schools recently accepted positions as interns at White Bear Center for the Arts through an internship program called “Studio Repose.” The internship…

Chris Scholl Welcomed as White Bear Center for the Arts’ next Executive Director

It is with tremendous enthusiasm that White Bear Center for the Arts (WBCA) announces Chris Scholl will be its next Executive Director, beginning on August 7. In Chris’s words, “I was first an artist myself, and later realized that my gifts as an administrator are greater than as an artist. Since then I’ve used my…

Capturing Summer through Plein Air Painting

We spend so much of the year dreaming about Minnesota summers. Going to the lake, long evenings spent outside, and finally seeing that glorious sun. But when it gets here, doesn’t it always seem to slip through our fingers? Somehow we blink and all of our lofty goals of spending every second hiking or in…

An Abundance of Love: Artist Highlight with Genie Hien Tran

Genie Hien Tran (Trần Phan Minh Hiền) is an interdisciplinary artist and designer based in Minneapolis, MN. She was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and recently received her MFA degree in Visual Arts at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her work takes the form of collage, painting, installation, and writing in order…

Studio Coffee Tries Plein Air

Neil Johnston is a familiar face around White Bear Center for the Arts; every Friday he facilitates Studio Coffee, a class where folks come together to drink coffee and discuss all sorts of art-related topics. Neil recently attended the Port Wing Plein Air Painting Festival in Port Wing, Wisconsin, along with some members of Studio…

For the Love of Clay

How Nancy Saathoff Supports the Diversity of WBCA Nancy Saathoff has been involved with White Bear Center for the Arts since the 1970s, back when the organization was still the White Bear Arts Council. As an art teacher at Mahtomedi High School, Nancy was drawn to WBCA as a place where she could learn from…