Art Grown Here: Houston County Artist Mentorship Exhibition

Opening Reception: Sat, June 6, 5-7 pm
Additional Exhibition Hours: Saturdays through June (June 13, 20, & 27th) from 10 am – 2 pm
FREE and open to all

Mainspring is proud to announce “Art Grown Here: Houston County Artist Mentorship Exhibition,” featuring work from the 2025-26 cohort: Sarah Jane Babinski, Sammi Boyd, Heather Larson, and Rachel Von Arx. Please join us for the opening reception on Sat, June 6 from 5-7 pm to view the artwork and enjoy refreshments and artist remarks. 

This program was created to meet a need for more direct support for early career or emerging artists in Houston County, in comparison to the amount of support for artists in neighboring counties. Through this program, Mainspring aims to foster a more supportive and inter-connected arts community in the largely rural Houston County. 

Through the Houston County Artist Mentorship Program the four mentee artists have been mentored over the course of eight months through 1) art workshops taught by regional mentor artists; 2) tailored art career mentor sessions; 3) artist career training courses taught by leading Midwest arts organization Springboard for the Arts; and 4) this culminating art exhibit at Mainspring. The Mentor Artists for this cohort have been: TiAnna DeGarmo, Jovy Rockey, Miranda Lomeli-O’Reilly, and Kathryn Savage. 

 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 and cultural heritage fund.