Amy Demmer
The 17th Annual Arts and Cultural Heritage Arrowhead Arts Awards celebration will be held in Cook County, at the Grand Marais Art Colony, where one of the recipients of a prestigious arts award works. The celebration at the Art Colony on May 29 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. will recognize Art Colony Director Amy Demmer for her significant contributions to the arts in the Arrowhead Region.
The award is presented by the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, the largest funder of the arts in the seven counties of northeastern Minnesota.
The recipient of this year’s Maddie Simons Arts Advocate Award, Demmer has transformed the Art Colony by involving the board and whole community in the process of its growth.
Demmer moved to Grand Marais in 2006 after working in several communities in Minnesota as well as in Spain, Cuba, and Chile. In Grand Marais she finally felt at home. Demmer believes good work begins on a small scale and creates lasting impact by engaging the community.
“Working in the arts has been the most gratifying work I’ve ever experienced. As an advocate in other fields, it can be easy to feel discouraged, but the arts bring so much life, vitality and beauty to the world. It is uplifting and unifying. I feel honored to do this work every day,” Demmer said.
The Maddie Simons Advocate Award biography reads: In the last five years, Demmer has led the Art Colony through a time of struggle and confusion to where it is today: a true center of art-making for all ages. She built on the organization’s strengths while expanding programming into new areas beyond anything previously envisioned.
She dramatically increased the variety of mediums being taught and geared the classes to community members. Demmer expanded the class offerings to include instruction in sculpture, book arts, printmaking, pottery, glass, and encaustic and sumi-e painting.
She opens the pottery studio to artists and community members every fall for Empty Bowls, a fundraising event for the local food shelf. She also encourages students of all ages to work in their well-equipped glass and print studios.
Demmer initiated after-school programs for children during the school year and through the summer. She also initiated a new month-long artist-in-residence program featuring artists such as painter Hazel Belvo and sculptors/printmakers Lee and Dan Ross. The community is welcome to visit and watch their progress.
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