CREATIVE SPIRIT OF THE NORTH
What would you make with room to make it?
Creative Spirit of the North is Northern Lakes Arts Association's annual investment in a visual artist and the work they have yet to make.
For 2027, the selected artist may choose the support that best fits their practice:
STUDIO RESIDENCY
$500 unrestricted artist award + a 12-month studio residency at The Meadows Gallery and Studios in Ely.
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE
$1,000 unrestricted artist award for an artist who already has the workspace they need.
Both options include six separately paid community classes, up to $500 in reimbursable materials and creation costs toward a work for the Northern Lakes Arts collection, and a year-long relationship with NLAA and the Ely community.
Applications close September 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
What is the Creative Spirit of the North?
The Creative Spirit of the North is Northern Lakes Arts Association’s annual investment in an artist and the work they have yet to make.
Each year, NLAA selects one artist for a year of creative support, community connection, and artistic exploration. The recipient chooses the support that best fits their practice: a 12-month studio residency at The Meadows Gallery and Studios with a $500 unrestricted award, or a $1,000 unrestricted award for an artist who already has the workspace they need.
Throughout the year, the Creative Spirit teaches six separately paid community classes and creates one mutually agreed-upon work for the Northern Lakes Arts collection, with up to $500 in creation support provided by NLAA.
The year is meant for making, experimenting, trying something new, and giving an artistic practice room to grow, wherever that work happens.
What You Receive
The Creative Spirit of the North is designed to give an artist time, resources, and support to make, experiment, and grow their practice during the year.
As the 2027 awardee, you'll choose the support option that best fits your practice:
Studio Residency
-
A 12-month studio residency at The Meadows Gallery and Studios in Ely
-
A $500 unrestricted artist award
Independent Practice
-
A $1,000 unrestricted artist award
-
The flexibility to work from your own studio or creative space
-
Whichever option you choose, you'll also receive:
-
Up to $500 in reimbursable materials and creation costs toward the original work that will join the Northern Lakes Arts collection
-
Separate compensation for teaching six community classes at NLAA's teaching artist rate
-
NLAA support for those classes, including registration, marketing, and participant communication
-
Opportunities to share your work and creative practice with the community throughout the year
-
Promotion of you and your work through NLAA's platforms
-
A note on location: Creative Spirit of the North is rooted in Ely, and both options include in-person community engagement here. Studio Residency recipients are responsible for their own housing and transportation. Housing and transportation are not provided by NLAA.
What You Bring
The Creative Spirit of the North isn't only about what you make. It's also about sharing your practice with the community and leaving something of your award year behind.
During 2027, the awardee will:
-
Maintain an active creative practice throughout the award year
-
Teach six community classes through NLAA, sharing skills, techniques, processes, or ideas connected to their practice. Teaching and preparation are compensated separately.
-
Create or designate one original work, mutually agreed upon by the artist and NLAA, for inclusion in the Northern Lakes Arts Association Art Collection. NLAA provides up to $500 in reimbursable materials and creation coststoward this work.
-
Participate in agreed-upon opportunities to share their work and Creative Spirit experience with the community
-
If participating through the Studio Residency, regularly use their studio at The Meadows Gallery and Studios throughout the year
The artist retains copyright to the work contributed to NLAA's collection. The physical artwork becomes part of NLAA's permanent collection.
Who should apply?
You don't need to be a full-time artist to apply.
Creative practices don't follow one path. We're interested in artists at a point of growth, experimentation, or transition who would benefit from a year of creative support and connection to the Ely community.
Creative Spirit of the North is open to Minnesota artists with a meaningful connection to northern Minnesota. That connection might come from where you live, have lived, work, create, or from an ongoing relationship with the region.
You do not need to live in Ely to apply.
Applicants must:
-
Be 18 or older
-
Be a Minnesota resident
-
Have a meaningful connection to northern Minnesota
-
Be available to teach six in-person community classes in Ely during 2027
-
Be available to participate in the community-facing components of the award
-
Maintain an active creative practice throughout the award year
Studio Residency applicants must also:
-
Live within reasonable commuting distance of Ely
-
Be able to regularly work from the studio at The Meadows Gallery and Studios
-
Practice in a medium that can reasonably and safely be accommodated at The Meadows
Independent Practice applicants may live anywhere in Minnesota, provided they can fulfill the in-person commitments in Ely. Housing and transportation for those commitments are not provided.
Meet Jane Dandron-Holtz:
Our 2026 Creative Spirit of the North
Jane’s work often engages with trauma, joy, and the body through abstract forms. She hopes viewers see themselves in the pieces once they leave her hands. “Everyone is trying to feel less alone in their experiences,” she says, “so I want even my simplest pieces to create islands of safety and quiet joy.”
Read more about how motherhood and confidence earned quietly can be acknowledged without apology.shaped her art.
Meet Rachael Pace:
Our 2025 Creative Spirit of the North
“The wilderness taught me resilience—and gave me a story to tell,” says artist Rachael Pace. From desert expeditions to the shores of the Boundary Waters, her journey is a testament to creativity’s power to connect us to nature—and each other. Named this year’s Creative Spirit of the North, Pace’s work and story are nothing short of inspiring.
Read more about how wilderness shaped her art—and how she’s shaping her community.
Uplift Emerging Artists and Strengthen the Arts in Our Region
We invite you to invest the Creative Spirit of the North award, a prestigious initiative that celebrates and empowers the rising visual artists of our community. This award is more than just recognition; it’s a transformative opportunity that provides an emerging artist with a year-long studio residency, financial support, and the chance to share their work with a wider audience. It’s an investment in the future of our local arts scene and the cultural vibrancy of Ely, MN. Your donation plays a crucial role in making this vision a reality.
Join us in this meaningful journey. By donating, you are helping to uplift talented artists, enrich our community, and create a lasting impact on the arts in our region. Click the button below to contribute and be part of this transformative experience. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of artists and the cultural landscape we all cherish.
Thank you for your unwavering support!