South Dakota Archives - Arts Midwest https://artsmidwest.org/locations/south-dakota/ Tue, 26 Aug 2025 16:16:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://artsmidwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/cropped-AM–Favicon_Favicon-512x512-1-32x32.png South Dakota Archives - Arts Midwest https://artsmidwest.org/locations/south-dakota/ 32 32 How Parking Lots Became Pop-Up Stages for Dance and Music https://artsmidwest.org/stories/empty-parking-lots-headlights-theater/ Thu, 21 Aug 2025 16:59:04 +0000 https://artsmidwest.org/?p=12589 Over six years, Sioux Falls’s Headlights Theater gathered hundreds of community members for distinct performances—sparking joy and sharing a world of possibilities.

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]]> Concrete parking lots may not be the ideal stage. But for the last six years, they became Sioux Falls’s most unexpected performance venues—courtesy of Headlights Theater.

They started at the peak of shutdowns and quarantines in 2020, hosting socially distanced, pop-up performances with local musicians and visiting dancers in empty downtown lots. Each show’s location was announced only a couple of hours ahead. Audiences would drive to the designated parking lot or ramp, light the “stage” with their headlights, and watch an hour-long performance at sunset.

Madison Elliott, a New York-based dancer, began this joy-filled summer series when she returned to her South Dakota hometown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2025 marked the final summer of these performances. We spoke to Elliott about the inspirations behind Headlights Theater.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

A drummer and a dancer performing in an empty parking lot. Behind them is skyline with buildings.
Photo Credit: Eli Show
The timing and concept of Headlights Theater really worked to their advantage. People were seeking art experiences that meaningfully (and safely) filled the gap of what they missed as the pandemic rolled through.

What sparked the idea for Headlights?

I was scrolling on Instagram and I saw a friend dancing in a parking lot and there was a moment when a light shined on her. It was like a lightbulb moment. The idea of putting shows on in parking lots with headlights shining on the performers popped into my head.

Since it took place outside, it felt like it could be a way to keep everyone safe and socially distanced yet still connected, while giving artists paid performing opportunities.

Originally, a lot of people thought the idea was crazy and they didn’t think anyone would want to see a show in a parking lot. But that first show ended up being a huge success, so we did another, and another, and another.

What’s the experience like at a Headlights show? And why was it important to you to have it be the way it was?

I think HLT is approachable and accessible to everyone (one of the things that was most important to me). Usually, when you go see a live show it’s in a fancy theater or venue and tickets cost $$$. I wanted Headlights Theater to challenge the traditional ways we view and experience live performance.

It was also important for me to include dancers from around the country. I wanted to bring professionals to Sioux Falls, not only to share their gift with the community but to share Sioux Falls with them and kind of break those preconceived notions of what this small city in SD is.

But mainly I just wanted to bring professional high-quality dance to Sioux Falls. I wanted to share something that I never got to see in our town.  

Two dancers performing at a parking lot as audience members stand around them holding up their phone flashlights.
Photo Credit: Eli Show
A few summers post pandemic quarantines, Headlights Theater hosted some walk-in performances as part of other downtown festivals and also had one of their shows on a farm at the edge of Sioux Falls.

You have roots in Sioux Falls but spent time away before you set up Headlights. What would your younger self think of Headlights?

I know little Madison would think it’s the coolest thing ever. I know she was craving something like this growing up in Sioux Falls.

As a kid I always had to go other places to get specific training, and it felt like art was everywhere except Sioux Falls.

Little did I know that being back was exactly what I needed. Because of Headlights, I started my career in Sioux Falls, which I didn’t think was possible.

If someone wanted to start something like Headlights, what advice would you give them?

Do it. And just know what you are going to make has an impact on those around you. There is always a need for more art. Work with people that inspire you.

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]]> Catch an Outdoor Movie in the Last Month of Midwest Summer  https://artsmidwest.org/stories/outdoor-movie-drive-in-theatre-midwest/ Wed, 20 Aug 2025 17:14:46 +0000 https://artsmidwest.org/?p=12532 From drive-ins to park flicks, here’s a list of where to break out the popcorn (and out of doors) near you.

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]]> Outdoor movie theaters may have peaked in the U.S. in the late 1950s, but the Midwest is keeping the tradition of hot dog concessions and FM radio tuning alive. 

As summer winds down, here are some spots to enjoy open-air cinema, from drive-ins to park flicks, free to paid, and for young and old. 

South Dakota

South Dakota’s oldest drive-in theater opened in 1946. Many notable films like Armageddon were also filmed in South Dakota (maybe you’ll catch one of them at a screening!) 

An overhead view of people sitting outdoors for a movie. There's a city skyline with tall buildings in the background.
The Nightlight 21+ Outdoor Movie Series in Columbus, Ohio.

Indiana

With over a dozen drive-in theaters across the state, Indiana loves its movies. You can catch them while floating in a pool or on the plaza across the state. Others include: 

Ohio

Ohio might take the prize for the most outdoor movie options (we counted over 30!) DriveInMovie.com says Ohio hosted one of the first 10 drive-ins in the country and once had nearly 190 of them. It boasts the third-most drive-ins in the country, behind New York and Pennsylvania. 

Four people siting on top of a car near a field and smiling.
Photo Credit: Drive N’ Theatre Facebook
Drive N’ Theatre in Newton, IL, also called the Fairview Drive-in Theatre, opened in a rural cornfield in 1953 where it remains today.

Illinois

Illinois has half a dozen drive-in theaters across the state, some with additional events like corn mazes. But movies aren’t limited to car owners, with plenty of options across parks and even on rooftops. 

Michigan

We’re nicknaming this state Movie Michigan: From its handful of drive-ins and park showings, the state has your entertainment needs covered. 

North Dakota

Parks and movies (and farms, apparently!) have never paired better. Check out these spots for some North Dakota options. 

Wisconsin

There are several drive-in theaters in Wisconsin and one fly-in (part of an Oshkosh aviation event), plus outdoor movies across Milwaukee and the state. 

A person holding a hot dog in front of a large outdoor movie screen.
Photo Credit: Mia McGill
Outdoor cinema is about the movies, yes—but it’s also about the food. Many drive-in theaters offer concessions with classic popcorn, drinks, and other bites.

Iowa

Iowa is home to four drive-in movie theaters and plenty of options to bring out the folding chair and snack of choice. The Blue Grass Drive-In opened less than a decade ago and is still expanding (it has four projectors!) while others have been open for 75 years. 

 

Minnesota

Minnesota is full of free outdoor movies (our three favorite things!) and drive-in theaters across just about the whole state. And Minneapolis is home to the We Outside Film Fest in July. 

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]]> Creative Process and Identity Blend at This Summer Program for Teens https://artsmidwest.org/stories/oscar-howe-summer-art-institute-native-students/ Wed, 30 Jul 2025 16:59:07 +0000 https://artsmidwest.org/?p=12297 The two-week art intensive for Native American high school students embraces 'creative futures,' inspired by leading artists of the Northern Plains.

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]]> When school is out for the summer, a cohort of 10th, 11th, and 12th graders enter university doors for two weeks. 

Inside the University of South Dakota, they find out what campus meals and dormitories are really like. But they also unearth belonging and ownership—over themselves and their art.  

This June, 20 high school students attended the annual, longstanding Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute (OHSAI). In between dining hall lunches and loft bed rests, these select teen artists learn from each other and renowned Native artists—they put pen or brush to paper, attend lessons, and utilize open studio time for the 13 days. 

“We keep going and having things until 10:00 p.m., sometimes 11 if we convinced the counselors to stay late,” former student Tylar Larsen says. “The second it ended, I was like, ‘Oh, man, let’s run it back. I want to go again.’” 

So, he did. The Bdewakantunwan Dakota artist from Cansa’yapi kept coming back; two years as a student, then five years (and counting) as a counselor. And it changed his life, he says. 

“I had never stepped foot on a college campus before this. I didn’t know what a college dorm would look like. I didn’t know what professional art studios would look like. I didn’t even know that there’s so many amazing professional Native artists (whose) ‘every day’ is making art.” 

Three people look at a piece of art on a table.
Photo Credit: University of South Dakota Department of Art
Tylar Larsen, center, has been a counselor at the Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute for five years after being a student for two.
Two students stand next to an art piece
Photo Credit: University of South Dakota Department of Art
“You get really close to these people and really look up to them and admire them,” Tylar Larsen says of students, peer counselors, and instructors. “They make such an impact in those two weeks that it’s hard to put into words.”
An overhead view of a campus.
Photo Credit: University of South Dakota Department of Art
The Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute takes place each year at the University of South Dakota and has existed in different iterations for decades.
A person wearing an apron creates art.
Photo Credit: University of South Dakota Department of Art
The summer art institute is selective and can accept up to 20 students, who submit portfolios and letters of recommendation.
Students work in a studio.
Photo Credit: University of South Dakota Department of Art
“I’ll be honest, I liked making art, and I thought I was pretty decent at it as a kid, but I didn’t love making art until I came to the Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute,” now-counselor Tylar Larsen says.
Two students smile looking at gallery art.
Photo Credit: University of South Dakota Department of Art
Students at the Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute get to view and learn from art at the University of South Dakota just as much as they make it.
Two pieces of art in manila folders.
Photo Credit: University of South Dakota Department of Art
Students lean into new or preferred art mediums at the institute, sometimes creating culturally relevant pieces and sometimes not.

Larsen, who now makes jewelry and sews, credits OHSAI (in its 35th year) for going on to undergrad and master’s programs (which he’s nearly finished with). Through the summers, he’s learned to fall in love with the artmaking process—one that doesn’t need to look a certain way. 

“Something I realized was that Indian art is art made by an Indian,” he says, not bound to “imagery that we associate with Native people like horses, buffaloes, eagles, dancing, drums, ceremonies.” As a student, he loved drawing video game and anime characters.

Trailblazing artist and professor Oscar Howe (1915-1983) paved the way for Native artists to challenge stereotypes, teaching at the university for over two decades. More recently, his legacy was celebrated through Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe, an exhibition by the Smithsonian and Portland Art Museum to introduce “new generations to one of the 20th century’s most innovative Native American painters.” 

“When I first had the chance to see Oscar’s work in person, it was a memorable experience,” says OHSAI visiting instructor Keith BraveHeart. “It felt like the work was alive, like it was physically breathing; it was pulsating. And I know that it could have been an optical illusion because of the way that he designs his work, but I also later would truly believe that it was imbued with a Dakota spirit.” 

Peeople gather around a table.
Photo Credit: University of South Dakota Department of Art
Keith BraveHeart teaches screenrprinting to this summer’s cohort: “I would return back and mature from a student to an assistant, like a helper to the staff members, but then eventually a full fledged instructor on my own, and then even later a coordinator, assistant director,” the current OHSAI teaching artist says.

BraveHeart studied in one of the institute’s many iterations as a student, and he has returned in various roles, including assistant director, for 17 summers. He is a citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. 

He teaches students about Howe’s legacy and art practice. It’s sacred, diligent, and distinctive. BraveHeart stays involved with OHSAI to give back, but also to be inspired—by students, by creativity, by the Dakota way—in return. 

“I really loved the opportunity to make art, to be around these great artists,” he says of the summer intensives. “It was just a synergy. It becomes contagious. You all fall into this creative bliss.” 

BraveHeart says though it’s taken generations, Oscar Howe (and his institute) has impacted him greatly. Now, he passes that on.

“I want to make sure that I can provide that time and space for (students) that they can start to discover their path for themselves,” BraveHeart says. “Because I know that’s exactly what Oscar envisioned.” 

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]]> Midwesterners Embrace Art to Improve Community Health and People’s Wellbeing https://artsmidwest.org/stories/midwest-arts-and-health/ Thu, 24 Jul 2025 18:29:48 +0000 https://artsmidwest.org/?p=12145 Here are stories of how arts, culture, and creativity tie into health and wellness in the region.

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]]> Meaningful work can happen when creativity and the arts are brought into healthcare and community building. This collaborative, interdisciplinary space can improve quality of life, alleviate social isolation, foster belonging and cultural exchange, and build solidarity.

Taking part in creative activities at all stages of life positively impacts individuals as well as the communities they live in. Research says:

  • Participating in 1–3 hours of weekly arts activities can help prevent cognitive decline in older adults, similar to the benefits of 1 hour of exercise.
  • For teens, frequent arts participation helped to improve social connections and enhance flourishing.
  • Across populations, ongoing cultural engagement like arts, crafts, volunteering, and community groups was associated with fewer emergency room visits and shorter hospital stays.
  • Being part of community art groups has been linked to feeling happier, more satisfied with life, and having a stronger sense of purpose.

At the Intersection of Arts and Health

In recognition of National Arts and Health Day on July 26, here are a few stories of how Midwesterners are incorporating creativity to positively impact health and wellness.

Music & Mental Health In Northern Minnesota

On this episode of Filling The Well, we talk with Sam Miltich, a professional jazz guitarist from rural Minnesota who lives with schizophrenia. Sam shares how he’s found solace in nature and how he’s been able to balance his music career and mental health.

This episode contains discussion about attempted suicide.

Listen Now

An illustration of a person from behind carrying a guitar over their back, surrounded by plants and birds, standing in front of an outline of a human head

5 Tips for Connecting Your Arts Programming to Wellness

Explore tips and examples of how to design arts programming that supports personal and community wellness.

Read More

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]]> Meet Jeremy Red Eagle, The Bow-Maker Teaching Dakota Traditions https://artsmidwest.org/stories/meet-jeremy-red-eagle-culture-bearers/ Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:31:39 +0000 https://artsmidwest.org/?p=10436 Taking a holistic approach that includes responsibly harvesting natural materials, Red Eagle teaches the traditional art of bow-making from wood, plants, hides, bone, and more.

The post Meet Jeremy Red Eagle, The Bow-Maker Teaching Dakota Traditions appeared first on Arts Midwest.

]]> “I was a statistic growing up,” says Jeremy Red Eagle of the generational ripple effects of colonization. “I never went to high school. I found myself in trouble a lot. I struggled with drugs and alcohol and addiction a lot.”

When he turned 30 years old, though, Red Eagle decided he was going to change his life. “I got sick and tired of being sick and tired. For me, the way to change my life was through my culture.” That’s the guiding force behind Red Eagle’s bow-making work today.

In 2014, he and his wife left Montana for South Dakota’s Lake Traverse Reservation so Red Eagle could reconnect with his Dakota roots by learning the language. “The more we reclaim who we are—our language, our way of life, our history, everything that happened to us both good and bad—it grounds us and gives us a sense of identity,” he says.

At his wife’s suggestion, he looked into a Dakota language teaching certificate program at Sisseton Wahpeton College. “I enrolled, and the rest is history,” Red Eagle says. The college offered traditional arts workshops, and Red Eagle took all of them. Having always been interested in archery, once he got to bow-making, the craft spoke to him.

He spent years supplementing his formal training by speaking to elders and learning about the long traditions of bow-making from around the world. “I’m really big on not staying stuck in the past, but using it as a foundation to move us forward. That’s why I do everything in my power to learn how we did things a long time ago, but also acknowledging that we live in a different time and not being afraid to adapt and adjust,” Red Eagle says.

Not only are the bow and arrow tied to Dakota creation stories, “to me, the bow and arrow symbolize being able to provide and also protecting your people. There’s a spiritual significance to them.”

Building on a background running a youth program in Montana, today Red Eagle works with Native American communities of all kinds to revive culture through bow-making and other crafts, but delights in working with Indigenous young men specifically. “I help our young men reconnect with their roles and responsibilities in our community because that was stripped of them through boarding schools.”

An older person in a kitchen showing a young child how to hold a handcrafted bow and arrow.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Red Eagle
Jeremy Red Eagle is passionate about teaching young Dakota artisans the craft of bow-making—including his own grandchildren!
A person standing outside in a snowy yard at night holding a bow and arrow.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Red Eagle
Part of living in the Midwest is making sure the bows he crafts can withstand the frequently changing temperatures of the climate here.
A group of youth sitting around a fire outdoors as they look to the adult sitting in front of them.
Photo Credit: Dustina Gill
Youth sit around a fire with Jeremy Red Eagle. He’s talking to them about self discipline and respect during the game. Takapsica or lacrosse is more than just playing. It requires many skills that prepare youth for adulthood.

Red Eagle’s holistic approach to bow-making is customized to the needs of the community he’s working with. This means his classes can include everything from responsibly sourcing the necessary wood to the intricate beadwork and quillwork that embellishes the final product. Others swap traditional, natural materials like bone and animal sinew with modern materials like metal for accessibility.

For Red Eagle, receiving the 2024 Midwest Culture Bearers Award gives him the ability to focus on bow-making amid his broader art practice. “Starting this spring, my goal is to bring back horseback archery.” Plus, “my grandson is two. I want him to grow up with a bow in his hand.”

Jeremy Red Eagle is a 2024 recipient of the Midwest Culture Bearers Award, which celebrates and financially supports the work of Midwest culture bearers and folk arts practitioners.

The Midwest Culture Bearers Award is supported by Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts for project management.

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]]> Everyone Wins: Inside a Sioux Falls Gallery’s Art Lottery https://artsmidwest.org/stories/art-fundraiser-ipso-gallery-lucky-number/ Wed, 23 Apr 2025 17:22:31 +0000 https://artsmidwest.org/?p=10550 For the last decade, Ipso Gallery in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has built an exciting fundraiser to contribute to local culture, pay artists, and encourage a new way of collecting art.

The post Everyone Wins: Inside a Sioux Falls Gallery’s Art Lottery appeared first on Arts Midwest.

]]> “The next lucky number is 12. Twelve. Lucky Number 12.”

No, it’s not bingo night. That’s an announcement at an art gallery in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Their large windows display a painted sign that reads, in all caps: THE THUNDERDOME OF ARTS FUNDRAISERS.

Luckily, there are no steel cages or fight-to-death matches. Just lucky numbers.

A child jumping with their arms up as adults around them smile and laugh.
Photo Credit: Brett Bittner / Ipso Gallery
The gallery and its adjacent spaces (even the stairs outside!) get filled with artists, gallery supporters, as well as new and seasoned collectors.

The announcer at the microphone is Mike Hart, one of the founders of Ipso Gallery, started in 2009 by Hart, Liz Heeren, and Ted Heeren.

Ipso Gallery’s biennial-ish arts fundraiser, Lucky Number, is a lottery style, one-night-only event, where art from local artists is divvied up among participants—by chance.

“It’s an arts fundraiser where everyone wins,” says Liz Heeren, Ipso’s director and curator. All artists get paid the same amount, sponsors buy in to win three artworks, and a local project or nonprofit receives funding.

Doing it this way was important to Liz, an artist and art educator. Over the years, she noticed that artists often lose at events like these—“their work doesn’t sell or get bid on.”

Three people stand next to each other as they look at something off frame.
Photo Credit: Brett Bittner / Ipso Gallery
Ipso Gallery’s parent business, Fresh Produce, is an advertising agency set up by Mike Hart and Ted Heeren a few years before the art space (and its collaboration with Liz Heeren). Driven by their love for art makers and creative thinkers, the founders knew they wanted something to facilitate those intersections and build relationships locally, outside of agency work.

At the event, Liz advises attendees on artists and artworks hanging on the walls, while “Ladder Boy” Ted hands the art out. Collectors holding numbered tokens eagerly wait for their lucky number to be called. If it is, they walk up to the gallery wall, pick their art, and then take it home that evening!

It’s exhilarating, nerve wracking, and sometimes tense, says the curator. There’s been some shouting.

Sponsors come with a strategy, says Liz. “People are invested … They’ve got their top 10 listed. They’re taking notes.”

It’s a gamble—either you get first pick, wait your turn, or get called last.

“Maybe in the end if they don’t get their number one choice, they’re getting an artist they don’t know as well, and might fall in love with that work and become a collector of that artist over time.” she says.

Lucky Number raises money to support local arts and culture. The 2025 proceeds will fund a site-specific public art installation. Over the last decade, the fundraiser has benefitted small arts organizations and artist-run creative projects.

Two people talking and standing next to each other, while others look on.
Photo Credit: Brett Bittner / Ipso Gallery
Lucky Number sponsors are local businesses or community members, and they take home three artworks at the end of the event.
A child holding a painting depicting a shark as an adult helps them.
Photo Credit: Brett Bittner / Ipso Gallery
Participating artists often attend and meet people who’re taking home their artwork.
A person raising an arm in the air as other people around look on smiling.
Photo Credit: Brett Bittner / Ipso Gallery
Ipso Gallery has been hosting fundraisers for other local projects or nonprofits for over a decade. With the help of artists and sponsors, they’ve boosted the restoration of a historic movie theatre and provided funding to a creative reuse store, an arts publications, an indie film festival, and a foundry.
Two people standing next to each other. One of them is pointing to something. There are other people standing around and behind them.
Photo Credit: Brett Bittner / Ipso Gallery
Lucky Number is part art show, part lottery, and for some, part emotional rollercoaster as they wait for their lucky number to be called.

Just as importantly, it connects the Sioux Falls community to art and artists.

“We’ve had some really strange shows over the years and really explored art in different ways. And that’s what gets us excited,” she says. “It’s getting people to do things that are uncomfortable, the transformation of the space, and the celebration of really weird ideas.”

For those who enter Ipso, it’s a moment of “delight in creativity.”

Want to run your own Lucky Number event?

Here’s how Ipso Gallery does it!

A sponsor buys in at $1,500 to “win” three artworks (Ipso invites 15-20 local community members and businesses to sign up; a sponsor can be an individual or a group)

An artist submits three artworks and receives $900 (Ipso curates 15-20 regional artists; $750 is from the sponsorship and $150 from Ipso)

A local organization or project receives $10,000-$15,000 (Ipso Gallery supports the growth of local arts and culture)

At the event, sponsors are given numbered tokens for three rounds of Lucky Number. When their number gets called, they pick an artwork from the first panel—and so on.

Photo Credit: Brett Bittner / Ipso Gallery

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]]> These Actors are Expanding the Stage, Changing How People See Disability  https://artsmidwest.org/stories/expanding-stage-disability-theatre/ Tue, 15 Apr 2025 20:22:12 +0000 https://artsmidwest.org/?p=10365 Expanding Stage opens its doors, ramps, and accessible performances to professional actors in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The post These Actors are Expanding the Stage, Changing How People See Disability  appeared first on Arts Midwest.

]]> Mighty sword and not-so-mighty rubber chicken in tow, Jenny Graham prepares for her upcoming show: The Three Musketeers & The Very Pretty Diamonds. 

She’s playing a servant to the queen herself—full of eye rolls and comical disgruntlement, not unlike her real-life persona. 

“I’m a sassafras,” the actress says playfully. 

Two people sitting in wheelchairs sword fight in a gymnasium.
Photo Credit: Deb Kern Workman
Jenny Graham (right) rehearses for her upcoming part in The Three Musketeers & The Very Pretty Diamonds.

Graham is part of Expanding Stage. It’s a partnership between theatre company Black Hills Playhouse and a program for people with disabilities, DakotAbilities. It all started in 2013 as a residency program trial. It stuck, and it’s now one of just a couple companies in the state with similar offerings.

“I love doing [theatre]. I’ve been doing it for the last eight years, and I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Graham says.  

Magical and Adaptable 

Debra Kern Workman is the education artistic director at Black Hills Playhouse (which is home to a range of objectively outstanding programs) in South Dakota. She coordinates with teaching artists to educate actors in theatre concepts, who put on shows several times a year across the state. 

“What does it look like to support professional artists for who they are?” Kern Workman asks. “It is magical.” 

DakotAbilities actors—typically a dozen or so per show—rehearse twice a week. The stage is entirely adaptable: Need help holding something? Let’s tie it to your wheelchair.  

Want to communicate in other ways? Insert picture boards or voice actors to help you shine. Maybe a costume’s fabric texture isn’t it (who wants scratchy, irritating zippers anyway?) so actors can modify those choices. 

A light-skinned woman wearing red smiles and looks to her right at a screen with text on it.
Photo Credit: Debra Kern Workman
Heather Bouchie plays the part of a poppy flower during a run of DakotAbilities’ 2024 Wizard of Oz show.

“What’s really cool is the fact that the Black Hills Playhouse is able to adapt to the people that we serve,” says Kelly Breen, a direct support professional at DakotAbilities.   

“We have a lot of individuals with a lot of different needs … body movements, body types, and we’re just able to make it happen,” she says. 

Graham, who admits she sometimes gets nervous on stage or forgets her lines, says having a stage partner helps her do what she does best: Perform. 

An Open Stage 

“I think the most cool thing is when we perform … and the audience seeing us perform,” she says.  

Graham will direct her electric wheelchair across the stage, lyrically driving it during sword fights or other scenes. She hopes people will leave her shows with more compassion. 

“I wish that people would understand the disabilities of different people more, that it’s not scary,” Graham says. 

And after eight years of Expanding Stage and dozens of performances, that’s happening. 

“When people work with us on these shows, I’m like, you will never see theater in the same way,” Kern Workman says. “[This] program has informed us on what it means to be inclusive, and what it means to support people no matter what theatre you’re doing.” 

Three people act on stage near a bed prop.
Photo Credit: Debra Kern Workman
Macy Irvine, portraying Young Elsa, and Avery Hill, Young Anna, work with stage partner Tatiana Chance in LifeScape Center for the Arts’ production of Frozen Jr.
A light-skinned man wearing a scarecrow costume smiles on stage while a light-skinned woman wearing blue assists from behind.
Photo Credit: Debra Kern Workman
Cheryl Terry, as Scarecrow, along with stage partner Kelly Breen, in DakotAbilities’ 2024 show, The Wizard of Oz.
Six people on stage, three wearing costumes of a lion, tin man, and scarecrow.
Photo Credit: Debra Kern Workman
Shelby Roberts as Lion, Tanzy Vermillion as Tin Man, and Cheryl Terry as Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, along with stage partners Lily Nelson, Kelly Breen, and Deb Workman.

DakotAbilities has doubled performances due to popularity; folks will fly in from across the country to catch a show. 

Kern Workman recalls a mother seeing her son, who uses a wheelchair, dance for the first time during a performance. She was in awe. 

“Yes, he can dance,” Kern Workman says. 

“And it was beautiful.” 

The post These Actors are Expanding the Stage, Changing How People See Disability  appeared first on Arts Midwest.

]]> This Health Center’s Art Collection Is Medicine to Its Community  https://artsmidwest.org/stories/oyate-health-tribal-art/ Wed, 02 Apr 2025 14:14:09 +0000 https://artsmidwest.org/?p=10196 The Oyate Health Center in Rapid City, South Dakota, is just as much a place of healing as it is a place for connection, Native art, and rooting in place.

The post This Health Center’s Art Collection Is Medicine to Its Community  appeared first on Arts Midwest.

]]> For nearly two decades, Rachel Olivia Berg has created large-scale artworks for companies. Think hotel lobbies or resort hallways. 

Though undoubtedly aesthetic, the works felt impersonal, branded, commercial. 

“You’re telling other people’s stories,” the artist says. In 2023, she moved away from projects like those and focused on stories and communities important to her. So when Berg, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, heard of a Rapid City, South Dakota, tribal health center looking for art, she dove in. 

Oyate Health Center 

The project’s arts selection committee received maybe half a dozen proposals from Berg—as well as submissions from dozens of creatives across the region. 

What’s now a clinic-wide, permanent collection with over 100 pieces was two years in the making, from the open call to installation process. 

Photo Credit: Oyate Health Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
“Lakota Medicine” installation by Delaena Uses Knife, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
A wooden table with a resin center indoors against a bright green wall.
Photo Credit: Oyate Health Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
“River Table” by Dwayne Wilcox, Oglala Sioux Tribe, cottonwood and resin.
A pink painting of a woman looking to the side with clouds and dripping paint in the background.
Photo Credit: Oyate Health Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
“Water Me” by Ray Janis, Oglala Sioux Tribe, acrylic on canvas.
A gray sculpture with various materials, tassels, and spheres.
Photo Credit: Oyate Health Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
“Decorative War Spear” by Nelda Schrupp, Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation, sterling silver and horse hair.
An illustration of two birds and a yellow and orange shape.
Photo Credit: Oyate Health Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
“What’s Up” by Gerald Cournoyer, Sr., Oglala Sioux Tribe, ink and colored pencil on ledger.
A painting of a Twister game mat and a person wearing yellow with the text: Sitting 1876 Twister"
Photo Credit: Oyate Health Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
“1876 Twister” by Jim Yellowhawk, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, acrylic on canvas.
An etching art piece with red, gray, and black illustrations.
Photo Credit: Oyate Health Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
A black and white photograph of a horse wearing a traditional war mask.
Photo Credit: Oyate Health Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
“War Horse Mask” by Andrea Two Bulls, Oglala Sioux Tribe, digital photography.
Two figures made of various materials standing on a slice of wood.
Photo Credit: Oyate Health Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
“Couple – Ready to Dance” By Iris Sully, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, wood, leather, beads, feathers, rawhide, horse hair, and cloth.

All the selected (and compensated) art pieces focus on culture-specific healing, made by 50-some enrolled tribal citizens from the Great Plains area, from professional artists to community creatives. 

“[We] really focused on those visuals of healing and how we as Native people dissect that word—healing spiritual health as well as physical and mental health,” says committee member Ashley Pourier, a museum curator and a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe. 

‘Our Own Visual Vocabulary’ 

The Great Plains Tribal Health Board spearheaded the project. 

Taking over management and reconstruction, the former Indian Health Services Center-turned-Oyate Health Center became a brand-new building—with a brand new need for art. But not just any art. 

Since the healthcare center is for Native American patients and staff, the art inside needed to be, too. Having Indigenous symbolism about has transformed the space, and what it means to heal inside it. 

“It’s important for us, for Indigenous people, to have our own visual vocabulary, to have our own understanding. You can walk into hospitals across the country and there’s frequently flowers or things that are very universal,” Berg says of the more generic art. 

“But what’s really nice about Oyate [Health Center] is that we were able to create art from our perspective, things we understand, things we relate to. It helps you feel like it’s your space; it helps you feel that you’re meant to be there.” 

The art collection, from photography to paintings to 3D work, touches on spiritual and cultural understanding.  

Berg’s piece, Eagle Buffalo Star, is an expansive wall relief artwork. Made of diamond-shaped resin tiles, it’s a lively, almost moving image of a buffalo and eagle connected by a star. 

An art piece depicts an eagle and diamonds against a yellow/orange wall.
Photo Credit: Oyate Health Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
“Eagle Buffalo Star” by Rachel Berg.
An art piece features 3D diamonds connecting a star and buffalo against a yellow wall.
Photo Credit: Oyate Health Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
“Eagle Buffalo Star” by Rachel Berg.
An art piece on an orange wall depicts a buffalo.
Photo Credit: Oyate Art Center Permanent Art Collection Catalog
“Eagle Buffalo Star” by Rachel Berg.

She started with the idea of traditional beadwork and star quilting: Little pieces come together, creating meaning. Its oranges, yellows, browns and blues—colors of the sky and earth in the Black Hills—shine in the center’s new pediatric area. 

“The stars … are hopeful and help us to think of the healing aspect of our connection, of how we’re not alone,” Berg says. 

There’s a new and meaningful feeling of community in the space. Berg calls the health center a “hub,” thanks to its art from people across her community. 

“It’s literally a museum. It’s a collection,” Berg says. “It’s not just a building. It’s our building.”

The post This Health Center’s Art Collection Is Medicine to Its Community  appeared first on Arts Midwest.

]]> Midwest Women Who’ve Made Music History  https://artsmidwest.org/stories/midwest-women-whove-made-music-history/ Thu, 27 Mar 2025 20:53:51 +0000 https://artsmidwest.org/?p=10104 Women have changed the course of rock n’ roll, jazz, and R&B through the years. Here are some of the most innovative musicians from across the Midwest to know.

The post Midwest Women Who’ve Made Music History  appeared first on Arts Midwest.

]]> It’s no secret women are underrepresented in the music industry. 

Though numbers are slowly trending upward. In 2023, 35% of artists on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end charts were women—a 12-year high. 

The Midwest is rich with historic music from artists like Aretha Franklin to Tracy Chapman. Here are the stories that have inspired a love for music, in small towns and big cities across the Midwest (if not the world). 

  • Peggy Lee (Singer-Songwriter, 1920-2002)

    Hailing from Jamestown, North Dakota, Lee (who inspired Jim Henson’s Miss Piggy) was a singer-songwriter with a “cool, sultry voice,” says the North Dakota Music Hall of Fame. This signature singing style all started when a wild crowd wouldn’t quiet down during her performance—so she did.

  • Mary Osborne (Jazz Guitarist, 1921-1992)

    Born in Minot, North Dakota, the long-strumming jazz guitarist would come to work with Mel Torme, Art Tatum, and Dizzy Gillespie. As a teenager, she performed for chocolate bars before trailblazing as a female guitarist in a patriarchal music industry.

Woman in black and white photo sits to the side holding a violin with floral wallpaper in the background.
Photo Credit: National Park Service
Zitkála-Šá, who also studied piano, became an activist as well as a performer. She wrote about Native American life for large newspapers and worked to preserve her culture while demanding full American citizenship.
Three light-skinned women smile with their hand up and look to the side.
Photo Credit: Minnesota Music Hall of Fame
From Minnesota, the Andrews Sisters were active from 1925 to 1961. LaVerne, Maxine, and Patty grew up in north Minneapolis before settling in Mound. They sold over 100 million records, had a dozen number-one hits, and had more top-10 hit songs than Elvis Presley or the Beatles (46!)
Dark-skinned woman with blonde hair and a fuzzy black hat sings on stage.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gwen Matthews The Artist Facebook
Gwen Matthews
Three women close their eyes and embrace each other in a black and white photograph.
Photo Credit: South Dakota Rock & Rollers Hall of Fame
Garden
Medium-skin-toned woman sings into a microphone in a dark room.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Tracie Spencer Instagram
Tracie Spencer

  • Garden (Active in the 1970s)

    The trio was the first all-women band to be inducted into the South Dakota Rock & Rollers Hall of Fame. Based in Vermillion, South Dakota, Garden (Susan Osborn, Colleen Crangle, and Marilyn Wetzler Castilaw) was a concert-only, folk-rock group, playing guitar, piano, violin, and vibes in the mid-70s. They each maintained separate music careers after Garden wrapped up performances.

  • Zitkála-Šá (Musician, 1876-1938)

    A member of the Yankton Dakota Sioux, Zitkála-Šá (Red Bird) learned violin while attending an Indian boarding school. The keen critic of assimilation would go on to study violin at the New England Conservatory of Music, co-write the first American Indian opera “Sun Dance,” and teach violin.

  • Gwen Matthews (Singer, 1950-present)

    Born in Chicago, Matthews’ career took off in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she recorded jingles (for General Mills, Whirlpool, and a few insurance companies). Beyond singing on all sorts of national commercials for television and radio, she’s also a recording artist, songwriter, producer and teacher. Matthews has recorded with Stevie Wonder, Susanne DePasse, and members of Earth, Wind, & Fire.

  • Jeanne Arland Peterson (Jazz Musician,1922-2013)

    Arland Peterson is perhaps the most Minnesota on this list. The jazz pianist and singer was WCCO radio’s staff vocalist for two decades and played the organ for Minnesota Twins baseball games.

  • Continental Co-Ets (Active in the 1960s)

    The 1960s high schoolers might’ve been the first girls-only garage rock group in the country, The Current says. Though from small-town (Fulda) Minnesota, the girls signed with an Iowa record label after learning their own instruments and touring Canada and the Upper Midwest. They were inducted to Iowa’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

  • Tracie Spencer (R&B Singer-Songwriter, 1976-present)

    Born in Waterloo, Iowa, Spencer was the youngest girl to sign a contract with Capitol Records for her R&B music; by the time she graduated high school in the 90s, she’d already released four Billboard top-10 songs.

  • The Chordettes (1946-1963)

    Sheboygan, Wisconsin college friends Dorothy Schwartz, Janet Ertel, Jinny Osborn, and Alice Mae Buschmann were behind the instantly recognizable tunes “Mr. Sandman” and “Lollipop.” In the 1950s and ‘60s, the women’s songs broke into the Top 100 charts 13 times. They also appeared on the first ever episode of American Bandstand, a long-running entertainment show.

Dark-skinned woman closes her eyes and sings into a chorded microphone while wearing a floral dress and flowers in her hair.
Photo Credit: Discogs
Minnie Riperton
Photo Credit: Wisconsin Area Music Industry
The Chordettes
A dark-skinned woman wears sunglasses and a black outfit in front of a green background reading: One in a Million."
Photo Credit: Michigan Rock and Roll Legends
Aaliyah
Three dark-skinned women cross their arms and pose wearing matching outfits in a black and white photograph.
Photo Credit: Michigan Rock and Roll Legends
(From left to right) Rosalind Ashford, Annette Beard, and Martha Reeves made up Martha & The Vandellas.

  • Susan Halloway (Marching Band Director, 1953-2015)

    Halloway made waves as an inductee to the Wisconsin School Music Association’s Marching Band Hall of Fame. She taught at the same high school in Sauk Prairie for her whole career, where she started its competitive marching band program. The group excelled and even played for a 1992 presidential campaign rally for Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

  • Minnie Riperton (Soul Singer, 1947-1979)

    From Chicago, Illinois, actor Maya Rudolph’s mother had a soul sound that lasted far beyond her short life. Professionally singing since age 15, she would later drop out of college to pursue music (which included being a backup vocalist for Stevie Wonder). The Rolling Stone magazine named her one of the greatest singers of all time.

  • Patti Smith (Singer-Songwriter, 1946-present)

    The punk-rock-poetry pioneer from Chicago started busking in Paris in the late 1960s. It would grow into a prolific career that’s still ongoing—one that includes photography, acting, activism, and writing.

  • Martha and the Vandellas (1957-1972)

    Adding to the Michigan-strong list of impressive musicians (Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Madonna, Anita Baker…) is Martha and the Vandellas. After winning a talent contest that a Motown staff member saw, a lucky series of events led to Martha Reeves working as a receptionist at the label and singing with Marvin Gaye. She started a trio with the other women singing on his tracks, and top singles ensued.

  • Aaliyah (R&B Artist, 1971-2001)

    The young R&B star grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and created three albums before her tragic death at just 22. Aaliyah’s stuttering style spread to the hip-hop scene in the late 1990s. Her debut album quickly sold over a million copies.

Dark-skinned woman wears a beanie and sunglasses on stage and plays guitar.
Photo Credit: Tiara Thomas Instagram
Tiara Thomas
A woman and a man sit on a stage; the woman smiles and plays guitar; the man makes a silly face and looks at the camera in a black and white image.
Photo Credit: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Chrissie Hynde (left) and Martin Chambers, the drummer of the Pretenders, in 1984.
A copy of a newspaper page featuring musicians and titled "Longer Look" and "Music Makers, hall of fame expands by nine."
Photo Credit: Newspapers.com by Ancestry
Opal Brandt LaFollette

  • Opal Brandt LaFollette (Country Singer, 1924-2022)

    From Lawrenceberg, Indiana, LaFollette was a vocalist and musician for over four decades. In her younger years, she had quit music because of its low pay but later became an inductee into the Southeastern Indiana Musician’s Hall of Fame in 2006, joining her two brothers.

  • Tiara Thomas (Singer, 1989-present)

    One of the youngest on the list, this 35-year-old R&B singer is already making history. From Indianapolis, Indiana, she’s won a Grammy for co-writing 2021 Song of the Year “I Can’t Breathe,” and was nominated for a Golden Globe and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah. Thomas’ career began when she met music gurus at a Wale concert, who she would later perform with.

  • Chrissie Hynde (Rock Musician, 1951-present)

    Joining Ohio legend Tracy Chapman is Akron native Chrissie Hynde. The rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter joined a band with a member of Devo and later formed the band the Pretenders in the 1970s. She is still releasing music today in her 70s.

  • Doris Day (Singer and Actress, 1922-2019)

    Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the 1950s and ‘60s Hollywood film star double dipped in big band singing, which led to her earning the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. After getting in a car accident meant she couldn’t dance for a while, she began to sing. She would release music until almost age 90.

The post Midwest Women Who’ve Made Music History  appeared first on Arts Midwest.

]]> Three Midwestern ‘Emerging Chefs’ in Top Culinary Awards List https://artsmidwest.org/stories/2025-midwestern-emerging-chef-james-beard-nominees/ Mon, 10 Feb 2025 17:45:43 +0000 https://artsmidwest.org/?p=9424 If selected, they would be one of four Midwesterners to receive this early career recognition since the category’s inception in 2000.

The post Three Midwestern ‘Emerging Chefs’ in Top Culinary Awards List appeared first on Arts Midwest.

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The annual announcement of James Beard Award Semifinalists inspires new food adventures and a renewed appreciation for the culinary arts.

This year, three Midwesterners are among the 20 “Emerging Chef” contenders. If selected, they would be one of four Midwesterners to receive this early career recognition since the category’s inception in 2000.

For the last three decades, the foundation has recognized “exceptional talent in the culinary and food media industries,” according to their press release. Winners will be announced at the James Beard Foundation ceremony in June; this year’s celebration marks the 35th anniversary of the James Beard Awards.

Meet the Midwestern semifinalists in the 2025 Emerging Chef category.

Photo Credit: 4Front Studios
Chef Marcela Salas from BibiSol

Marcela Salas, BibiSol

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

The mother-daughter duo of Patricia Burbine and Marcela Salas started Salas Salsas as a small farmers market pop-up in 2020. They then expanded their tamale and salsa business to local grocery stores before opening a seasonal food truck in 2022 that quickly built a regular following.

Then, in July 2024, Salas, along with her fiancé Chris Nelson and her mother, opened BibiSol—the only Mexican restaurant on the main stretch of downtown Sioux Falls.

According to their website: “Sacred foods and traditional practices like nixtamalization are at the heart of our dishes, which are crafted with locally sourced ingredients and sustainable methods.”

From nixtamal blue corn sope served with locally sourced proteins and greens, to potato and cheese tacquitos, BibiSol is said to be pushing the food culture in this growing Midwestern city.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Feld
Chef Jake Potashnick from Feld

Jake Potashnick, Feld

Chicago, Illinois

Jake Potashnick traveled the world to learn from the best chefs and work at some of the top restaurants, all before he was 30. While opening his first restaurant, he amassed a following on TikTok (as @notyetachef) for sharing his candid insights and love for food.

In June 2024, he welcomed foodies to Feld, a fine dining restaurant in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village. With an evolving tasting menu, Feld is “a relationship-to-table restaurant” highlighting produce sourced from their “network of growers, ranchers, fishermen, and dairy farmers.”

According to their website, “Feld is a demonstration in true seasonality, where the menu for each evening is created that morning in response to the produce available on that day.” Meals are “prepared and plated directly in front of the guest, in the center of our dining room.”

Photo Credit: Trevor Biggs / Courtesy of The Aperture
Crispy polenta, a menu item at The Aperture in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Photo Credit: Trevor Biggs / Courtesy of The Aperture
The dining room at The Aperture.
Photo Credit: Jack X. Li / Courtesy of Feld
Assorted dishes from the menu at Feld in Chicago, Illinois.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Feld
The interiors of Feld.
Photo Credit: 4Front Studios
BibiSol in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Photo Credit: 4Front Studios
Menu items at BibiSol use nixtamal corn.
Photo Credit: Trevor Biggs / Courtesy of The Aperture
Chef Jordan Anthony-Brown from The Aperture

Jordan Anthony-Brown, The Aperture

Cincinnati, Ohio

After spending years at prominent restaurants in Washington D.C., Cincinnati native Jordan Anthony-Brown moved back in 2018 to open The Aperture.

As he navigated the pandemic, the chef had hosted several pop-ups since 2020. In an interview with a local magazine, Anthony-Brown said that this process helped him find what would bring happiness [to his guests] and creativity [to his team].

The Aperture in Walnut Hills finally opened in early 2024—and was soon featured in the New York Times’s annual Restaurant List of their 50 favorites that same year.

The menu is inspired by cuisine from both the Mediterranean and the American South, with a focus on balance—a nod to “aperture” in photography. From hummus to sweet potato, to duck breast, and porchetta, you can travel the world and back at this restaurant.

The post Three Midwestern ‘Emerging Chefs’ in Top Culinary Awards List appeared first on Arts Midwest.

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