Northwest Minnesota Arts Council announces ‘Of the Year’ award-winners – Grand Forks Herald
GRAND FORKS – The Northwest Minnesota Arts Council has announced its “Of the Year” award-winners. The three recipients will be honored at a special event April 27 at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
The awards program is set for 3 p.m. in the Sargeant Student Center’s Bede Ballroom. A reception with light refreshments and music will begin at 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The awards recognize outstanding artists and arts advocates in the council’s seven-county service area who stand out for their artistry or volunteerism in the arts, according to an announcement. The council’s service area covers Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake and Roseau counties.
The recipients were nominated by area residents.
Loreen Hanson, Thief River Falls, will be receiving the Northwest Artist of the Year for Visual Art Award.
The Northwest Artist of the Year Award is presented to an established or emerging artist in any discipline, including visual, performing and creative writing who is active in their artistic endeavors. The award includes a $500 cash prize.
With more than 76 years of experience in drawing and painting, Hanson has produced a large amount of artwork that captures the beauty of her surroundings, including images of wildlife, flora and fauna, still-life arrangements, portraits and people engaged in everyday activities.
She has participated in more than 30 art exhibits.
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Rena Zapata Bouchard, Crookston, will be presented with the Northwest Arts Advocate of the Year Award for Media Art, which comes with a $500 cash prize. Artists working in all disciplines are eligible for this award.
A makeup artist and portrait photographer, Bouchard is “passionate about empowering others and using the arts as a tool for social change,” according to the council’s announcement.
In 2019, she spearheaded the creation of Studio 110, a permanent space dedicated to digital storytelling for youth and adults in Crookston and the surrounding area. The studio has become an environment for media arts creativity with a focus on acceptance and breaking stereotypes; it is “a welcoming home base” for persons of color, the arts council said.
Bouchard coordinates media arts workshops, inviting professional artists from across the nation to teach and empower those who frequent Studio 110 in downtown Crookston.
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Darcy Reese, Thief River Falls, will receive the Northwest Star Award for Creative Choir Directing.
A former choir teacher who served for 37 years in Thief River Falls, Reese has received national recognition and awards for choir direction. In 2024, she was inducted into the Minnesota Music Educators Hall of Fame.
The Northwest Star Award, which comes with a $5,000 cash prize, is considered a lifetime achievement award, the council said. To qualify for the award, an individual must be a professional artist and have earned a substantial portion of their income through artistic endeavors.
Also on April 27 at the University of Minnesota Crookston, the Northwest Art Exhibit, featuring more than 120 works of art by local adult and high school-age artists, will be open at noon for viewing in the Sargeant Student Center’s International Room.
The council has been celebrating regional artists with this “Of the Year” program since 2002. Funding for the Northwest Star and Northwest Artist of the Year comes from The McKnight Foundation. Funding for the Northwest Arts Advocate of the Year is from the Minnesota State Legislature.
For more information on these awards, go to
and click on “Artists” and then “Nominations for Of the Year Awards,” or contact the council at (218) 745-8666 or
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