We encourage and celebrate
the creative and performing arts
that enrich the human spirit
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 & cultural heritage fund.
We look forward to welcoming you to the Arts Center.
may exhibitions
72th Annual Steele County Art Exhibition
May 4–25
opening reception: sunday, may 4, 2-4 pm
Steele County has many good artists, and for 72 years they have shown their creative works. The Arts Center is fifty and we invited current artists and artists who have shown in the past display a piece as well. Come and enjoy seeing works by new artists and enjoy some pieces from the past.
Crop Art - Lillian Colton, Linda Paulsen, and Kim Paulsen
may 4-25
Opening Event: Sunday, May 4, 2-4 PM
Crop art is one of the main attractions at the Minnesota State Fair. Lillian Colton, one of Owatonna’s own, is a posthumous honorary exhibitor. Her legacy is carried on by her daughter, Linda Paulsen, who has been exhibiting at the State Fair for 55 years, Linda’s daughter, Kim Paulsen, also carries on the family tradition of creating seed art. Seeds are used to create a portrait or a landscape, thus, the artistic name Crop Art. The Smithsonian Institution is hosting an exhibition of State Fairs and will have crop art from Lillian Colton and Linda Paulsen on display. Learn more…
Attention: Secret Gardens Needed for Tour
The seed catalogs have been arriving, and gardeners are planning for spring planting. The Arts Center will host its annual Secret Garden Tour on Sunday, July 20. Silvan is looking for gardens; if you know of a garden or would like to be on the tour, phone Silvan at 507-451-0533 or email at silvan.durben@oacarts.org.
I was honored to have Al Smith draw my portrait. There was an unveiling at the Art Center and a celebration of my 75th birthday. Thank you to all the beautiful people who attended . I am honored and humbled by all the love the community gave me. A very special Thank You to Al Smith for the extraordinary portrait he drew of me. I am honored.
- Silvan Durben
Maxine Ronglien, co-founder of the State School Orphanage Museum, wrote about the beautiful stained-glass windows in the Owatonna Arts Center (former Children's Dining Hall).
The windows were installed in 1878 in the original Methodist church on Main Street. It took four years to construct and ship the glass. Coincidently, this was the church of State School Superintendent Galen Merrill and his family.
The legend goes that when the church was being torn down in 1974, Marianne Zamboni Young (one of OAC’s first Board members) threw herself in front of the wrecking ball and stopped the demolition for two days so the windows could be carefully removed. The newly formed Owatonna Arts Center wanted them!
Wenger Corporation constructed the metal frames that hold them now. Thanks to Mrs. Young, the windows were saved and became the iconic symbol of the Owatonna Arts Center.
