Now in its 19th season, Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists’ annual Studio Crawl is a must-see, must-do event each year for art lovers across the Metro.
Always held the first weekend in October, local artists from across the region open up their creative spaces and invite visitors in to learn more about their craft and how they work. Established local artists like Studio Crawl Founder Jon Offut, artists Ellen Diederich, Steve Revland and dozens more have become mainstays over the years and are certainly must-visit sites along the crawl.
However, we want to introduce crawl-goers to a few emerging artists who are joining the weekend festivities for the first time. From a former nurse practitioner to an eclectic arthouse owner to experimental ceramicists, these emerging artists are must-sees along the way, too, and we hope you visit their studios with as much interest as our more celebrated local artists.
Sredna Kunowski of Sredna Kunowski Art opens up her studio to FMVA Studio Crawl tourists October 1 and 2. Submitted photo: Sredna Kunowski
Studio Crawl studio #26 (see brochure for location and details)
Sredna Kunowski moved from California to Fargo for the winters.
No joke.
“I began my journey here as a student looking for somewhere less expensive to go to college,” Kunowski said. “Little did I know winter is a whole other experience here, but I have loved this area ever since and it feels more like home to me than anywhere else.”
Kunowski, who works in a variety of mediums including watercolor, acrylics, inks, colored pencils, to name a few, opens her studio to crawlers and hopes to give people a more “intimate look” into her work and the work of an artist in general.
The studio crawl will also act as a grand opening for her studio, too. She’s unsure what she’ll be selling those days, but “I’ll have artsy activities, refreshments and take you on a tour of my studio,” she said.
Kunowksi is particularly impressed and thankful for the Metro community’s support of local arts.
“It’s a lot more community focused here and a real push to support local artists,” she said. “Also a lot less beach paintings and more prairies.”
Alicia Hauff of Alicia Hauff Studio opens her art space up to Studio Crawl participants for the first time. Hauff opened her studio as a full-time artist in April 2022. Submitted photo: Alicia Hauff
Alicia Hauff Studio
Studio Crawl studio #2 (see brochure for location and details)
Former public health nurse practitioner Alicia Hauff went “all in” with her mixed media art studio in April 2022 and is now ready to share her space with studio crawl participants.
As a past “crawler,” herself, Hauff is excited to open her studio to participants this year as a full-time artist herself.
“It means a lot to be an artist on the crawl. It’s a great way to share my creative process, have folks get to know my work over time, and help elevate what artists do,” Hauff said.
She’ll be in her studio during the two-day festivities sharing how her work has evolved in the months she’s been employed as a full-time artists, and where she thinks she’s going in the future. (Hint: Hauff has been spending a lot of time foraging in nature for artifacts to use as print objects.)
Crawlers can also browse art for sale, including originals, ornaments, art calendars, notecards and eco-prints.
“This is about a journey of evolution and community. Creatives have so much to offer the world. I look forward to seeing my work evolve and be refined. I just began foraging and creating natural inks, and a whole new world opened up to me. I am cheering on all the other artists,” Hauff said.
Ceramicists Josh Zeis and Michael Nelson of Mothership Workshop opened their art and furniture studio located in the Mosaic District of downtown Fargo earlier in 2022. They’ll be open for studio crawlers October 1 and 2. Submitted photo: Design and Living Magazine
Mothership Workshop – Josh Zeis and Michael Nelson
Studio Crawl studio #33 (see brochure for location and details)
Part ceramic art studio, part furniture store, Mothership Workshop is quickly making a name for itself across the community as a place for spacey-but-in-the-best-of-ways work by ceramicist Josh Zeis and business partner Michael Nelson.
The duo opened Mothership Workshop earlier this year, a 2,000 sq. ft. space that’s big enough to hold a kiln and larger-than-life projects like a giant boulder and other artful artifacts. During the two-day crawl, Zeis and Nelson will demonstrate molds for custom concrete furniture, throw ceramic vessels on the wheel, demo oil painting and fine tune large scale sculptures in progress.
A mural by local artist Chris Larson adorns a wall in The Arthouse during a recent private dinner event celebrating the opening of MotherTrees, an exhibit celebrating trees, food and art. The Arthouse is owned and managed by Anna Lee, who is opening the space to Studio Crawl participants. Lee, along with poet Julie Larson, artists Nancy X Valentine and Kelsy Osterman, all created work for MotherTrees. Submitted photo: Sarah Faith Strong
Studio Crawl studio #6 (see brochure for location and details)
The Arthouse is “a creative studio and incubator for new ideas,” and stems from a vision artist Anna Lee had years ago about creating a space that’s part gallery, part collaborative colony.
Lee is opening up the art house’s gallery space for this year’s crawl
“I am most excited to share my latest collaborative project, Mother Trees,” Lee said. The project Bringing people together in collaboration is perhaps my favorite art form. Most of the collaborators will be at the Arthouse Gallery to chat about their work, and we will even have some snacks by Candace.
Mother Tree collaborators are Lee, illustrator and muralist Chris Larson, chef Candace Stock, photographer Sarah Faith Strong, artist Nancy XiáoRong Valentine, poet Julie Larson and artist Kelsy Osterman. All will be at the crawl to talk with visitors about their project.
About the author
Lonna Whiting is a freelance writer and owner of lonna.co, a content marketing and communications agency located in Fargo, North Dakota. She is a frequent contributor to The Arts Partnership’s content library and also provides strategic communications consultation to the organization.
