River Arts Alliance Annual Meeting

River Arts Alliance’s first Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, January 26 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts, Vila and Howard Streets. There will be a social time from 5:30 to 6 p.m. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. during which time members will vote for the slate of nominees to the Board of Directors. There is one opening if someone would like to be nominated to a board position.

Other agenda items will include discussion of our Strategic Plan for the next two years as well as answering questions about RAA and overall discussion of arts and culture in the Winona area.

In 2016 we achieved the following goals:

• Developed webpages for our members who requested them and promoted our members’ events via our website, contact list, and Facebook.
• Sent out the bi-monthly Schmooze News e-newsletters to our contact list.
• Coordinated bi-monthly Art Schmoozes at the Mid West Music Store, the Winona County History Center, Minnesota Conservatory of Art, and the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. Each event offered a short program, refreshments, and an opportunity to network with others.
• Coordinated the first annual Members’ Exhibition for visual artists at the Paul Watkins Gallery on the WSU campus. There was no fee to participate and members received full price on their sales (minus PayPal fees).
• Completed Phase 1 of the HBC Fence project, dedicated to Bernadette. We will apply for a SEMAC grant for Phase 2.
• Held the 9th Annual Family Art Day in partnership with the City of Winona Park & Rec Department, 27 area artists, and many volunteers. Over 525 community members participated this year!
• Established partnerships with the City of Winona, Winona State University, Winona Main Street Program, Visit Winona, and the Bluff Country Studio Art Tour.
• Sponsored the Winona Art Walk and Tour, dedicated to Bernadette.
• Partnered with the Winona Daily News for a regular Arts and Culture column that promotes our members’ activities and events as well as promoting public understanding about the importance of the arts to the well-being of the community.