Loon Country Arts offers free July art classes at Carnegie Library
Free July classes at Bemidji’s Carnegie Library give youth ages 8 to 18 a no-cost place to make art, with materials supplied and an alternate list if sessions fill.
Loon Country Arts is offering free July art classes at the Carnegie Library, 426 Bemidji Ave. N., giving Bemidji families a walkable option for summer childcare gaps and creative time between errands downtown. The classes are open to youth ages 8 to 18 unless otherwise noted, and participants may sign up for two sessions.
One of the month’s highlighted offerings is “One Color Perspective,” a watercolor class taught by Heather Fadness from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Friday, July 10. All materials are supplied by the instructor, removing a cost barrier that can keep children and teens out of arts programming even when the interest is there. If a class fills, students can place their names on an alternate list.
The July schedule fits into the way Loon Country Arts has positioned itself in downtown Bemidji. The group describes itself as a nonprofit, artist-run gallery for artists in Bemidji and the surrounding area, with a mission of promoting the fine arts and benefiting the greater Bemidji community and downtown business district. It says it has been displaying and selling original art and fine crafts by area artists since 1989.
The Carnegie building gives that mission a visible home. Built in 1909, it opened as Bemidji’s public library in 1910 and served as the city’s main library until 1961. The historic structure at 426 Bemidji Ave. N. was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for its architectural and educational significance.
Loon Country Arts moved into the Carnegie after storm damage displaced it from a previous space. The collective now leases the city-owned building, using the upper level for gallery space and the lower level for offices, turning the former library into an active arts site again. That presence has helped keep the building part of daily downtown life through murals, classes and community engagement.
The July classes also sit within a larger funding picture. The programming is supported by Minnesota voters through a Region 2 Arts Council grant tied to the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a reminder that even free local arts opportunities depend on state-backed public support. For families looking to fill part of July with something hands-on, the Carnegie Library is once again doing more than housing art on the walls.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
