Two winter art exhibits open at M State Fergus Falls campus

Minnesota State Community and Technical College’s Fergus Falls campus launched two winter gallery shows that bring new visual art to downtown Fergus Falls this month and into the spring season. The Charles Beck Gallery opened "The Process of Satiation," a show of paintings by Emily Williams‑Wheeler, on Jan. 14 and will run through Mar. 20, 2026. The Waage Gallery will host "The Eclectic Collection" by sisters Cathrin and Laura Von Bank beginning Jan. 21 and running through May 16, 2026.

Williams‑Wheeler’s exhibition, now on view, features bold, large‑scale paintings and work informed by public installations, providing a visually commanding presence in the Charles Beck Gallery for about 66 days. The Von Bank sisters present a mix of linocut prints, portraiture, fiber art and mixed media; their Waage Gallery run of roughly 116 days stretches well into spring, offering sustained programming for campus visitors and local residents.

These dual exhibits are part of the region’s winter arts programming and represent a steady flow of cultural offerings during months that are typically quieter for tourism and retail. For Otter Tail County, gallery openings like these matter beyond aesthetics: they create predictable foot traffic for nearby cafés, shops and service businesses, and they extend the period when Fergus Falls draws visitors from surrounding towns. A January opening and a separate late‑January launch stagger attendance opportunities, potentially smoothing weekday visitation and supporting winter revenue for small businesses.

The length and variety of the shows also matter for local arts development. A large‑scale painter with a background in public installations can raise the local profile of campus galleries and attract artists, collectors or community groups interested in site‑specific work. The mixed media and print focus of the Von Bank sisters’ show provides programming diversity that can appeal to schools, fiber artists and printmaking enthusiasts during the school term and into the spring semester.

Practical details in the college release include specific dates and gallery locations; residents planning visits should note that one exhibit opens today and the other next week. The staggered schedules give families, art students and community groups multiple windows to attend without overlapping crowds.

Our two cents? Treat a gallery visit like a day out in Fergus Falls: pair it with a coffee or lunch nearby, check campus gallery hours before you go, and consider visiting on a weekday to avoid the busier weekend openings. These shows offer both quiet, focused viewing and a modest boost to the local winter economy — worth supporting if you care about keeping arts and small businesses humming through the colder months.