Lanesboro Arts is a multidisciplinary arts organization working to activate the people and places of Lanesboro (population 778) by empowering and creating opportunities for artists. The organization serves as a regional catalyst for artistic excellence and educational development in providing diverse art experiences for people of all ages. By utilizing the arts for community and economic development, creativity is woven into the social and municipal infrastructure, successfully changing the narrative of a rural community.

Lanesboro Arts began its journey in 1980 with the creation of the Lanesboro Art Council; in 2009, the Lanesboro Art Council and another local organization, Cornucopia Art Center, unanimously voted for a merger between the two to become the Lanesboro Art Center. Lanesboro Arts was founded over forty years ago to foster the growth of individual artists who wanted to activate the community with their art. Led today by Executive Director Kara Maloney, the organization continues to live out that legacy as a multidisciplinary arts organization working to activate the people and places of Lanesboro by empowering and creating opportunities for artists. Some of the programs Lanesboro Arts provides include Juried Sales & Exhibition Galleries, St. Mane performance series, Early Career Artist Residency Program, BIPOC Artist Residency Program, Rural Production Training Program, Early Career Artist Exhibition, Art in the Park, Juried High School Art Show, and arts education for all ages.

Jerome Foundation supports Lanesboro’s Early Career Artist Residency Program. The Lanesboro Early Career Artist Residency Program offers two- or four-week residencies to early career New York City or Minnesota-based artists driven to explore ways in which their work can be applied to the community and how Lanesboro’s rural community can inform their work. Artists receive access to studio space, living space, peer-to-peer engagement, and residency time. Guided by Artistic Director Melissa Wray and Program Director Leah Steding, the Early Career Artist Residency program is unique in that it provides an entire rural community and its myriad assets as a catalytic vehicle for engagement and artistic experimentation, with staff working with each resident to create a fully customized residency experience.