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Pam Andel, director of the Jaques Art Center, urges Aitkin residents to visit the museum-quality collection
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Summary
Pam Andel, executive director of the Jaques Art Center in Aitkin, told Coffee with the County listeners the center is free, holds one of the country’s largest collections of Francis Lee Jaques’s work, runs rotating exhibits and community classes, and seeks volunteers and ticket buyers for its September harvest dinner.
Pam Andel, executive director of the Jaques Art Center, told listeners on Coffee with the County that the center in Aitkin has been open about 30 years, is free to the public and houses an extensive collection of work by Francis Lee Jaques.
"We never closed during COVID," Andel said, describing the center’s continuity for visitors during the pandemic. She said the Jaques built an addition onto the Carnegie Library about 20 years ago to house Jaques’s work and that the center holds one of the largest collections of his pieces in the United States.
Andel recounted Jaques’s early years in the area, including an anecdote about a baby bear that Jaques taxidermied after it was struck on nearby tracks: "He did a c section to birth the baby," she said, inviting listeners to come see the piece in person. She credited Jaques’s later work with a major New York museum and with the Bell Museum in Saint Paul for expanding his reputation.
The center rotates exhibits approximately every seven weeks and operates a gift shop staffed by about 60 artisan vendors who supply locally made goods and prints of works the center owns. Andel said the center also hosts classes and events year-round; she highlighted a recent class taught by visiting artist Tracy Miller that drew 18 students.
Andel described community outreach programs that bring art projects to local assisted-living facilities, including ACOTA and Golden Horizons, and said the center welcomes homeschool groups. She noted the center uses a summer tourism grant to promote programming and attract visitors from outside Aitkin County.
The Jaques’s largest fundraising event is its annual harvest dinner in September, which features donated artwork and an auction. "We always have wonderful artists that donate paintings, and then we do an art auction," Andel said, adding that last year’s event was held at Block North and planning is already under way for the next dinner.
Andel repeatedly urged local residents to volunteer or visit. "If anybody's interested, has some time on their hand, my gosh. Come in and ask about just sitting at the desk, greeting people," she said, describing volunteer duties and the chance to meet visitors and local artists.
For more information about hours, classes and events, Andel directed listeners to search for the Jaques Art Center on Facebook or visit the center’s website.
