North Dakota Art Project aims to make creativity more accessible

MANDAN, N.D. (KFYR) – The North Dakota Art Project works in the Art Workshop in Mandan and aims to foster creativity in the community.

The Art Workshop is a 24-hour studio in Mandan that is open to the community. There, the North Dakota Art Project aims to support local creativity by making art accessible to everyone.

“It’s not in your house, so that means you’ve got a place to go. You know being retired, you always have to have a place to go, and I never was one for coffee shops, so here I am,” said participant Ken Rogers.

The nonprofit organization provides funding for art supplies and classes for local artists. It particularly aims to help groups of people who may not have the resources to practice their crafts.

“Just helping people get into art, it can be a challenge, and finding funding to help people do that is kind of where we started,” said Chris Kraft, president of the North Dakota Art Project.

Participant Ken Rogers is a veteran and retired from the Bismarck Tribune. He likes to paint and draw at the studio and has been doing art for over five years. The Art Workshop provides a space for him to keep his art supplies and his art projects while he is in the process of finishing them.

He said the North Dakota Art Project can help veterans by providing them with a space to cope with complex feelings and memories from their service.

“Not everybody that leaves the service has a good time of it, so this is another way for them to express themselves,” said Rogers.

He also said that being surrounded by others who also have a passion for art in this studio gives people a chance to ask questions and become close with others who share a common interest.

The painting Rogers is currently working on is a portrait of a selfie he took with his wife on a ferry between Italy and Greece.

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