From a dip of a paint pen to a stroke of a paintbrush, artists across the Twin Cities use a variety of tools and mediums to turn their ideas into art.

“Artists come in, and they might have a clear idea of what they want to work on, or they might be exploring different mediums and techniques, and we kind of help them find their voice,” Lauren Hughes, the director of arts development at Fresh Eye Arts & Gallery, said.

Fresh Eye Arts & Gallery has three studio locations, in Eagan, Brooklyn Park and St. Paul. It serves more than 60 artists with disabilities, helping them submit their work to exhibitions and find opportunities to sell it locally and nationally.

Helping artists through the barriers

For many artists, there are a lot of barriers when trying to get their work into shows.

They not only give artists opportunities to showcase their work in exhibitions, but also help with online form submissions, putting together a resume, and documenting their work.

“We kind of view it from, you know, an equity standpoint of helping them submit to shows and other things outside of our gallery,” Hughes said.

Building community connections

And while they serve artists with disabilities, they also aim to build connections through an inclusive space.

“The arts are a great way to, you know, bring communities together,” Hughes said.

Now in its 12th year, Eye to Eye pairs artists from Fresh Eye Arts & Gallery with artists from the wider community to create collaborative work.

Artists are paired based on their interests and working style, rather than their disability status. Sometimes both artists have disabilities; other times one artist has a disability while the other does not, or both artists have no disability at all. The most important thing is to make that connection.

“We pair artists together based on what mediums they’re working in, what they want to get out of the project, the type of atmosphere they like to work in, if they like loud social spaces or if they want to do something more quietly. So really, every artist pair kind of works in their own way. So there’s no wrong way to do it,” Hughes said.

The exhibition offers an opportunity for artists across different art disciplines, communities, and abilities.

“The biggest takeaway that we’ve seen from the gallery is just those community connections and helping the artists build relationships with people that form organically, you know, help them expand their network and connect with other artists who are excited about what they’re doing and vice versa,” Hughes said.

These relationships built between artists have gone beyond the exhibition.

“We’ve definitely had artists from our Eye to Eye project who were paired together to make work, and then they continued working together, independent of us coordinating anything. They just kind of build a friendship,” Hughes said.

As the organization continues to grow, Hughes says the hope is to create even more opportunities for artists to connect with the broader community and support the artists any way they can.

“There’s always more to be discovered,” Hughes said. “We’re hoping to invite people into our studios more and just looking for more collaborations and finding ways to increase opportunities for the artists that we support.”

Current Exhibition

Artist Diana “Dede” Decker will showcase her latch hook work in a solo exhibition through September 27.

“It’s all latch hook work. So that’s like a mesh canvas that the artist pulls the yarn through individually, strand by strand using a hook,” Hughes said.

Decker began latch hooking in the 1990s, and her work is inspired by all the things she loves.

She fills these wall hangings with just everything that brings her joy. So it’s cats and dogs and puppies and kittens, nature elements like flowers and trees. She likes to use a lot of bright colors,” Hughes said.