Please send your First Friday event descriptions to lseter@watermarkartcenter.org

February 3 & 4, 2023 Ojibwe Storytelling and Star Knowledge
Storytelling with Mary Moose
February 3rd, 2023 6-8pm
Mary Moose is a first language Ojibwe and Cree speaker from Nishnawbe-Aski Nation, Ontario Canada. She was raised in the bush where she learned Ojibwe knowledge and values. She currently lives in Hinkley, MN and has worked as a language teacher, previously with her husband and now, with her sons. Mary has traveled throughout the United States and Canada to share Ojibwe stories. She has authored three books and dedicates her life to passing on Ojibwe knowledge and values. We are honored to have her share her stories with us here in our community.

Ojibwe Star Knowledge
February 4th, 2023 1-3pm
Mary Moose of the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation, Ontario Canada and Joseph Sutherland will share Ojibwe star knowledge and stories to accompany Anangoowayaan, the Star map on display in the Miikanan Gallery. Star knowledge is an integral part of understanding Ojibwe perspectives which honor and respect the connections we have with everything that exists.


This exhibit was made possible in part by the Blandin Foundation and the McKnight Foundation.


February 3 Gallery North Artist Meet and Greet
310 4th Street NW
2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Gallery North will host a Firsts Friday Open House reception on February 3rd from 2:00-5:00 pm to meet Showcase Artists from the Northern Artist Association.
Northern Artist Association was established in 1972 as a non-profit organization to encourage growth among beginning as well as more advanced artists. Members meet at the Eagles Club on Mondays from 10:30 to 3 pm to paint, and monthly meetings are held the third Monday of each month September through May. New members are always welcome, and dues are $10 per year.
Also featured is Gallery North’s “Junior Artists Program.” Visit with students from Bemidji Middle School and view the work completed in art classes under the direction of their teacher Kate Toriseva during the Frist Friday Open House.
Stop by Gallery North’s First Friday reception February 3rd from 2-5 pm and discuss ways to do a showcase of your own. The Showcase space is open to artists of any medium, whether they are a beginner or more experienced. Gallery North is a non-profit cooperative art gallery that has been displaying and selling original art and fine crafts by area artists since 1989.
February 3 Watermark Exhibit Opens: Celebrate Women Artists
Women have been part of the history of art for generations. But women have never been accepted and valued the same as male artists. In the 17th and 18th centuries historical paintings were the most elevated and lucrative art category.
Those women who achieved the highest acclaim were those educated in the finest art schools and had a mastery of human anatomy. In general, however, most women were not admitted to prestigious art schools, and if women were accepted to these art schools, they were not permitted to attend figure classes. It was believed that looking at the nude male body was dangerous to the mores of a proper young lady.
Margaret Harlow and Lillie Kleven, Bemidji State University alumnae, collected works by some of the finest artists in the world of ceramics and printmaking. This work is retained in collections curated by BSU as “teaching collections”. BSU provides rotating exhibits featuring work exclusively from these two prominent collections in the Harlow | Kleven Gallery at Watermark Art Center. This show celebrates the women artists in the collections and their contributions to the art world.
The exhibit is on display February 3 through May 19, 2023. Watermark galleries are free and open to the public Monday – Saturday from 10 to 5pm and located at 505 Bemidji Avenue N. in Bemidji, Minnesota, 218-444-7570. Visit WatermarkArtCenter.org for detailed event and exhibit information.
First Friday and COVID-19
Watermark Art Center is the community coordinator for Bemidji’s First Friday Artwalk, but the Artwalk belongs to all of us.
Watermark is open to the public Monday – Saturday 10 – 5pm. Read more about what to expect when you visit us →.
Beginning November 1, 2021 we will gladly list other First Friday participants on this page. However, as we, Watermark, can not control any COVID-19 protective measures enacted by other First Friday participants and their visitors, we’ve made the decision to postpone any collective promotion until further notice. We will list your event info here, but ask that you manage your own additional promotion for their First Friday event.
Please send your First Friday event descriptions to Lisa Seter lseter@watermarkartcenter.org | 218-444-7570