On Saturday, February 12, Sistas Corner and Sweetlight Gallery in Crookston will have an Anishinaabe Artisan Valentine’s Day Market.
Shirley Iverson is a co-owner of Sistas Corner along with Diane Seddon and Kevin Iverson, and she talked about how the unique idea came to be. “We were reaching out to have different Artisan groups come into our store and do pop-up shops,” said Iverson. “We then reached out to the Anishinaabe nation, and they will have several artists coming from different locations on Valentine’s Day now. They were very enthusiastic about it and told us we could have 8-10 artists, so we ended up expanding it to include Andy Hall and Sweetlight gallery so they all could come.”
The items and price points will range all over for a variety of options for shoppers. Iverson talked about some of the unique items that will be on display. “Certainly, there will be an indigenous influence in their artwork,” said Iverson. “There are some keychains, indigenous design t-shirts, and bags that they have, there is also some paintings and fabric art so there will be lots of great things available for people to look at.”
Iverson says she’s hoping to see more multi-cultural activities like this in the Crookston area moving forward. “I think having multi-cultural activities in Crookston is certainly a goal we have,” said Iverson. “We want to be a supportive environment for that in our store and Andy at Sweetlight Gallery really supports that as well.”
Sistas Corner is located at 121 North Main Street in downtown Crookston, and Sweetlight Gallery is right next to it at 119 North Main Street. The event will run from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on February 12, and Iverson is hoping that they will be able to invite the Anishinaabe Artists back sometime in the summer. If you have any questions, or for more information, you can visit the Anishinaabe Artisan Valentine’s Day Market Facebook Page, or the Sistas Corner Facebook Page.
