Arts Experiences

Carolyn Aarsvold: Aarsvold has held board positions for the Lake Region Arts Council in both Otter Tail and Douglas counties. She was a music educator for over 30 years and is an accomplished musician, playing flute, violin, and piano. She owned Geneva Beach Resort for 23 years and was on the Explore Minnesota Tourism Council as a smaller resorts representative. She served on the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce board and currently serves on the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra board. Aarsvold also volunteers at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum.; Kathleen Hackworthy: Hackworthy is a queer and trans writer, baker, and community maker. Their relation to the LGBTQIA+ community and the land we reside on deeply inform their identity and creative practices. They earned a BA in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and have been an editor and staff writer for multiple literary publications in the upper Midwest. Their work has been featured in Tence, Volume One, Hope is the Thing: Wisconsinites on Perseverance in a Pandemic, Barstow and Grand, and Better Homes and Dykes, among others.; Chad Novak: David is a creative professional with commercial photography, art direction, and copywriting expertise. He was involved in the arts from an early age, participating in fine arts competitions throughout his junior high and high school years. He continued his education at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, receiving acceptance for his fine art portfolio before switching to a program specializing in creative project management. Since graduation, he has worked in advertising as a copywriter, in television as a scriptwriter, and as an on-set art director and commercial photographer for a Minnesota based apparel brand.; Danielle Sosin: Sosin is a professional writer of novels, short stories, and essays and an avid arts participant. Her major publications include the short story collection Garden Primitives from Coffee House Press; The Long-Shining Waters, a novel from Milkweed Editions, which won the Milkweed National Fiction Prize among other honors; and the novel Of Streams and Constellations forthcoming from Red Hen Press. Sosin has taught and encouraged creative communication with people from diverse backgrounds and age groups and has contributed to her field as a panelist and mentor.