Meet our Community Partners

Siiviis Gallery in Duluth has been supporting and showcasing local and regional artists for three decades! The curated paintings, jewelry, woodworking, metalworking, and mixed media pieces come from over 80 talented artists in our area. And the gallery very much reflects the creativity and natural beauty that makes this area special.

In 1995 the Sivertson Gallery of Grand Marais expanded to this second location here in Duluth’s Canal Park waterfront district. Last year, Sivertson Gallery celebrated 45 years of business and Siiviis (named after Severin Sivertson's retired fishing boat) marked its 30th anniversary year. In 2022, Siiviis was transitioned to new ownership with Amanda Clark, who continues to showcase some of the best artists in the region and supporting even more with their budding in-house giclée print operations.

Giclée: (pronounced "zhee-clay") printing is a specialized process that produces museum-quality prints with exceptional detail and color accuracy. Using high-resolution inkjet technology, archival-quality inks are applied in precise, microscopic droplets to premium paper or canvas. This method allows for a stunning level of detail, capturing the depth, texture, and vibrant colors of the original artwork. If you’re looking for a way to bring fine art into your home at an accessible price, Giclée prints offer the perfect balance of beauty, quality, and durability. When properly cared for, these prints can last for decades without fading, making them an excellent investment for any art collection or your perfect cozy retreat at home.

Siiviis is a place that’s always warm, welcoming, and full of energy and wonder. I never fail to be awe-struck every time I’m in the gallery. Amanda and the whole Siiviis crew are so passionate about the artwork they sell and the artists they support. They’ve been hosting a variety of group exhibitions and already have some exciting shows lined up for 2026!

Siiviis Gallery is incredibly proud of this community for continuing to value art and uplift this arts community.

Visit the gallery:

https://www.siiviisgallery.com/

361 Canal Park Drive
Duluth, Minnesota 55802

Studio Cafe is quickly becoming a beloved third space in our arts community. You're bound to run into someone you know or meet a new kindred spirit. Yes they've got delicious coffees, teas, Third Street baked goods, and house-made treats, salads, and sandwiches. But they've also got a treasure trove of arts supplies to share with community, an upright public piano that begs to be played, and typewriters itching for your cathartic clackings and musings. Their boardgame library is extremely well curated. Community artwork is showcased all over their walls with pride. And their calendar of events, cozy performances, exhibitions, arts groups, and community gatherings and activities has been growing quite a lot lately.

It's a special little nook that aims to help cultivate and enable expressing creativity in everyone by making it easy to get started with traditional arts and crafts mediums. They make the coffee, you make something the world has never seen. Draw something, watercolor, sew, fold paper, crochet. The team stands firm in their belief that practicing and expressing creativity makes us happier and healthier people - though it may not be simple or easy for everyone, and like most things, it can take some practice. While Studio Cafe is one of the coziest places to sit for a while, it’s also ripe for sharing ideas, time, and space with others. The happenings they host are to build community and make practicing with others easier and more accessible.

If you're wondering, why all the a typewriters? Classic typewriters are a tactile and creative medium that inspires something in the user that a more modern keyboard and computer might not. The Royal Model 10 in the shop is over 100 years old. Use it anytime you’d like (along with the ‘52 Olympia SM2, or one of the other typewriters floating around) to write a note, send your loved ones letters, simply relish in its cathartic clacking, or stream your inner poet. Stop in during one of their monthly type-in's!

Studio Cafe is a place to create, connect, and be inspired - with delectable sips and bites.

Visit the cafe:

https://www.studiocafeduluth.com/

102 W Superior St
Duluth, MN 55805

Bent Paddle Brewing Co. has become a staple in the Duluth music scene. They have a strong reputation for always thoughtfully taking care of musicians and patrons for a positive and communal atmosphere. Their 2 stages host a local, regional, and even national touring acts. The taproom keeps a busy schedule of shows, reggae vinyl DJ nights with TNT HiFi, Blingo with the Crunchy Bunch, and community events. The team values being able to break down barriers to the arts by offering shows that are primarily free and all ages. They do their best to partner with artists in promoting shows and helping to turn out as many friends and fans as possible. In choosing to share taproom proceeds with artists, they’re able to be active members of the local music scene. They also value diversity in their live music lineups and strive for equitable bookings and payouts.

The Bent Paddle crew (including me, Kristi, that sound lady at Bent Paddle) has been working hard at steadily developing the taproom and Yard stages to become a favorite local venue! The taproom is one of the bigger local indoor venues and the outdoor space is a pretty comparable size - perfectly accommodating our sometimes unpredictable Lake Superior weather. Last year we were able to purchase a new set of speakers and lighting, so shifting indoors when needed will be real simple. We also upped the indoor venue game: we DIY'ed sound-dampening stage curtains for more comfortable listening, and the stage is now wider & taller - so you can see much better from the back.

But the venue operations are just one outcome of the founding crew's shared vision. Since the brewery's beginnings in 2013, founders Karen & Bryon Tonnis and Laura & Colin Mullen have remained focused on the central vision of environmental and social responsibility to ensure sustainability for the business, employees, community, and greater world around us. All while "Bending Traditions", for a more unique and interesting craft beer & beverage experience. Bent Paddle is family- & female-owned and entirely community driven. They're especially committed to supporting wilderness conservation, human-powered activities, and outdoor recreation (especially if there is a paddle involved!), education, humanitarian, gender, racial & social justice causes, economic stability of our Northland neighbors, armed forces / veteran services and local music & arts.

The neighborhood taproom offers tasty bevvy's for everyone - a whole variety of beers, CBD/THC beverages & other hemp products, kombucha & other N/A options, merch & curated items from local artists, games, snacks, plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, and almost always a food truck onsite. You'll also find some special taproom-only releases - experimental versions of year-round beers, small batch brews, pilot beers, casks, side pours, and fun infusions. (Pilot Brewer Neil Caron is always up to something - new recipes, production techniques, ingredient trials.) Most everything is also available to-go with growlers and crowlers. And you can also rent out a variety of Bent Paddle's spaces to suit a whole host of event needs.

They're now a 30-barrel production craft brewery/taproom with year-round & specialty beverages available at local sites and throughout Minnesota & beyond. Their beverages have won them over 65 awards. And as one of the top 10 breweries in Minnesota by barrelage, Bent Paddle is now considered a “Legacy Brewery” given the rapidly changing landscape of Minnesota beer in recent years. They're proud of their products, being 50% Women-owned, their team, community-building, awards, and for being one of the main catalyst businesses that rapidly advanced the revitalization of our Lincoln Park neighborhood in Duluth.

Visit the taproom:

https://bentpaddlebrewing.com/

1832 W Michigan Street
Duluth, MN 55806

Mix Cosmetiques is one of the only truly custom cosmetics shops in the country, and we're lucky enough to have this gem right here in Superior, WI. Cosmetics are an accessible medium for a regular creative expression practice. A huge proportion of us incorporate expressive makeup into our daily rituals and special outings. Mix Cosmetics isn't just a shop - although you can buy pre-made products. Owner/operator Lanae Rhoads specializes in creating custom, organic makeup that is specifically tailored to you, your skin, your preferences, and style. She'll sit down with you for solo or group appointment and create a fully customized cosmetic product that's uniquely yours - a custom eyeshadow palette with strong pigment, an iridescent color-shifting highlighter, the perfect vampy dark red-brown lip stick/gloss/stain, flawlessly color-matched foundations and concealers at your ideal coverage and texture. Whatever it is, you get to test it out there and Lanae will troubleshoot and modify the mixture until you love it. Pretty much anything you might find in Ulta or Sephora, from setting spray to deep hydration night creams, you can have it made specifically for you at Mix Cosmetiques. And they also offer workshops and guided instruction parties so you and your pals can dabble in some creations of your own. Whether you're 8 or 80, playing with makeup with friends is the ultimate kiki.

What Lanae never compromises on though are high quality, organic ingredients. Mineral-based skincare is built in to Mix Cosmetiques' products, and you can add extra beneficial ingredients in each. Lanae first started making skincare in 2005 after fighting skin issues for years. Just one product made a huge impact for her and she wanted to share that with everyone else. By 2012 she was deep diving into natural mineral makeup mixology. And she's recently landed some sweet gigs providing the makeup for a Broadway production run, for the cheerleaders of Minnesota Monsters (formerly known as the Duluth Harbor Monsters), for our local Sterling Dance Studio, and more.

Plus 10% of everything Mix Cosmetiques sells goes toward teaching a group women in Uganda how to make cosmetics and start and grow their own businesses. In 2015 Lanae met Prossy who runs a cosmetics store in Uganda; they immediately hit it off and made big plans to support each other.

All of this sounds really expensive, but Mix Cosmetiques' prices are actually around the same as what you'd find at Ulta or Sephora.

Whether you’re going for a clean no-makeup makeup, full drag, or an alt cute Uncle Fester kind of look, you can create exactly what you’re looking for at Mix Cosmetiques.

Visit the shop:

https://mixcosmetiques.com/

1313 Tower Ave
Superior, WI 54880