Rural Regenerator Fellowship: Connection, Exchange and Solidarity
By Springboard for the Arts
The creative hub that is Fergus Falls just got a little bigger! We’re delighted to welcome Wade Underwood, Angelique LaPointe, and Eli Zemper to the Falls Community Arts Exchange.
The selected artists will be collaborating with 3 Fergus Falls staples on community-centered projects throughout their time in town: the Fergus Falls Public Library, Victor Lundeens Printing, and Outstate Brewing! Each artist will experience a 4-week partnership with one of the partner organizations, and receive a $4000 stipend, lodging, and Springboard staff support throughout their stay. From the artists themselves, here’s what they’re looking forward to:
Wade: “I’m so excited to be back home working with the community that raised me and to be partnering with Outstate right on the banks of the Otter Tail River.”
Angelina: “As a printmaker, I serve as an informal historian, voice for my community, and steward of traditional craft and equipment. Participating in the Falls Community Arts Exchange affords me the rare opportunity to print alongside others who share and enjoy this work within the heart of their own community. I am so excited to meet and collaborate with the Victor Lundeen Company and the people of Fergus Falls.”
Eli: “I’m excited to participate in the Fergus Falls Artist Exchange because it offers an opportunity to explore how art can create connection, belonging, and delight in everyday life. I’m especially interested in learning from the people, stories, and traditions of Fergus Falls and discovering what we can make together that neither of us could create alone!”
Wade Underwood
He/him
Duluth, MN on Dakota and Anishinaabe land
Wade is a producer, songwriter, and mix engineer born and raised in Fergus Falls, MN. After formative years playing in garage bands around his hometown, Wade has since recorded and performed extensively in the Twin Cities and around the greater Midwest. Today, he operates out of his home studio, finding equal inspiration from today’s generation of self-recording artists and yesterday’s purveyors of soft-rock and soul.
Wade will be partnering with Outstate Brewing from July 20 to August 17, 2026.
Angelina LaPointe
She/her
Lompoc, California
Angelina LaPointe is a Lompoc, California-based multidisciplinary artist who specializes in block and letterpress printing. The founder of Sidecar Press, her vibrant, intricate works — rooted in inclusive values and themes of nostalgia and memory — range from portraiture to her native state’s flora and fauna, encompassing fine art, public art, and illustrative commercial sensibilities. LaPointe’s work also revolves around the tension that arises from contrast, not only in the black and white of the medium, but in the use of turn-of-the-century technology in our modern world.
Angelina will be collaborating with Victor Lundeen’s Printing Company from October 19 to November 16, 2026.
Eli Zemper
She/her/hers
Chelsea, Michigan
Eli Zemper is a Michigan-based artist, educator, and founder of Curiouser Clay and Moxie Works Studio. She creates community-centered art experiences that bring people together through clay, storytelling, and collaborative making. Her work is driven by a belief that creativity can build connection, belonging, and delight in everyday life. A fun fact: Eli is a competitive powerlifter who can deadlift more than 300 pounds.
Eli will be collaborating with the Fergus Falls Public Library from January 12 to February 5, 2027.
The Falls Community Arts Exchange invites artists to experience and engage with the vibrant arts community in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and connect with Springboard’s work and advocacy in rural creative community development. Learn more.
Featured image by Brittanni Smith.
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