Healing survivors, strengthening futures

Mobridge Artist Association (MAA) was incorporated as a formal nonprofit in 2019, but the association has been in existence for 50 years. Their goal is to spread creativity, art opportunities, and artwork across our community. The next nearest artist association to MAA is 100 miles away. The small but might group puts on one of the largest and most outstanding art shows in the region each year.

Mobridge Artist Association serves all ages. The art show has a vibrant student art section and offers a unique opportunity for local artists to showcase their work. People from all over the state attend each year. MMA also offer youth and adult art classes throughout the year, providing a safe place for people to freely learn and create art. 

At this year's art show, there were almost 100 pieces more than last year, and 524 pieces of artwork total. MMA also had 12 local and regional artist vendors. Both numbers were record highs for the organization. They hosted 210 artists, up from 169 artists in 2025, and had approximately 1,000 attendees during the 2-day show.

This year, we had a dad that entered in some of his kids’ artwork. He wasn’t at one of our schools, and the child placed. That child got featured in the local newspaper and on the school website. The smile on the child’s face when they saw that ribbon makes all this work worth it.

Our programs are built by and for rural, frontier, low-income, and tribal communities. The annual art show gives artists in our underserved region a platform to share their work with others. This event is the closest many residents get to seeing an art gallery or art museum. Our region has vibrant art communities when it comes to traditional and modern indigenous and western arts.

Our Association is growing, like our art show and programs, and we want to use that momentum to further our mission this year and improve our community. We recently applied for a grant to help us replace the peg board for our standards, which was lost in the Homestead Lumber fire where they were stored by a volunteer, repair a few of the bases, and purchase an additional 15 since we are running out of room! We also applied for funds for an art installation idea, but are currently raising additional funds before we can have a big reveal.

Next year, we hope to invest in a website for our organization. We could use all 5 of the T’s—time, talent, treasure, ties, and testimony, but the one this organization is most ready to accept is time. They are trying to grown their membership. If you have a specific skill set in the art realm, they would love help putting on classes. They meet once a month and talk about ideas. They also need a lot of short-term help for the Art Show each year in April. They would love to gain 5 to 10 new volunteer members this holiday season.

Address:

1121 N Main St

PO Box 851

Mobridge, SD 57601