Kristi Kuder is the current president of Art of the Lakes.

Art of the Lakes, Battle Lake’s premier Arts organization and gallery, has a sixty-year history in town.

In the autumn of 1965, several local artists offered an art class. The class attracted enough interest that eleven artists decided to establish an arts organization. By the Fall of 1968, they had been incorporated as Art of the Lakes.

The newly formed organization held exhibits and workshops wherever they could find space but eventually wanted a permanent place to display art. They purchased the old Clitherall Town Hall for $50 and moved it to the location on what is now Good Samaritan property (where the flea market used to be).

For 30 years, the organization expanded offerings at this location. The renovated town hall made a charming gallery, attracting tourists and visitors all summer; workshops brought snowbirds and residents together to explore the arts, and their first Arts & Crafts Affair held in 1977 on downtown sidewalks was a big hit.

In 1994, Art of the Lakes started Phelps Mill Festival with a Regional Arts Grant to expand arts into the county. So successful, the Otter Tail County Commissioners asked them to organize a festival the next year. Since that time, it has been run by the Phelps Mill Festival organization.

In 1998, Art of the Lakes purchased the Super-Ette grocery store downtown and— with long hours and a lot of elbow grease—turned the space into the gallery and Arts destination you see here. The gallery features a stunning array of art, along with workshops, presentations, and exhibits. Summer’s offerings include an Artists’ Studio Tour in July and the Art & Craft Affair in August.

Until 2010, the galley and organization were run entirely by volunteers, but today part-time staff manage office and accounting. Still, every renovation has been the work of volunteers and every festival, studio tour, and exhibit planned and executed by volunteers. Its large membership consists of artists and art-lovers, its outreach, in the thousands.

Art of the Lake’s success speaks to the power of talented and dedicated people with vision and a love for the Arts.