DULUTH, Minn. — Back in 2015, the now owner of the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Arts noticed a lack of art schools in the area.
Jeff Larson stumbled across the St. Peter’s Church, off of West 3rd street in Duluth.
“My son was an artist too and when he, together we decided to, that we wanted to open a school for those reasons to give back and pass on the knowledge that we have. And so, we just started looking for buildings and came across old saint peters church that unbeknownst to me, was shut down and power cut off, and electricity cut off. But it was a historical building in many peoples’ minds,” said owner and founder Jeff Larson.
And since they’ve opened, it’s attracted students near and far to join the program. It’s a limited space, and only four artists at a time are selected for it.
One of those students coming all the way from Connecticut to see what the academy has to offer.
“I had been doing art, painting and drawing, since I was a freshman in high school. I went to a Charter school for painting when I was in high school, and I went to university for a BFA. But it wasn’t giving me any like concrete training,” said Haley Royal, a 4th year student at the academy. “He was giving you actual skills that you can use post-graduation. Instead of starting with the more creative side without the solid foundation, to more of an approach where you’re going to learn to draw, you’re going to learn to paint, you’re going to learn the right and wrong ways to do things.”
The teaching style is hands on learning. The students have individual projects but also get to participate in figure drawing classes as well.
“It’s really a school of craftmanship. So, a nice correlation would be if you were a musician. you need to learn to read music, you need to learn to play an instrument. Hear sharps and flats. And so we’re trying to train the eye like a musician trains an ear,” said Larson.
The school left behind pieces of history while transforming. The pews were rebuilt into art easels.
But this academy is also crafting a tight knit community alongside them.
“I remember Jeff saying in our interview that his hope for his students leaving is that there’s never a painting that they want to make, that they can’t make. Because they don’t have the skillset for it. And that was pretty inspirational for me. And it’s definitely been a long journey, but it’s cool to see how much you’ve grown over the years,” said Royal.
Despite the academy having a small enrollment, the school also offers night classes open to the public, as well as youth art classes.
Coming up in May, the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Arts will host an art show, where all of their hard work will be displayed.