The Central MN Arts Board is excited to announce the Individual Artist Award (IAA) recipients for 2026!
The Individual Artist Award provides awards in recognition and support of outstanding artists living in the Minnesota counties of Benton, Sherburne, Stearns or Wright (Region 7W). Funding for the program is generously provided by the McKnight Foundation.
Artists are invited to apply for this award once each year in January and may receive up to $5,000 in Individual Artist awards in a lifetime. A panel of arts professionals reviewed and scored each application. Those with the highest average score were recommended to the CMAB Directors for awards. CMAB Directors accepted the review panel’s recommendations at their March 12, 2026, board meeting with a total of $25,500 in awards.
The 2026 Individual Artist Award recipients are:
• Paula Decker Benfer, Visual Art – Sherburne County
• Peter Happel Christian, Visual Arts – Stearns County
• Christopher Zlatic, Visual Arts – Stearns County
• MacKenna Hanson, Visual Arts – Stearns County
• Heather Hanson, Visual Arts – Stearns County
• Marian Lyndgaard, Visual Arts – Stearns County
• Jessica Heusinkveld, Ceramic Arts – Benton County
• Charlene Ridlon, Visual Arts – Stearns County
To view samples of the winning artists’ work, visit the Central Minnesota Arts Board website at www.centralmnartsboard.org/news-events/iaa-award-announcements
The 2026 Individual Artist Award reviewers included:
Barb Kellogg: A photographer specializing in nature photography; AAS in Advertising Desing; MS in Human Development and Family Science; BA in Psychology; past recipient of Artist Career Development Grants and Individual Artist Award, She has been part of many juried group exhibits in Minnesota as well as several solo art events in the St. Cloud area, served as a board member for Avon Area Arts, a local non-profit arts organization in Avon, Minnesota.
Rebecca Pflueger: Gallery Manager and curator for the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University and facilitate professional artists both locally and nationally and creating meaningful workshops and programming around exhibitions of their work in the gallery spaces, BA in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Art History, 20+ year of working in community arts programming with various organizations in both Chicago and Minnesota, past experience as an art teacher in West Africa while serving in the Peace Corps.
Ansel Langmead: BA of Fine Arts in Dance, a visual artist focused on communicating their experiences as a white autistic disabled non-binary person through intentional shape, texture and color, experience in project, production, stage manager, lighting designer, multi-media crafter and dancer.
Patricia Dorsher: Experience in theater and music, current member of Great River Educational Arts Theatre (GREAT) sustainability committee and served many roles within the organization as staff and volunteer, a singer with the Minnesota Center Chorale, studied theater at DePaul University and classical voice with Dr. Shirely Holzer, studied ceramics and taiko drumming in Japan, played in orchestras, rock bands, and performed as a soloist in a variety of settings.
The Central Minnesota Arts Board supports collaborative and innovative arts opportunities through partnerships and financial investments in Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, and Wright counties. The CMAB is one of eleven Regional Arts Councils designated by the Minnesota State Arts Board working with community partners to increase access to the unique cultural assets of Minnesota.