From artists to performers, local talent shines at Washington Pavilion
This piece is sponsored by Washington Pavilion Management Inc.
At 91, Hazel Belvo proves art is ageless.
“Painters don’t retire,” she said with a laugh. “My whole life has been in the arts.”
Belvo, who still paints from her Minneapolis studio, technically transitioned in 1999 to professor emerita at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where she chaired the division of fine arts, then continued to teach at Grand Marais Art Colony until 2018.
For more than 60 years, her art has been included in major public, private and museum collections, including the Steinway Collection in New York, the Bezalel Museum in Israel, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis’ Weisman Art Museum and the Minnesota Museum of American Art in St. Paul.
Through May 31, her work will be exhibited at the Washington Pavilion’s Visual Arts Center. Titled “Resurrection: A Feminist Perspective,” it’s a series of large-scale paintings that honor the resilience and endurance of the feminine spirit. Additionally, each painting serves as a metaphor for Mother Earth, capturing cycles of struggle, renewal and hope.
Belvo’s friend and former art student Ginny Freitag thought the Washington Pavilion would be an ideal fit for the work and made the connection.
“Hazel’s ‘Resurrection’ series is an amazing testament to the strength and resilience of women. The scale, the color, the brushstroke and the narrative bring us all in to think about our experiences of love, loss and change,” she said. “I love Hazel Belvo, and I am forever thankful for being able to see the world through her eyes.”
From Belvo’s perspective, “the body of work seemed appropriate for today, and I was very pleased because it was good to get them out of storage and have them exhibited,” she said. “They sent me photographs of the installation, and I think it’s really wonderful.”
She plans to see it in person at an artist reception from 6 to 8 p.m. April 17.
“We were immediately drawn to her use of color and feminist perspective,” lead curator Jana Anderson said.
“These paintings are full of life, movement and energy. They are unapologetic in how she treats her figurative subjects, and they are intimate and raw in a way that asks the viewer to sit with their own vulnerability. Hazel’s work is well known in Minnesota, and we felt like these works needed to be seen by a wider audience.”
Belvo is one of many local and regional artists whose work is exhibited at the Washington Pavilion — part of the organization’s mission to uplift their work and showcase the area’s creative community.
“By showing both local and national artists in the same space, we create an intersection that reflects the cultural and social ideas that resonate both here and beyond,” Anderson said. “There is always a balance that we try to strike, but our local and regional artists strengthen the Visual Arts Center through a deep community connection and reinforce our commitment to artistic excellence and regional identity.”
Other local work currently at the Visual Arts Center includes “Becoming Midwest: Life Between,” produced by Kristin Gifford of Minnesota and Judy Thompson of Iowa, in addition to the following South Dakota artists:
- Michael Baum, “The Space Between.”
- Amy Jarding, Emily Anderson and Sue Kaihoi, “Interwoven: Fiber in Three Voices.”
- Marty Two Bulls, “Inyan Wakan.”
- “Teachers as Artists,” an exhibition featuring artwork by art teachers from the Sioux Falls School District.
For details on all exhibitions, visit here.
To submit an idea for a solo or group exhibition, review information here and email [email protected].
The opportunity for artists to show their work regionally and locally is key, Belvo said.
“I think it’s immeasurably important,” she said. “For an artist to have their work seen where they live and produce work is really very important — as important as it is to see your work with artists from all over the world. It’s really important to have places like the Washington Pavilion.”
That same opportunity extends to the stage.
Good Night Theatre Collective was founded in 2016 and began producing its shows at the Washington Pavilion’s Belbas Theater and Schulte Room six years ago.
“We’ve been able to grow our audience significantly since moving to the Pavilion, both due to increased capacity and the association with being housed in the city’s most well-known performing venue,” operations director Luke Tatge said.
Now in its 10th season, Good Night Theatre will produce “Pride & Prejudice” and “Chicago” coming up in the spring.
“Beyond that, we’ve plotted out what our 2026-27 season looks like, including ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ in spring 2027, and are happy to be performing all six productions in the Belbas,” Tatge said.
“Good Night got its start as a scrappy, grassroots, independent theater company, and that work ethic, focus on intentionality and prioritization of positive artist and patron experience has always been part of our DNA. Our long-term hope is that we’ll be able to continue entertaining Sioux Falls by uncovering opportunities for performing artists and technicians to tap into their talents.”
Working with the Washington Pavilion “has been incredible,” he said, adding that it allows room for long-term growth and the services of a top-notch tech team.
“To be able to tap into the audio, visual and technical prowess of the Pavilion’s staff has been a game-changer for us, and we’ve valued being able to rely on that consistent quality show after show,” Tatge said.
“We feel a mutual investment in local performing arts in our partnership with the Pavilion — that our organization’s time and financial investment is returned with an earnest investment in our mission and what we’re trying to accomplish locally. That’s been powerful for our ability to operate with excellence.”
The Washington Pavilion and Orpheum Theater Center support local performers of all ages and abilities. The Spotlight Theatre Company draws hundreds of young performers to learn and showcase their ability.
“My favorite part of this job, other than the incredible team I get to work alongside, is finding creative and impactful ways to work with our local artists,” said Bob Wendland, director of performances.
“I’ve been working with that program for 15 years, and the impact it makes on the lives of so many young people and their families in this community is nothing short of awe-inspiring.”
Spotlight students enjoy direct access to Broadway and touring professionals who come through Sioux Falls.
“With workshops and master classes and Q&As, our students get multiple opportunities to connect with folks who are actively living out these young peoples’ dream job, and it’s such a unique partnership we get to engage in with the touring professionals,” Wendland said.
It’s also the third year of Washington Pavilion Management’s Live & Local series, which has paid nearly $50,000 to local artists who have performed there. Season four will launch in the coming months.
“We’ve had musicians and comedians and actors and aerial artists and even a juggler,” Wendland said.
“Discovering the depth and variety of talent in our area has really been motivating and has kept us excited to carry onward with this series. This is such a key program to our mission. It gives us the opportunity to literally pay artists to perform on the same stages that host live entertainers from all over the world.”
Often, patrons will comment on the high level of talent in the community, he added.
“I’ve also been really motivated lately to get creative with local artists on filling some of our venues on open nights, creating deals that keep their expenses really low and give them high potential for profitable ticket sales in one of our many world-class and state-of-the-art venues,” Wendland said.
“It’s been very fun to be in the trenches with local artists dreaming of projects we can collaborate on together. Plus, every member of the Performances team at the Washington Pavilion and Orpheum Theater Center is an artist in their own right. They bring performances and live entertainment to life in our venues in a truly radiant way.”
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