In 2015, community leader and arts advocate Hugh Weber introduced me to Sioux Falls’ robust arts community.

I had worked at the newspaper before this and was already keen on our local arts and culture scene, but it was as if Hugh took me backstage to get the autographs of all the big performers.

Hugh founded and ran OTA, a regional nonprofit that gathered like-minded creatives from North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.

For OTA, I helped to host many community-driven events, each with a goal to meet and inspire other makers, to feel less isolated and to make some noise in an often-ignored arts community.

Check out a new art installation:Artist Wes Eisenhauer created “Currents” as a two-story work of art for The Steel District.

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We had so much fun, and I myself was empowered.

Over two years’ time, Hugh introduced me to — just to name a few — civic leader Zach DeBoer; graphic designer and accessibility advocate Molly O’Connor; sculptor Cameron Stalheim — whose work Persistence is still my favorite piece of local artwork today; painter Jess Johnson, who at the time was running JAM Art & Supplies in the LA’bri building; musician and photographer Wes Eisenhauer — he at the time was opening The Breaks Coffee with his friend Corey Gerlach; Skullmore illustrators Marc Wagner and Les Cotton; community advocate and manager of the former Sioux Falls Design Center, Kellen Boice; philanthropist Jade Possail; Total Drag owners Dan and Liz Nissen — that was the first time I wore ear plugs to a concert on a Tuesday night with a notebook in my hand; and filmmaker and photographer Joe Hubers.

There were many more.

Hugh died two years ago but every creative he introduced me to is still a wonderful advocate in the arts today. All Hugh wanted was to be “the connector,” the one who opened our eyes to the collaborative effort that is friendship. The web he once thoughtfully spun for me is still delightfully ever tangled, and I miss him.

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New galleries, new artists

One of the friends Hugh introduced me to was Joey Schaeffer, a graphic designer, artist and professor at the University of Sioux Falls. Surely you’ve seen his work at local galleries like Ipso, the Washington Pavilion Visual Arts Center, Jeschke Art Gallery at USF, Rehfeld’s or the Museum of Visual Materials (now known as Mosaic).  

Now you can find him in the basement of the Norse Building on the corner of Phillips Avenue and 39th Street, a nondescript office space owned by local property manager Paul Gourley.

On the main floor are Gourley’s real estate offices but head downstairs and there are bright white walls and a concrete floor for a shiny new contemporary art gallery exhibiting museum-style work by South Dakota artists.

It’s an unexpected surprise.

Bravo to Gourley for using this space so thoughtfully, so community driven. It could’ve just been storage and dust, but he reached out to revitalize a small corner of our city to honor local artwork and fill a small space with big and beautiful things.

Norse Art Space was founded by Schaeffer and fellow USF professor Cody Henrichs just this past November. It came together quickly, as if the two had been waiting for the opportunity to finally come along and believed in the burgeoning contemporary arts community more than we did.

“We believe Sioux Falls is ready for a sophisticated contemporary art venue,” Schaeffer said. “We have every standard of an art museum with no restrictions. And, to the best of our knowledge, we are the only stand-alone contemporary art space.”

From November to January, the two hosted their first exhibition, an art show at the intersection of culture, environment and identity and featuring work by regional artists Ivy Oland Dandar; Rich Johns; Young Ae Kim; Cory Knedler; Eli Show; Angela Zonunpari; Keith Braveheart; Ceca Cooper; and my friends Eisenhauer, Schaeffer and Henrichs.

Remember these names, for they are helping to break the mold of contemporary art in Sioux Falls.

This month, Schaeffer and Henrichs have commenced their next exhibition, titled “Nowhere Specific” and featuring photos, installations and relics from our state’s past. Participating artists through April include my friend and local photographer Hubers; Midwest Nice Art co-founders Tim Rickett; and Epiphany Knedler and filmmaker Dalton Coffey.

But Norse Art Space is more intimate than a stroll through a gallery. Visits are appointment only, a one-on-one tour with Schaeffer and Henrichs to learn, not just look. You can book an appointment on the Norse Art Space website, www.norseartspace.com/exhibitions.

The two have created an unexpected experience that looks like the modern version of coffee and donuts in the basement church hall and feels like the living room of a savvy art collector.

Art says so much about us, and how you respond to Norse Art Space will speak of you, too.

“It’s refreshing to see a commercial gallery in Sioux Falls that’s on par with professional galleries in Minneapolis and New York,” said local painter Klaire Lockheart. She visited the inaugural show. “There are amazing contemporary artists in South Dakota, and I hope Cody and Joe will be able to connect them with local art collectors.”

Hugh would be very proud of Joe and Cody. He’d likely invite a handful of friends to visit Norse together and then bring them to his home afterward for a potluck dinner with drinks and records from Total Drag. He’d conjure the type of thought-provoking conversations about art that Joe and Cody wish you would.

Let’s get out there.

Let’s Get Out There is a weekly column from Argus Leader’s trending reporter, Angela George, who highlights local culture, entertainment, people and events.