Our Mission
Northfield Arts Guild’s mission is to inspire artists of all ages and skill levels with inclusive opportunities, connect audiences to new art and ideas, and grow our increasingly diverse audience to strengthen our community.
Our Vision
We envision a community thriving with curiosity and creativity, where everyone is enriched by the arts.
Our History
In 1959 a visionary group of artists and patrons saw that what Northfield needed most was a gathering space for the arts, where everyone is welcome and included.
Meeting around a kitchen table, these founders planned the Guild’s first ever production, Ah Wilderness, which opened on August 20, 1959 at a former church on West Third Street. The Guild continued to program at the site, acquiring it in 1961 as our permanent first home. Over the next two decades, the Guild grew to offer programming in theater, visual arts, arts education and more.
In 1979, the Guild expanded with the addition of our downtown building, continuing the building’s rich civic history – first built as a YMCA in 1885. Our downtown site provided the Guild with space for a large gallery, dedicated studio/classroom space, a gift shop, and offices. In 1988 the Guild purchased the building, and we continue to present abundant programming in theater, music, visual arts and arts education within these two historic buildings. In 2017 we expanded programming to provide free and collaborative arts outreach activities throughout Northfield. It is thanks to the efforts of our community that the Guild was created and continues to thrive.
Today, it is hard to imagine Northfield without the Guild. Thousands of people visit the Guild annually, enjoying nearly 100 annual arts events and 30 or more weekly art classes. The Guild is also very active in developing Northfield as an arts tourism destination, acting as fiscal agent and business consultant for several projects.
Interested in learning more? Read about the history of the Guild from founder Myrna Johnson’s perspective or watch the video below featuring Marie Sathrum, Myrna Johnson, and Sue Shepard (first Executive Director) on the founding of the Guild. The video was recorded as part of a Northfield Historical Society’s Oral History Project.
Founding of the Northfield Arts Guild from Hayes Scriven on Vimeo.
