Minnesota Prairie Roots

THE COMMUNITY OF NORTHFIELD is stepping up once again, as it has multiple times in recent months, to help immigrants in need following Operation Metro Surge.

From 1-5 p.m. this Sunday, March 15, the Northfield Arts Guild is hosting a Fine Art Fundraiser for Northfield Supporting Neighbors. Art created during February swap art sessions will be sold at the Guild’s Water Street Studios, 411 Water St. S. in downtown Northfield. One hundred percent of sale proceeds will go to Northfield Supporting Neighbors.

So what exactly is an art swap? It’s a group of artists gathering, creating and passing around artwork, all contributing at the same time. Basically, an artist builds on or adds to an original work of art that’s circulating around the room.

Local artists met for four two-hour sessions in February to create watercolor and acrylic art themed to Banksy’s “Flower Thrower” painting. That piece by the graffiti artist shows a masked man throwing flowers in a form of nonviolent resistance. This seems an appropriate choice given federal immigration enforcement agents wore masks and threw tear gas and other chemical irritants at protesters and resisters in Minnesota. Art has always been a tool of expression.

Now, as nearly all 3,000 federal agents have left the state (about 100 remain), recovery begins. The need is great for monies to fund legal aid, rental assistance, food and other basics among those impacted by ICE. This sale of collaborative art on Sunday is just one more way to help individuals and families who are struggling.

Northfield continues to show, via multiple fundraisers, that it cares deeply about those who call this southern Minnesota community home. They take the directive, “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” and put those words into action, this time with paint and paintbrushes.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling