I am really excited at this time of year that we can stop and take a look at what we’ve accomplished, year after year,”

HPAC President Kathy O’Keefe

The Hastings Prescott Arts Council held its Gala for the Arts Sunday evening at the Hastings Arts Center.
The event gave the organization the opportunity to update attendees – both in-person and virtually – on accomplishments of HPAC and big plans for the future. The 2024 Arts Heroes were also honored at the event: Bill and Amy Sylvander of Hastings and Prescott native Chris Falteisek.
HPAC President Kathy O’Keefe thanked attendees and the Hastings Arts Center for making the facility available for the event.
“I am really excited at this time of year that we can stop and take a look at what we’ve accomplished, year after year,” she said. “It just brings me to tears how much we have accomplished. With all of your support, we have our programs that we continue to do year after year, and every year, we add new programs to that.”
Hastings Mayor Mary Fasbender commented on the impact of arts on the community, noting formation at the city level of the Hastings Arts and Culture Commission to help spearhead projects in the community.
“I love the arts commission. I want to give them a shout out, along with HPAC,” she said. “The Hastings Arts and Culture Commission was established in 2023, and they have done so much work for our community.”
Board member Steven Read noted that through the Hastings Arts and Culture Commission, a mural has been commissioned for the Hastings Civic Ice Arena celebrating Hockey Day Minnesota coming to Hastings in 2026.
“It’s really cool to see everybody come together and everybody work together just to make Hastings more beautiful and bring more arts into our community,” said Read.
Board members Erin Hyden and treasurer Scott Northard introduced news of a new space for groups and artists to work and collaborate. HPAC is taking over the building south of the Hastings Post Office at 213 Ramsey St. That portion of the building is owned by the City of Hastings, and HPAC is leasing it for the new HPAC Creative Space.
“It’s really important that there are places, physical places, to support artists, where they can show their work, but we also want to have collaboration spaces,” said Hyden. “We’ve been getting a lot of feedback from the community that we need a collaboration space, more of a maker space, where people can come if they want to.”
In combination with arts-related business downtown, she said it will be like an “arts district.”
“One of the coolest things about this building that we’re going into is the accessibility. You can walk to it. It’s right downtown. It’s absolutely in the center of all these different places that sell art, that make art. We have classrooms. We have flex space where different groups can meet up,” said Hyden. “
Northard noted that it can be utilized by various groups, such as the River Valley Band and others, that are supported by HPAC, as well as other community organizations.
“This is a space that we can bring them all together and collaborate on projects and provide opportunities for artists and the artists’ community in Hasting to continue to develop and to show their work and demonstrate what they do. We’re excited about it,” he said.
The Sylvanders and Falteisek join a growing group of Arts Heroes honored since the inception of HPAC in 2008. The Sylvanders have been involved with HPAC since its earliest days, inspired by their neighbor, HPAC founder Dick Graham. Bill, a talented painter and picture framer, continues to create art alongside peers at the Artist Colony in Prescott. Ann played a pivotal role in establishing the Orange Dragon Art Gallery in Prescott in 2012, dedicating countless hours to organizing artists, planning programs, and fundraising.
Falteisek began his musical journey with piano lessons as a child, launching an early career as an accompanist and composer. Today, Chris serves as the Director of Music at Christ Episcopal Church of Woodbury and frequently accompanies services at several churches across Minnesota and Wisconsin, including St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Hastings and St. Mathias Catholic Church in Hampton.