Spearfish is our canvas.
We bring art out to the community: rotating exhibits on the walls of downtown businesses, a traveling art library that carries supplies to schools and community spaces, artist features in the historic theater, and an ArtWalk that turns Main Street into an opening reception. Local artists’ work, out where life already happens.
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60works of art shown downtown
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7locations turned pop-up galleries
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15community artists exhibited
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30+young artists represented
How It Works
Art Where People Already Are
Matthews-curated work hangs in the places Spearfish already loves: bookstores, coffee shops, the library, clay studios. We curate, our partners host, and the whole town becomes the gallery.
The Theater Is a Venue
The opera house itself joins the rotation, with lobby exhibits and artist features on performance nights that put visual art in front of full houses all season long.
Supplies in Open Hands
makeSPACE puts free art supplies in people’s hands every Tuesday morning, with plans to carry supplies and free programming out to schools, libraries, and senior centers.
The Spearfish ArtWalk
For nine days in June 2026, downtown Spearfish became a walkable art reception. Sixty works by fifteen community artists filled windows and walls at seven locations, alongside pieces by young artists from the Canyon Hills Center Visiting Artist Program, a partnership with Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota supported by Arts Midwest. Opening weekend receptions brought the community out to meet the artists, and the question we heard most was when we would do it again. About the ArtWalk →
The Visual Arts Program
Online Gallery
Local and regional work from the region’s artists, viewable anytime, from anywhere.
2026 Artist Opportunities
Open calls, curated shows, and every current way to exhibit with The Matthews.
Community Art Show
Our annual open show for artists of all ages, styles, and experience levels.
Spearfish ArtWalk
The community-wide celebration that turns downtown into a walkable art reception.
Visual Art Collaborations
Partnerships that put art and artists to work across the community.
makeSPACE
Free creating with supplies provided, every Tuesday morning at the Matthews.
Exhibiting with us? Reach Tia Erin, Visual Arts Coordinator, at [email protected] for terms and details.
Show your work
Open calls put your work in front of audiences downtown and beyond. Questions? Reach Tia Erin, Visual Arts Coordinator, at [email protected].
See 2026 OpportunitiesPut art on your walls
Hosting a rotating exhibit turns your space into part of the town’s gallery, and it pairs naturally with a Matthews partnership.
Explore Partnerships
Is Out There
Rotating exhibits, pop-up galleries, and an online collection you can browse anytime. Start looking.
