A place shaped by environment and making
Lamphere Studio for the Arts is centered on sharing the beauty of the location, the work happening on site, and the people this studio will serve. The studio is designed to be more than a workspace. It is a place where art, nature, and learning intersect, and where the creative process is visible and accessible.
More than finished work
The Lamphere Studio for the Arts (LSA) has made remarkable progress over the
last several months, particularly in the area of programming. We now have a
relationship with several schools and universities in South Dakota and are
continuing to expand our reach.
A visit from South Dakota School of Mines President Tande and faculty
culminated in 20 National Science Foundation (NSF) undergraduate research
students from across the nation coming to study the intersection between art
and engineering, focusing on the Arc of Dreams and Dignity of Earth and Sky
monuments. As a result, LSA is part of an NSF grant application submitted by
South Dakota Mines.
South Dakota State University sent a team of professors and students from the
Landscape Architecture program to spend an exciting three days with us to map
out a master plan for 20 acre usage. Their input greatly expanded our sense of possibilities
We have partnered with Security First Bank to create a major commission, an 18
foot tall stainless steel sculpture, for a new bank in Spearfish, South Dakota and are training four recent graduates from Black Hills State University in every aspect of the process from the first site visits and meetings with the client to working through fabrication and soon, installation.
A major program this season, accredited and conducted by Black Hills State
University, was a one-month course that made full use of the environment, equipment, materials, and facilities at the studio. This program is scheduled
again for spring of 2027.
Now that the academic year has begun, we will be contacting universities and
technical schools in South Dakota offering a one-week residency opportunity for
five students to assist in making the biennial Governor’s Awards in the Arts.
These will be presented by Arts South Dakota and the students during next year’s
legislative session.
In addition, we have welcomed numerous visitors and students that come for
day trips, including groups from the Nebraska Art Museum, West Hills Village,
Little Wound School and Empower Ed school in Rapid City. Our relationships with
these schools and universities will continue and expand next year.
Throughout this time, some of these classes and events have been filmed and
professionally produced in several videos that are available on our website.
For the younger students, we introduce them to the creative process. With older
students we provide opportunities to use the materials and equipment of the
studio. Our objective is to build capacity in the next generation of creators.
We are honored to have an excellent Board of Directors, including a retired
Federal Judge, a retired Community Foundation director, and a retired CPA. Just
recently we welcomed two new board members, an attorney from the Sioux Falls
area and a community leader from the Black Hills.
We are making every effort to prepare both the environment and the studio for
an exciting year ahead and feel great encouragement with what we’ve accomplished in our first season.
Grounded in its surroundings
The landscape influences how artists think, move, and create. Designers, makers, and musicians respond to the same quiet setting and steady pace.
The studio does not separate creativity from environment. It allows the land to shape the process.
Guided by experience and care
We are honored to have a Board of Directors that includes retired executives Karen Parks, Jane Murphy, Liz Hamburg, and Jeff Viken, from the Accounting, Community Organizing, Non-profit and Legal professions, along with Artist Dale Lamphere, to ensure that LSA has a solid foundation of management and sustainability.
Looking Forward
South Dakota State University sent a team of professors and students from the Landscape Architecture program to map out a preliminary master plan for the 20 acre usage. We have started implementation of the plan. Their input greatly expanded our sense of possibilities. They will return in the fall to make a presentation to our board of directors in the next 5 years.
