ELY- When Ian Lah took the helm as executive artistic director of the Northern Lakes Arts Association in May of last year, he said he saw opportunity for growth. The 2012 graduate of Ely Memorial High School is a professionally trained actor, singer, and dancer, and he was eager to prove that “investing in the arts only creates a more vibrant community.”
Bringing growth and change to a longtime community organization is always a challenge, but Lah, along with a committed board of directors, has worked to expand the impact of the 35-year old arts organization in the area, recruiting professional actors to work alongside talented locals for the ambitious first-ever “Broadway in the Boundary Waters” 2023 summer season, and expanding opportunities for area youth in musical theater, dance, and visual arts.
Two major changes, just announced this week, are poised to give NLAA even a larger impact on the community. The organization is merging with two other existing area nonprofit arts groups, the Ely Area Concert Association and Greenstone Arts.
“Both of these organizations have been pillars of the local arts scene, contributing to Ely’s cultural tapestry,” said Lah. “All three organizations share the same mission of creating an Ely where all people have access to the wonder of the arts. We are very excited to see how this injection of new life and energy into these projects benefits our community.”
Lah said NLAA started talking with Greenstone Arts last year.
“Some of our nonprofit leaders in Ely are getting to the age where they don’t want to maintain active boards anymore,” he said. A merger with Greenstone builds on both groups’ missions, and as a bonus, Greenstone was able to transfer their endowment, earmarked specifically for youth visual arts programming, to the umbrella of NLAA.
The Ely Area Concert Association, which Lah said had been led by a dedicated group of mostly retirees, struggled to reorganize after the pandemic put an end to their planned concert season in 2020.
“They really liked the energy they were seeing at NLAA,” said Lah, who remembers how he looked forward to the concerts as a child growing up in Ely. “Now we get to take it and grow it into the 2020s,” he said. “We want to engage both sides, the old Ely and the new Ely. These are incredible concerts and acts that would never make it to our area.” He said he also expects to bring in regional acts through connections the NLAA has through its various board members.
“This merger comes at a time when the arts are more essential than ever, offering joy, inspiration, and unity,” he said. “The vision is to create a cultural renaissance, preserving remarkable performances while incorporating a broader spectrum of artistic experiences accessible to everyone in Ely and beyond.”
Lah said they are hoping to restart the concert series in 2024.
This summer’s “Broadway in the Boundary Waters” went very well, said Lah. The experiment of bringing in a group of professional actors to put on a series of three shows, as well as regular free performances in Whiteside Park, “broke even financially,” which was the goal for the first-time event. It also grew connections between the actors and the community.
“It was incredible to see the support,” Lah said.
“Next year we are going to do a fourth show, starting in early June,” Lah said.
Lah attended the Unified Professional Theater Auditions in Memphis, Tenn., where he found most of the actors for the 2023 season and rounded out the rest of the troupe through other national online auditions. He plans to attend the auditions in Memphis again in February, as well as holding local and regional auditions for the troupe.
“We are looking for incredible talent, people who connect with our mission, and those who will enjoy experiencing a summer in the Northwoods.”
Donate
NLAA has been given up to a $10,000 matching grant by the IRRRB. All donations given through Nov. 30 will be doubled. As of this week, over $7,000 had been donated (and will be doubled). Support the Northern Lakes Arts Association today and watch as your ripples of kindness turn into waves of transformation. See more at https://www.northernlakesarts.org/donate.