Landmark Education Features Graduate Art Exhibit

I wonder how many businesses would organize, hang and host an art exhibit as part of a two-day course?  

That’s exactly what , 4620 W. 77th St., Edina, did April 14-15 for a course called Direct Access attended by 154 people. Participants came from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota and even Winnipeg, Manitoba. The course was facilitated by Angie Mattingly of Philadelphia, PA, one of 50 Landmark Forum leaders.

First let me tell you a little about the company, Landmark Education, which is a global transformational company with 53 offices—including one in Edina—in 20 countries around the world. Over 2.5 million people have participated in their programs which are offered in 10 languages for three age groups: young people from eight to 12, teens from 13 to 17 and the adult Forum for age 18 and above. The oldest person to participate in a course was over 100 years old. 

The foundation course is called The Landmark Forum, a three-day and an evening seminar touted in a Time Magazine March 2011 article as “A natural first step on anyone’s transformational tour.” Landmark Education has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and on several national television programs.  

Many companies and organizations encourage their employees to attend The Landmark Forum because of the results people produce once they complete the course. Among national and international companies whose employees have done Landmark’s programs are Reebok, Lulu Lemon and Panda Express. Two local companies are Cedar’s of Edina, an apartment complex and Salsa ala Salsa, a Mexican restaurant in Minneapolis.

About 3,000 people currently take seminars and programs in the Edina office located on two levels of the Pentagon Park Complex. Over 50,000 people have participated in programs since the first Edina Landmark office opened on Ohms Lane in the early 1990’s. 

Dr. David Stussy, owner of Kenwood Chiropractic Arts in Minneapolis and David Silver, Corcoran, MN,  are credited with “bringing Landmark Education to Minnesota.” Before an office was officially established here, a workspace was located in the lower level of Stussy’s office.  

With full disclosure, I am a long-time participant of Landmark’s programs and seminars.  I have led some of their programs, have been on staff and along with my husband have been taking their seminars for over 17 years.  According to independent research, 94% of participants said that The Landmark Forum made a “profound, lasting difference in the way they live their lives.”  Being in Landmark courses has my life work in a positive and profound way.

Now about the art: I was the Curator for and a participating artist in the show organized by graduates of the Landmark Forum for a course called Direct Access.   My artwork in the show included photographs and Edina Sculptures, a photo book featured in a previous Edina Patch blog. 

In conjunction with the art exhibit, music in the form of a singer/songwriter who sang in the Art Gallery and I even played my Native American flute during breaks adding a relaxing atmosphere to the event. At the end of the course, a salsa dance group performed about five minutes to the surprise of the participants.

The art exhibit featured 67 works by 20 graduates of The Landmark Forum including 15 women and five men ranging in age from 34 to 72. Some of the artists also participated  in the course. It was an amazingly diverse show featuring ceramics, porcelain, acrylics, stained glass, quilting, oil paintings, digital photography, four books (on humor, photo books and a Field Guide to the Constellations), lace knitting, mosaics, Minnesota State Fair Blue Ribbon seed art, brass sculpture, fused glass, weaving, music CDs, cross stitch and 24-karat gold/sterling silver jewelry.  

Most of the art and craft items were for sale ranging in price from $15 to $1,200 with several items being sold during the weekend. A few of the artists make their living through their art, however, the majority create art as a self expression, hobby or a past time. 

It took about 25 hours and four willing, committed and tireless volunteers to organize and hang the two-day exhibit which was extremely well received by the participants. 

Rory Huschka, Edina, a medical technologist and educator at Medtox Scientific, said, “Having the art present created a very unique experience. I was very impressed with wide variety of artwork and even more so the quality of the art.  Not only did it add interest, beauty, and 'a calm' to the space, it provided a way for people to connect through conversation.  I truly believe that the space that the art created added a depth to the course that would not have been experience without the artwork.  It was also great to see the talented artists in and from our area.” 

Phillip Rand, Edina, sold his St. Louis Park  chiropractic and acupuncture business to become the Landmark Center Manager for the Edina office in 2011. Asked why the company had an art show as part of a two-day course, Rand said, “We added the art show to the Direct Access program to leave people with an extraordinary customer service experience. Nothing taps into people’s experience more than art.” 

Increasingly, research shows that viewing and creating art has a positive and profound impact on people’s well being. 

To find out more about Landmark Education and its programs, Rand recommends going to landmarkeducation.com or calling the office (952-893-1515) to learn the schedule for introductions to the Landmark Forum. He also recommends reading the New York Times best seller, Three Laws of Performance, Rewriting the Future of Your Organization and Your Life by Steve Zaffron and Dave Logan.

My only other experience with a company heavily into art was a very brief stint many years ago as a temp at Regis Corporation headquarters in Edina. I was blown away by the extraordinary and massive private collection of Regis founder Myron Kunin of American Modern art from 1900-1950 as well as photography and many items from Africa.  The art hanging on the walls and in glass cases around the building made the experience of going to work exciting. Each day I’d discover a new art item I hadn’t seen before which added to the enjoyment of my job. 

With Edina’s new ‘do.town’ initiative, I’d be interested to hear from and write about more Edina businesses, organizations and groups that promote unusual art or cultural events.