Area residents have the opportunity to see all kinds of wonderful art by big names like Picasso close to home.

They can also learn how to paint with water colors or make ceramic artwork without traveling far.

Those kinds of experiences are usually found in big city museums. But thanks to the presence of the Blanden Memorial Art Museum, people living in and around Fort Dodge can have that kind of interaction with the arts without traveling to New York or Chicago.

The Blanden, as it is often called, is celebrating a milestone this year. It is marking 90 years since it first opened its doors in 1932.

In the early days, the museum was open only one day a week. It was operated entirely by volunteers until 1970.

Today it has four fulltime employees. Pamela Kay may be the museum employee that visitors see the most. She’s often stationed behind the counter and her duties include bookkeeping, membership development, event planning, and managing the gift shop. Marisha Erickson is the art educator who teaches the various classes. Brad Bushman is the maintenance man. Eric Anderson is the museum director who manages the whole operation.

There is still plenty of need for volunteers, however. They can serve as docents, directing people through the museum. The members of the Blanden Memorial Art Museum Board of Directors and the Blanden Charitable Foundation board are also all volunteers.

To appreciate how special the museum is, people need to visit it and stroll through its galleries. Perhaps the first thing they will notice is that there is no admission fee. Visitors will have to hand over big bucks to see art in any of those museums in the major cities.

Once inside the museum, visitors will see paintings, sculptures and other art works that will stimulate their imaginations. Not everyone will find every exhibit to be to their liking, but that’s to be expected. Good art should spur thought, discussion and, yes, criticism.

We believe more people should take advantage of the treasure that is the Blanden Memorial Art Museum.

We thank the staff and volunteers that make the museum available to the rest of us.