Virginia Townsend is a Minnesota-based painter and draftsperson whose creative process is inseparable from her lived experience with disability and post-traumatic stress. She attends an adult day program as part of her daily structure, arriving early each morning to begin her day in a community of fellow artists and trusted support staff. Her studio practice is both an emotional lifeline and a form of advocacy—an urgent and creative response to the complexity of surviving trauma, managing mental health, and navigating a world that often overlooks those whose needs aren't immediately visible. Her work is a steady act of presence and persistence, built from both her inner resilience and the relational safety she finds in shared creative spaces.

Mental health is not just a theme in Virginia Townsend’s work—it is the foundation. Living with complex PTSD, Virginia navigates a daily reality shaped by emotional intensity, physical pain, and the need for consistent support. Her art is a way to express what can’t always be said aloud, to give form to experiences that exist outside of language. Each piece is a visual representation of effort, emotion, and endurance—created not from a place of ease, but from the hard-won moments of clarity that come between episodes of survival. She paints and draws not in isolation, but in a carefully chosen environment where she feels safe—surrounded by other artists and staff who can help her stay grounded when the weight of past trauma becomes too heavy. Her practice is both therapeutic and radical: a declaration that she exists, feels, creates, and deserves to be seen as she is. Her paintings have resonated deeply with collectors who seek art that evokes introspection, depth, and presence.

My creative toolkit is rooted in intentional challenge and self-discipline. In my paintings, I use only two specific brands of acrylic paint on wood panels—choosing to limit my materials not out of necessity, but as a deliberate act of artistic rigor. I believe that mastering the fundamentals—like depth, texture, and movement—through brushwork and palette knife alone pushes me to become the best painter I can be. For me, this approach is like baking from scratch: developing every layer of complexity by hand, rather than relying on pre-mixed effects or external mediums.

My drawings follow the same principle of restraint, and are grounded in human connection. My pen and ink portraits are intentionally raw, capturing people not as polished figures but as emotionally open beings. Each drawing is an attempt to hold space for vulnerability, with no erasure, no hiding. The permanent nature of ink mirrors the permanence of lived experience. Using careful line work and minimalist detail, I draw attention to facial expressions, hand gestures, and subtle body language that communicate far more than words ever could. These works offer a counterpoint to my abstract work—bringing the emotional into figurative focus.

Virginia Townsend - Visual Artist, Painter
Born in 1986 in Texas, USA
Resides and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

EDUCATION/TRAINING
2011
Bachelor of Arts, Languages and Cultures of Asia-Turkish, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

GRANTS + AWARDS
2024
Midwest Award for Artists with Disabilities, recipient, Arts Midwest, August 14
2023
Creative Individuals FY 2024 recipient, Minnesota State Arts Board + National Endowment for the Arts, Oct. 12
Best in Show winner, Artability, group exhibition, People Incorporated, St Paul, MN, Oct. 27

MEMBERSHIPS + WORK EXPERIENCE
2024
Visual Artist, Midwest Special Services (MSS), Eagan, MN — Licensed day program supporting artists with disabilities
2023
Application Panel Reviewer, Minnesota State Arts Board FY 2024 Arts Education Grant
2019-24
Visual Artist, Interact Center for Visual & Performing Arts, St Paul, MN — Licensed day program for artists and actors with disabilities

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025
In Response, forthcoming, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, May-July, 2025, Minneapolis, MN, solo exhibition
2023
Great Big Holiday Sale, Interact Gallery, St Paul, MN, group exhibition
Artability, People Incorporated, Union Depot, St Paul, MN, group exhibition
Rooted in Nature, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska, MN, group exhibition
20 painting mural, Interact Center lobby, Saint Paul, MN, solo installation
Bona Fide, Fresh Eye Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, group exhibition
Three month lease of four selected works, Bold Orange, Minneapolis, MN, solo installation
2022
Great Big Holiday Sale, Interact Gallery, Saint Paul, MN, group exhibition
Uniquinox: Tarot Alive, Interact Gallery, Saint Paul, MN, group exhibition
2021
Zoomtopia, Interact Gallery (online), group exhibition
2020
Great Big Holiday Sale, Interact Gallery, Saint Paul, MN, group exhibition
Free Not $Free, Interact Gallery (online), solo exhibition
We Are Not Disposable, Interact Gallery (online), group exhibition
2019
Groundswell, Artspace Jackson Flats, Minneapolis, MN, group exhibition
Art Crawl, Group Show, Interact Center, Saint Paul, MN, group exhibition

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
2025
In Response: Artist Talk, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Minneapolis, MN

2023
Artist talk, Zoom, Bold Orange, Minneapolis, MN
2021
Panelist, Zoom, Neurodiverse Literature and Art, Online panel cohosted by Minnesota Humanities Center and Cow Tipping Press

PUBLICATIONS, COLLABORATIONS, & LICENSING
2024
Artability, advertising, print and online, Fall
KARE11 - Local News, “Artability sale highlights pieces from artists with mental health diagnoses,” Oct 24, 2024
CBS News/WCCO - Local News, “People Incorporated preps for 30th annual Artability Art Show and Sale” Oct 23, 2024
Turn Back Toward Tomorrow, cover art, Cow Tipping Press book, Spring
2023
Art Partners Group, licensing
Day and Night Spell zine, editor and contributing artist, Interact Gallery
2022
Happy New Year card, cover art, 350 count, Media Minefield, Minneapolis, MN
2021
Moon Made of Chicken, cover art, Cow Tipping Press book, Summer
Ya Mo Da La Va, cover art, Cow Tipping Press book, Spring
Snow in Texas, cover art, Cow Tipping Press book, Spring
2019
Do Fart Make Art zine, contributing artist (pseud. Abbi M.), Interact Gallery, Fall/Winter

NOTABLE PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
2022
University of Minnesota, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Minneapolis, MN, permanent collection, June
Minnetonka United Health Care, Minnetonka, MN, April