A Visual Celebration of our Community

THE MANKATO COMMUNITY COLLAGE

In honor of the Mankato Area Foundation’s 50th anniversary, we partnered with photographer Josh Madson to expand the reach of his Community Collage project.

The Collage, which culminated in a free, large-scale exhibit of 5,000+ portraits of individuals, friends, families and coworkers, was created from two-minute photo sessions held across the community during 2024.

One of the goals in sponsoring this project was to highlight what truly makes our community so special—the people.

We are grateful to Madson, his team, and everyone who participated in, contributed to, and supported this visual celebration of the remarkable place we live, work, and play. Enjoy!

To learn more about current exhibits or photo sessions, please visit: communitycollage.org

Behind the lens:

Josh Madson brings an eye for compassion to Collage

During one of the thousands of photo sessions Josh Madson did this year, he specifically complimented the eyelashes of one of the participants, noting how they were a strong feature and something that “popped” during their two-minutes together.

Madson, the charismatic artist behind the camera at every Community Collage photo session has an uncanny ability to connect with each person he photographs—something that has helped make the Collage so popular and powerful.

Later, that participant said she had lost all of her eyelashes during chemotherapy and had been struggling to grow them back. It was a small thing, she said, but was a daily reminder of the cancer and how she just wanted to look in the mirror and feel a bit like herself again.

That fleeting comment during Madson’s trademark, nonstop commentary—he wears a microphone during the shoots to keep focus on the subject and to engage others—meant everything to her.

How did he know? He didn’t.

But Madson’s eye for assessing each person, group or family—in seconds and on the spot—changed the scope of the Community Collage from simply taking photos to capturing an entire story in a portrait.

And it’s these stories, which can be found throughout this publication in the form of photos, that made this project such a joy to bring to the community.

Madson and his team create a welcoming, fun and inclusive vibe for all. This could mean turning down the upbeat music that is usually pumping through the photo space if he sees a participant may be sensitive to sounds. It could be creating a fun opportunity for a group of nonprofit staff who are normally working to provide basic needs for others. Or, it could be simply seeing people for who they are, at that moment.

But these moments are typical for Madson. So typical, in fact, one might say, he may not even bat an eyelash at it.