Eastbank Artists, Inc., was formed in 1976 by three La Crosse, Wisconsin, area artists, Pat Swartz, Janet Larson and Sonja Adams, who wanted more visibility and marketing of their artistic products. The threesome were non-traditional students in the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse art program. The idea was to form an organization similar to an art co-op, and over 40 serious area artists attended the informational meeting.
In 1977, the Eastbank Artists was incorporated and stated their purpose "to promote, encourage, increase the public's knowledge and appreciation for the arts; to coordinate and provide services to the arts to foster their growth and practice; and to carry out all other purposes necessary or incident to the above..." The group worked closely with Audrey Kader and the Western Wisconsin Regional Arts program and were the first to exhibit in WWRA's new home, the Pump House in Dec. 1978. Until that time, the Pump House was used by the city of La Crosse to house its city vehicles. Eastbank Artists helped the fledgling WWRA operation by manning the Pump House on weekends from 1981 to March 1984.
Christmas Shows are popular and were held initially in members' and patrons' homes. The peak gross sales was $7,073 in 1981. Shows were also held at the UW-L gallery as juried events. The organization hosted exhibits at the Pump House until 1999, when WWRA executives decided to pursue different goals and wanted to take over more of the exhibit space a the Pump House. Eastbank Artists, Inc., is still active today and continues to promote and show the work of La Crosse area artists.
