Welcome to Art Works on Main Gallery! Our Gallery is located in a 100+ year old building on Owensville’s historic main street. It was originally built by the Koch family as a grocery store and has changed hands several times over the decades. However, neglect led to its decline and the once beautiful building had become an eyesore on First Street. That's where our story begins. Miss Anna Mae Rademacher, a retired teacher and owner of the Farmers’ Merchant Café next door, purchased the building in 2011 with the dream of creating a space for local and regional Missouri artists to exhibit, sell, demonstrate, and teach their art.

In 2015, Anna Mae sold the Farmers’ Merchant Café to focus on the gallery and converted it into a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. Our mission is to promote the arts through education, exhibits, and outreach, while also enhancing the historic downtown Owensville area. Anna Mae established a strong foundation for the gallery, and it is our goal to continue expanding our membership base and creating an endowment fund for the gallery and the Anna Mae Rademacher Arts Scholarship. This scholarship, created in honor of Anna Mae who passed away in 2016, offers up to $500 annually to seniors who plan to pursue an education in the arts (visual, theatre, music, etc.) following graduation. The scholarship competition is open to graduating seniors from OHS and HHS.

Since 2012, we have been displaying, selling, and networking with a wide range of talented and skilled artists and artisans from various locations in Missouri. We also host unique events such as our Annual Gasconade County Co. “Fair Plein Air”, and throughout the year, we offer various arts and crafts events and classes provided by our artist/artisan members and volunteers to encourage the community to participate and enjoy the arts. We hope you will come visit us and see all that we have to offer!