Stevens Square Center For The Arts

The Neighborhood Show
June 5 – 28, 2009
Opening Night Reception on Friday, June 5 from 7 – 10 pm

Framed by two major freeways and a narrow strip of Franklin Avenue, Stevens Square/Loring Heights is the smallest—and the most densely populated—neighborhood in the entire city, comprising a total area of just 0.26 square miles.

Most of the 4,000 residents of Stevens live within just four blocks of one another, in the historic brownstone apartments surrounding Stevens Square Park. It is a neighborhood in transition, a border zone where downtown developers rub shoulders with homeless veterans, and Victorian mansions butt-up against group homes and subsidized apartments (20 percent of the neighborhood’s residents live below the Federal Poverty Level).

Yet, despite its small size, Stevens Square has always had a disproportionately high number of artists living and working within the neighborhood.

Perhaps this is because of the neighborhood’s close proximity to two major art museums and the Minneapolis College of Art & Design (MCAD). Or perhaps it is the combination of low rents, dozens of ethnic restaurants, and locally-owned small businesses that lures people to the Stevens community.

Whatever the reason, Stevens has become a hot spot for the arts: from Zine Fest and the annual Red Hot Art Festival, to Cinema and Civics in the Park and the ongoing theater and VocalEssence performances at Plymouth Church, there’s a whole lot of creative activity taking place within the space of a quarter-mile.

It is no coincidence that Third Avenue is now referred to as the “Avenue of the Arts.”

Opening Night Reception

Live Jazz performance by Bigbody Applehead, beginning at 8:00 pm

The printmaker’s art has always flourished during times of tremendous social change. Prints and posters were one of the earliest forms of mass communication, and their ability to convey an instant message has lost none of its power to affect our emotions –even in the midst of the digital age. The enduring popularity of hand-printed flyers and letterpress cards is a testament to the genius of this “old technology.” Like the “Great Wave” of Hokusai (a Japanese woodcut that remains popular after nearly two centuries), the energy and immediacy of these fragile works on paper seems to capture the spirit of their age.

Printmaking has always been a democratic medium. From its roots in the European Renaissance and the “Floating World” of feudal Japan, to the “Obama” posters of Shepard Fairey, printmaking helped bring fine art to the masses –most of whom could not afford to own an original painting.

The eight individuals in “Press Gang” have been exploring the art of printmaking for decades, both as professional artists, and as printmaking instructors. Their styles are as radically different from one another as is their subject matter. Yet one thing that all of them have in common is a strong graphic sensibility. From the hard-edged typographical art of Chris Forsythe, to the soft lines and lush textures of Faye Passow’s lithographs, the pictures in “Press Gang” seem to leap right off the wall.

“Press Gang” features work by the following artists:

• Chris Forsythe
• Mary Leikvold
• Karl Nelson
• Faye Passow
• Joanne Price
• Jodi Reeb-Myers
• Jan Shoger
• Anna Tsantir

Community Forum and Panel Discussion

Tuesday, April 28, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

The Stevens Square Center for the Arts (SSCA) will be hosting a Community Forum and Panel Discussion on Tuesday, April 28, 2009. The topic of the forum is: “Art in a Time of Economic Crisis.”

This event is free and open to the public.

Panel discussion beginning at 7:30 pm, featuring short presentations by:

• Vickie Benson, Program Director, Arts, The McKnight Foundation
• Gwen Cannon, Program Director, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council
• Melinda Hobbs Childs, Program Manager, Forecast Public Art
• Andrea Jenkins, Senior Policy Aide, 8th Ward City Council Office
• Sarah Schultz, Director, Education and Community Programs, The Walker Art Center (and) Board Member, The Soap Factory
• Laura Zabel, Executive Director, Springboard for the Arts

There will be a Question and Answer session following the formal panel discussion.

Since 2008, the local arts community has suffered a series of financial setbacks and major closings. With the economy in a tailspin, major cultural institutions such as the Walker Art Center and the MIA have been forced to lay off many of their full time employees.

But it is the hundreds of small-to-midsized arts organizations that have suffered the most. In an age of shrinking endowments and a declining donor pool, many long-running galleries and theaters—such as the Minnesota Museum of American Art—have been forced to shutter their doors. It is these smaller, grassroots organizations that have helped to revitalize struggling neighborhoods and enriched local communities.

The Twin Cities would be a drab place, indeed, without the wealth of cultural activities we all enjoy.

There are more than 20,000 artists in the state of Minnesota, many of whom now face the prospect of long term unemployment. Last year, arts and cultural organizations contributed a total of $1 billion to the state economy. The loss of hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in annual spending is already being felt far beyond the nonprofit sector and the gallery circuit. This is an issue that affects us all.

It is for this reason that the Stevens Square Center for the Arts has chosen to convene a community forum to discuss what we can do to help support the arts.

The Community Forum will also serve as a special Sneak Preview of our next exhibit: “Press Gang: Eight Local Printmakers.”

For more information on the forum, please contact Erik Farseth at:  efarseth@yahoo.com

This presentation is made possible, in part, thanks to support from the Stevens Square Community Organization (SSCO).

Altars
Opening Night Reception on March 14, 2009 from 7 – 10 pm

Performance art and poetry reading by Wendy Brown-Baez,
beginning at 8:30 pm

Altar (ôl′tər) Noun
1 : a usually raised structure or place on which sacrifices are offered or incense is burned in worship. 2 : a table on which the eucharistic elements are consecrated or which serves as a center of worship or ritual.

The Stevens Square Center for the Arts (SSCA) is proud to present “Altars,” eleven artists’ interpretations of altars and shrines.

Often located within the center of sacred spaces, altars have been used for millennia as a focal point for spiritual worship. From the animal sacrifices of the ancient world, to today’s ritual offerings of bread, wine, and fruit, altars have served as the locus of religious practices and a gateway to the heavens or the spirit world.

Working in a variety of artistic media (including wood sculpture, photography, time-based performance pieces, and mixed-media assemblage), the 11 artists chosen to take part in the “Altars” exhibition have created 11 deeply personal and distinctive interpretations of what constitutes an altar or shrine.

Please join us for an opening reception on Saturday, March 14 from 7 – 10 pm at the SSCA Gallery. Admission is free, and refreshments will be served.

“Altars” runs from March 14 – April 13, 2009 at the Stevens Square Center for the Arts.

The Altars exhibition will include work by the following artists:

-       Alex Prince
-       Alonso Sierralta
-       Andrew Nordin
-       Christopher Carr
-       Chris t. Halverson
-       Faye Buffington Howell
-       Julia Rijah
-       Michael Lorsung
-       Trish Brock
-       William Sattler
-       Wendy Baez-Brown

Attention filmmakers: Cinema and Civics is looking for your shorts to show in Stevens Park during their 2009 season!

The weekly outdoor music and film event is looking for short films by local filmmakers to screen in Stevens Park during their 2009 season. Films 15 minutes or less of all styles, genres and subject matter are welcome - now is the chance to have your work seen by an entire community!

Stevens Square Community Organization has been hosting the summer film series every year since 1995. This year we are intending to incorporate local artists, musicians, and organizations of all kinds to provide an example of all of the excellent opportunities Minneapolis has to offer. The series will take place each Wednesday night for six consecutive weeks starting June 10th.

Hurry, submissions are due April 3rd!

Please visit www.cinemaandcivics.org for submission information, or email sarah@cinemaandcivics.org.

Red Hot Art is looking for Artists!

Red Hot Art Festival is coming and they are looking for artists! Each summer Red Hot Art invites up to 100 Twin Cities artists to sell their work in the park. Red Hot is growing fast, this is by far the most affordable, diverse, and friendly festival around! RHA is also looking for public/installation artists to create interactive art in the park, if this sounds interesting to you please contact Caitlin at caitlin@redhotart.org!

Red Hot Art is not your average art festival. They pride themselves in providing the most accessible hands on arts experience, proving that art really is for everyone! Red Hot Art is a two-day neighborhood arts festival that serves as a showcase for emerging Twin Cities artists. The event, free and open to the public, offers emerging artists and arts enthusiasts a great opportunity to network and participate in the city's premier grass roots arts festival. Red Hot Art's mission is to celebrate the artistic diversity and urban vibrancy of Minneapolis in the historic Stevens Square-Loring Heights neighborhood.

Each Summer, Red Hot provides an ideal opportunity for artists of all mediums to showcase their work. Red Hot Art brings together over 3,500 community participants. This year the festival will host up to 100 spaces dedicated to visual artists to sell their work, 28 musical acts to play on two stages, food from local vendors, and many local community organizations providing hands-on activities for visitors of all ages! We are also searching for public artists to create installations in the park during the festival. Check out the website for more details!

APPLY ONLINE TODAY at www.redhotart.org

Reception and Sale, featuring live music by The Spent .50s,

The Vignettes, and Ghostface Cow – Admission is free!

February 28, 2009 from 6:30 – 10 pm

NAME YOUR OWN PRICE at or above the FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE, and take home an original painting at the end of the night.

Is a painting worth more than a hamburger? Should it be? Does the artist deserve any additional compensation for his or her ideas–above and beyond the value of their time and the price of raw materials?

For one night only, the Minneapolis-based artist Lizardman (Matt Wells) will be exhibiting 40 paintings in conjunction with a sale at the Stevens Square Center for the Arts. Participants are encouraged to purchase the artwork on the spot—for whatever they think that the paintings are actually worth—provided that the final sales price is no less than the Federal Minimum Wage.

Working like an industrial art factory, Wells has churned-out dozens of one-hour paintings, at a price that working people can actually afford: the current Minimum Wage.

When Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, it effectively banned child labor, and established the first nationwide minimum wage. The Federal Minimum Wage peaked 40 years ago (when unskilled workers earned the equivalent of $10.11 an hour in today's dollars). Since then, American wages have failed to keep pace with inflation. For ten years, the Federal Minimum Wage saw no increase. While the price of gas shot up to $4 a gallon, the minimum wage remained constant at just $5.15 an hour. Even now, the minimum wage is only $6.55.

Coming at a time when many Americans have been forced to tighten their belts, Wells' "Minimum Wage" installation challenges us to reconsider the value of hourly work, and what constitutes "fair pay" (or a livable wage).  How much value do we attach to the creative process? How much of the sale price is based on irrational market forces? And how much of the value of a painting is intrinsic in the actual work?

In the Western art tradition, paintings are treated as something unapproachable and untouchable. "Minimum Wage" turns this equation on its head, inviting the audience to interact directly with the artwork while it's still hanging on the walls. The ultimate goal of this exhibit is to have an empty gallery by the end of the night. But in order to do that, the viewers must become active participants.

It is that populist spirit that informs "Minimum Wage," an art sale that seeks to level the playing field.

All artwork will be sold during the course of the evening on a first-come, first-serve basis.

A reception and silent auction will take place on February 28, 2009. There will be live music by The Spent .50's, The Vignettes, and Ghostface Cow.

Painting by J. M. Culver
Anatomy: Creation, Existence, and DecompositionJanuary 31 – February 22
Opening Night party: January 31st, from 7 – 10 pm.
Gallery Hours:Friday thru Sunday, 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Anatomy, featuring work by the following artists:
- J.M. Culver
- Trish Brock
- Sally Eckhoff
- Gina Germ
- Jason Gillman
- Melissa Grant
- Cris t Halverson
- Angela Maki Jones
- Curt Lund
- Richard Strohmeyer
- John Vasiliou

A unique opportunity to create and display your own Altar, Shrine, or Homage to anything or anyone you want! Any medium is welcome, 2- or 3- dimensional. Send your images, ideas, sketches, descriptions; anything that will accurately convey the concept of your ALTAR.

Click here to Apply.
Deadline for submissions is midnight, Monday February 16th.
No submission fee, $25 exhibit fee if accepted. $15 for members.

_{2009 will see the end of these silly "2000 Glasses."}

We have updated our calender to include our expected exhibitions for 2009. Such future exhibits to look forward to:

Anatomy Show
RHA/Neighborhood show
Minimum Wage
Twin Cities Zinefest
Member's Show