Made Here is downtown’s Urban Walking Gallery in the Minneapolis Cultural District. The project showcases creativity from across Minnesota by temporarily filling empty storefronts or commercial spaces with the work of Minnesota artists. It is the largest initiative of its kind in the nation hosting 38 creations across 16 city blocks.
The Made Here Arts Advisory Panel is a core group of 17 multi-faceted artists and arts professionals who are experts in the field of public and fine art. This panel helps ensure that Made Here’s storefront window initiative is welcoming, accessible and reflective of Minnesota’s increasing diversity. The panel set a goal for 35% artists from communities of color to be featured as Made Here participating artists for 2014 and exceeded that goal by 5%. This authentic outreach paired with an accessible and streamlined application process has yielded many opportunities for emerging artists statewide and given voice to artists from underserved communities.
You couldn’t drive or walk past the 33-hundred block of Bloomington Avenue without witnessing Andrew’s pain on a daily basis-on your drive to work; as you walked your dog, it was in your face and impossible to ignore.
One such artist, Andrew Moore, describes himself as a “reality artist.” He spent 18 years creating provocative, racially-charged protest art in the form of large scale installations from found objects in his front yard in the south Minneapolis neighborhood of Powderhorn. His work was heralded for provoking controversial conversations about racism, gentrification, and prison system corruption, his pieces often citing startling statistics and providing bold insults painted on toilets, discarded boxes, benches, and window frames. Andrew often states, “My work isn’t pretty to look at, it isn’t supposed to be pretty to look at.” You couldn’t drive or walk past the 33-hundred block of Bloomington Avenue without witnessing Andrew’s pain on a daily basis-on your drive to work; as you walked your dog, it was in your face and impossible to ignore.
Andrew seized the opportunity to create a site specific installation in the Made Here Intuitive Artist Showcase, a pop up gallery in the Warehouse District. He was a featured artist at two public speaking engagements where he shared his work with an engaged and supportive audience. With Made Here Andrew was afforded agency to continue to share his narrative via his creative practices to the broader community.
