Art

Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program

The MAEP is an artist controlled exhibition program with a prominent gallery, schedule of exhibitions and professionaI staff at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. This curatorial department is a true study in democracy--its exhibitions are selected by a panel of artists who are elected by and from their peers at an annual meeting of the artist community held each fall at the Institute. Since 1975 the program has been fundamentally committed to the perceptions and evaluations of artists; and has produced and presented over 130 exhibitions of contemporary art. The Minneapolis Artist Exhibition Program is supported in part by a generous grant from the Jerome Foundation.

Background     How MAEP Works


Upcoming Exhibition

 

Total Study Center

May 25–July 15, 2001
Minnesota Artists Gallery

Bruce Tapola's installation fuses library, research facillity, and conference room into a context for study. His notebooks and stacks of drawings integrate ideas with objects.



The Foot in the Door Show 2000 Online Exhibition
www.artsmia.org/foot_in_the_door/

The Foot in the Door Show 2000 was an open invitation to all Minnesota artists to participate in an exhibition at the Institute, provided they restricted the size of their artworks to one cubic foot of gallery space. The show, which was exhibited in the Minnesota Artists Gallery from January 9 - April 2, 2000 was a resounding success. More than 1700 artists were represented in the gallery exhibition and in the corresponding online exhibition. You can still view the online exhibition at www.artsmia.org/foot_in_the_door/.

Background
The Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP) is an artist-managed curatorial department of The Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) devoted to the exhibition of works by artists who live in Minnesota.The Program was conceived in 1975 by regional artists in response to their desire for professional exhibition space, recognition, and critical dialogue. The MAEP's objectives are to exhibit Minnesota artists' work on a regular basis; to foster the exchange of ideas among artists; to stimulate interaction of ideas among artists, the museums, and the public; and to facilitate the creation and presentation of work in a context that is not inhibited by aesthetic fashion or commercial demand. Designed to respond to the perceptions and evaluation of artists, the Program is directed by a panel of seven artists elected for two-year terms by Minnesota's artist community. The panel and the Institute are linked by a jointly selected Program Coordinator who is employed by the museum at a rank equal to that of a curator. The Program Coordinator implements policy and is responsible for exhibition planning and installation and the administrative and fiscal management of the Program. The Coordinator and MAEP staff develop exhibition-related projects and public programs and oversee the production of exhibition-related publications.

The creation of quality exhibitions continues to be the first priority of the Program. Since 1975 the MAEP has presented over 130 exhibitions of contemporary art. Projects that generate interaction among artists, the museum, and the public often result in collaborations with other arts organizations (for example, the Asian American Renaissance and the Minnesota Music Academy). The MAEP has collaborated with exhibiting artists on a variety of publications since 1977.

For 24 years the MAEP has provided this region with a unique model for the production and presentation of work by contemporary and emerging artists within the context of a major museum. Since its inception, the program has supported exceptional aesthetic investigation and encouraged the development of a diverse artist community. It has often provided the first and earliest showings of work by artists who have gone on to critical and commercial success. MAEP exhibitions have also explored a wide range of topics, artistic styles, and political viewpoints and have featured solo and group shows, career retrospectives, theme shows, and large invitational projects of immense vitality and variety.

All artists who live and work in Minnesota are welcome to participate in the MAEP by attending the Program's Annual Meeting; taking part in the election of Artist Panel members; submitting exhibition proposals for panel review; and submitting slides and related materials to the Program's slide reference and resource library, which has professional profiles on more that 700 Minnesota artists.

Artists who exhibit through the MAEP benefit from the museum's diverse audience (1998-99 attendance was more than 500,301) and access to the museum's professional support services. Exhibiting artists participate at every level of exhibition planning and implementation. In all cases, artists are involved with budget allocation and disbursement of honoraria for the exhibition of their work and exhibition-related programming. Artists have been paid honoraria for their involvement with public programs and publications since 1975; exhibition honoraria have been paid since 1979.


Background     How MAEP Works