Artist Initiative

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2020 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$10,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
John B. Turner AKA Brooks Turner
Recipient Type
Individual
Status
Completed
Start Date
March 2020
End Date
February 2021
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Aitkin
Anoka
Carver
Crow Wing
Dakota
Faribault
Hennepin
Kandiyohi
Lyon
McLeod
Mille Lacs
Otter Tail
Ramsey
Rice
Scott
Sherburne
Stearns
St. Louis
Waseca
Washington
Winona
Aitkin
Anoka
Carver
Crow Wing
Dakota
Faribault
Hennepin
Kandiyohi
Lyon
McLeod
Mille Lacs
Otter Tail
Ramsey
Rice
Scott
Sherburne
Stearns
St. Louis
Waseca
Washington
Winona
Project Overview

Artist Initiative

Project Details

Turner will create and present an immersive installation and abstract newspaper, communicating the dark history of fascism in Minnesota from 1930 to 1960 as a local reminder of the danger of hate and the power of protest.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Ardell Brede: Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002.; Peggy Burnet: Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Chair of the Nominating Committee, Smithsonian National Board. Trustee, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.; Uri Camarena: Business consultant, Metropolitan Economic Development Association. Board chair, Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Michael Charron: Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Sean Dowse: Mayor of Red Wing, elected 2016. Former executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Philip McKenzie, Oboe and English horn player; adjunct oboe faculty, NDSU. Secretary/Treasurer, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Mary McReynolds-Pellinen: Executive director, Lyric Center for the Arts; coordinator, First Stage Gallery. Officer at-large, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Thomas Moss: Consultant to nonprofits and government agencies.; Dobson West: Senior advisor, Spell Capital Partners Fund.; Christina Widdess: Arts organization consultant; former managing director, Penumbra Theatre.

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Peter Driessen: Visual artist, sculptor, curator, and cultural producer; Teréz Iacovino: Visual artist and curator; assistant curator, Katherine E. Nash Gallery; Catherine Meier: Visual artist; Ryuta Nakajima: Contemporary artist, curator, product designer; associate professort of art, University of Minnesota Duluth; Nicole Simpkins: Visual artist; drawing and printmaking instructor at Minneapolis College of Art and Design; Michelle Wingard: Photographer; professor at Bethel; Arts Board grantee

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2019 First Special Session, chapter 2, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2020 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$10,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$10,000
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Brooks Turner will enlarge his audience through creation of an immersive sculptural installation with take-away newspapers. Turner will evaluate success based on audience engagement and feedback during exhibition timeline, particularly in how the public engages with the textual aspects of his work. 2: Brooks Turner will push his art practice in a new direction materially and conceptually. Turner will evaluate success based on how audience members understand and interpret the particular Minnesota historical narratives incorporated in his work and if the work inspires the public to reflect on their own relationship to history.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Turner enlarged his audience through a free 'exhibition-in-print' newspaper in the StarTribune and Weisman. The StarTribune reported a readership of approximately 200,000. Additionally, Turner saved 30 pages of lengthy responses from Minnesotans about the project, including people sharing new stories from their own personal experience. 2: Turner created an artwork materially and conceptually unlike anything he has made prior. Inserting the 'Exhibition-in-Print' into the StarTribune contextualized the history of fascism in relation to current events. The discussion on Nextdoor showed how readers were acutely aware of the connections between past and present.

Source of Additional Funds

Other,local or private

Project Manager
First Name
John
Last Name
Turner
Organization Name
John B. Turner AKA Brooks Turner
State
MN
Phone
(612) 770-6677
Email
jbrooksturner@gmail.com
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency