Operating Support
ACHF Arts Access
We will grow our audience and deepen our local constituents' understanding and appreciation of the arts through the Midway library, exhibitions, and educational programming. Outcomes include a 10% growth in our library usership and a 20% growth in our educational offerings in the next year. We will build Minnesota's local, national, and international reputation as an important cultural center, making Minnesotans aware of the importance of contemporary art to our collective identity. Through support from the State Arts Board and a project grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, we firmly established our library's visiting art and curator lecture series. Our artists and curators presented lectures and engaged with the public on a monthly basis. After a number of record attendance lectures most notably a lecture by St Paul-based painter Bruce Tapola, where more than 100 attendees filled our space to over capacity, we decided to engage in a mini-capital campaign in the fall of 2012 to expand the library space. After a two month campaign, $50,000 was raised to expand the library to more than double its size. We continue to see high demand for these educational opportunities. We also formed a partnership with the University of Minnesota and local-publisher Univocal press to bring French philosopher Francois Laruelle to the Twin Cities for a series of workshops and talks at Midway and at the Weisman Art Museum. We are continuing to identify new opportunities to engage our audience both through our library's activities and our exhibition programming. In the summer of 2013, we hired our first full-time librarian to oversee much of this activity. 2: Midway Contemporary Art will originate three to five world premiere exhibitions from a diverse group of artists from Germany, Scotland, Canada, Sweden, and elsewhere. The artists were very enthusiastic regarding their experience at Midway. They continue to remark on the positive nature of the support they receive, both financial and also via our tremendous staff. We are continuing to identify new ways to provide this critical support to these artists to enable them to realize ambitious projects where otherwise they might not find the light of day. This is an increasingly vital component to how we view our core values at Midway. These values translate into growing a broader appreciation for Minnesota’s role in supporting the creation of new cultural value on both a local and international stage.
We grew our audience and deepened our local constituents' understanding and appreciation of the arts through our library, exhibitions, and educational programming. Library usage grew by an estimated 15%, and participation at educational offerings in the library and offsite events grew by 25%. 2: Midway originated five world premiere exhibitions from a diverse group of thirteen artists from Minneapolis, Berlin, Glasgow, Brussels, San Paolo, Nova Scotia, New York, Tehran/Berlin, Frankfurt, and Vancouver. Much of the work was commissioned by Midway, while in one group exhibition work was on loan from major museums and private collections from New York, Beirut, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, and other cities. As part of this exhibition season, we instituted a formal artist stipend policy of providing the artists with $5,000 in addition to covering all expenses including the production, shipping, travel, per diem, and accommodations related to the exhibitions. The exhibitions received very positive reviews and coverage in local, national, and international press outlets, both trade industry and general public.
Other
local or private