Altered Esthetics
Encyclopedia
Altered Esthetics is a non-profit, community-based art gallery and arts advocacy organization located in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. According to their mission statement, their goal is to support and expand the vibrant Minneapolis arts community by hosting exhibitions, creating and sponsoring various art programs, and participating in community art events.

History and development

Altered Esthetics was originally conceived as an exhibition venue where the focus would be on "art for art's sake" as opposed to art for monetary profit. The gallery first opened in April 2004 in Minneapolis with their inaugural exhibition, "The Art of War", which featured the work of 15 local artists.

The organization has grown significantly since 2004. Altered Esthetics still retains no paid staff and is staffed by approximately 100 volunteers. Their board of directors has five active members. Due to the growth of the organization since 2004, they relocated in late 2006 to the Q'arma Building in Northeast Minneapolis' arts district. In May 2007, they were awarded non-profit status. In addition to their brick-and-mortar gallery, they also maintain an active online gallery with the purpose of serving those artists who are not able to participate in shows at the Q'arma Building gallery.

Exhibitions and intership programs

Over the past six years, Altered Esthetics has hosted over 50 group exhibitions which focus on fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....

, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

, performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...

, and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

. Altered Esthetics has presented the work of over 1,000 national and international artists and has shown the work of such notable artists as Manuel Ocampo
Manuel Ocampo
Manuel Ocampo is a Filipino artist. His work fuses sacred Baroque religious iconography with secular political narrative. His works draw upon a wide range of art historical references, contain cartoonish elements, and draw inspiration from punk subculture.-Background:Manuel Ocampo was born in the...

, Alicia DeBrincat
Alicia DeBrincat
Alicia DeBrincat is an American artist who lives and works in New York City. Her figurative oil painting is known for its engagement with the human body and its exploration of awkward and potentially destructive social dynamics....

, and J.M. Culver. Exhibitions have addressed such diverse themes as banned books, comic art, gender, and activism in the arts.

In 2007, Altered Esthetics began a curatorial internship program designed to offer artists, students, and community members hands-on experience in the arts. In 2008, a Gallery Director internship program was created. The goal of this program is to provide participants with experience is grant writing, fundraising, and other aspects of running a non-profit arts organization.

Community presence

In 2009, Altered Esthetics drew over 2,000 people into the Minneapolis arts district to attend 14 different exhibits. Altered Esthetics is also a participant in Art-A-Whirl, the country's largest open-studio tour, during which over 20,000 people flooded the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District.

External links

  • http://www.alteredesthetics.com
  • http://www.mndaily.com/2010/02/03/altered-look-banned-books
  • http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2008/05/05/tasty-lutefisk-sushi-altered-esthetics.html
  • http://www.mndaily.com/2008/04/03/sibling-rivalry
  • http://www.mndaily.com/2008/02/14/few-bites-feminist-art
  • http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2008/02/03/art-note-bitter-fruits-and-anxiety-dreams-northeast-minneapolis.html
  • http://www.wakemag.org/sound-vision/bust-out-the-huffy/
  • http://www.wakemag.org/sound-vision/two-takes-on-activist-art/
  • http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2006/05/17/bike-art-ne-minneapolis-altered-esthetics-through-june-28
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK