SOTA

Hello SOTAland! We have another fantastic bonus interview for you this week! Enjoy this extra segment from our interview with local illustrator Chirsti Furnas. To hear more and get to know Christi even better, check out our past episode Local Mental Health & Art Resources // Christi Furnas.

To learn more about Christi, visit her website!

Hello SOTAns! Don't you just love the local artists we've interviewed? We definitely do! And guess what—we have even more interview clips to share with you! This week, we start with an extended clip of our interview with Alison Hiltner. If you haven't yet, go back and listen to our episode "Des Moines Art Center and Alison Hiltner" to get acquainted with Alison even better!

For images and more info, visit Alison's website https://alisonhiltner.com/

Hello SOTAns, We have some fun things for you this week! In the news we talk about artists participating in the Aichi Trienniale who asked for their work to be taken down, in reaction to a closure of a gallery in the exhibition alleged as censorship. We then talk about the Andy Warhol retrospective exhibition at SFMOMA and if the most famous figures in art history can be presented in a fresh way or, if they even need to be. Then, we have a fabulous interview with local artists Regan Golden!

References:

Artists Demand Removal of Work from Aichi Triennale Following Censorship Controversy – ArtNews

Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again – SFMOMA

Regen Golden’s Website

In the news, we discuss how the artists of the Whitney Biennial leveraged their very presence in protest of Warren Kanders (of Defence company Safariland) continuing to sit on the Board of the Institution. Kanders officially resigned his position at the Whitney in late July.

We discussed how Museums can better equip themselves to appeal to a neurodiverse audience, and what the benefits are for institutions who make small changes to be more inclusive.

Finally, Sarah interviewed the talented and dynamic sculptor Kelly O’Brien.

‘It’s Just the Beginning’: Art World Responds to Warren B. Kanders’s Resignation from Whitney Board

Warren Kanders Quits Whitney Board After Tear Gas Protests

Kelly O’Brien Sculpture

Instagram @kosculpture

Greetings SOTAns! This week we highlight ways you can engage in physical activity at some of your favorite local art museums! Take advantage of these while the summer still lasts! We also discuss Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists at Mia and why it is both important and timely. Sarah wraps things up with an interview with local multimedia artist Jacob Aaron Schroeder.

References

SculTours at the Walker

Yoga at the WAM

Hiking with ASI

Yoga at Des Moines Art Center

Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists

Jacob Aaron Schroeder

Hello SOTAns! This week, we give you a little blast from the past in the news when we talk about former a Mia curator leading the charge to return Nazi-looted art! We then discuss local mental health and art resources–who are they and what services do they provide to the community? Sarah wraps it up with an excellent interview with local illustrator, Christi Furnas.

References:

“After 75 Years, Germany Will Return a Nazi-Looted Old Master Painting to the Uffizi in Florence” -ArtNet News

ARTS PROGRAMS in Minnesota for Adults with Disabilities

Avivo ArtWorks

Artability

Christi Furnas’s Website

Hello SOTAns! This week, we are bringing you the special Pride Program we made in collaboration with KFAI Minneapolis. This aired live on Pride Sunday and features an interview with local, queer artist Christine Furnas, a discussion on local, creative, queer spaces, and a review of the Stonewall at 50 event at Mia! We hope you all had a happy Pride!

References:

SOTA: State of the Arts on KFAI

Quatrefoil Library

A Conspiracy of Strange Girls

Tailorbird Tattoo

Rare Productions

Ritual Print Co.

Feminist Video Quarterly

Stonewall at 50 at Mia

This week in the news, we discuss the Arts + All Museums Salary Transparency 2019 spreadsheet where thousands of cultural workers are anonymously presenting their locations, position, and pay. Hopefully, the results can help lead to closing economic gaps in the art world.

Next, Jasa helps to demystify the question, “What is Digital Art?” Sure, you may get the concept, but we go into detail about some popular denominations and particularly highlight the realm where digital and sound art meet! This is inspired by our upcoming SOTA Projects launch, Terraforming by Danelle Cloutier, who works in digital sound art.

Finally, Sarah presents an interview with Amy Rice, a local artist and printmaker who uses nontraditional print-making methods, often with wet media on natural-based surfaces. She aims to make a tangible or visceral connection between the materials used and the image rendered.

Don’t forget to join us TONIGHT, June 16th at 9pm in Boom Island Park for a community star-gazing experience titled Terraforming, by Danelle Cloutier! Details HERE.

References:

Arts + All Museums Salary Transparency 2019 spreadsheet

Museum Workers Share Their Salaries and Urge Industry-Wide Reform – Hyperallergic

What is Digital Art? Definition and Scope of the New Media – Medium

Danelle Cloutier on SoundCloud

Amy Rice’s Website

Hello SOTAns!! This week, in a special mini-episode, Sarah talks to Dustin Steuck (see the episode “Dustin Steuck and Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum” from October 7th, 2018) to discuss the history of the Stonewall Riots, their impact on the LGBTQ+ Rights movement, and the (FREE!!) Stonewall@50 event at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts happening on Friday, June 14th from 6 – 9 pm.

Thanks for listening, and Happy Pride Month!

We are thrilled about this episode! We are switching it up this week, with Sarah serving up the critical discussion while Jasa presents an exciting interview. In the news, we dive right into addressing the budget the Democratic party has recently unveiled, benefitting the NEA and proposing to raise their funding significantly! Unsurprisingly, there are rough waters ahead in this budgetary debate.

Sarah presents a segment that we’ve dubbed Getting Wiley with Gauguin! She highlights painter, Kehinde Wiley’s, new portrait series, depicting subjects of people in the community of Tahiti’s third gender. She contrasts Wiley’s powerful portrayals from the well-known paintings of Tahiti by art historical figure, Paul Gauguin, and the related, sordid history.

In conjunction with the first edition of SOTA Projects, Jasa interviews Canadian audio engineer and journalist, Danelle Cloutier. Danelle’s work blends captured audio with music and experimental sounds. The sound art experience she is presenting to the public with SOTA, titled Terraforming, uses NASA audio recordings from space to explore the feeling of existential loneliness.

Remember to join us on June 16th, beginning at 9pm for the Terraforming experience! The location is TBD so, follow our blog and social media for updates! We will be gathering, lying on blankets, and gazing at the stars while listening to the sound art. Feel free to bring a blanket, headphones, and friends!

References:

“Dems boost National Endowment for Arts funding after Trump proposes eliminating it” – The Hill

National Endowment for the Arts Website

Getting Wiley with Gauguin:

Original article:

Detailed portraits of Tahiti’s Third Gender…

Artist Kehinde Wiley’s Latest Paintings Are a Progressive Riposte to Paul Gauguin’s Primitivist Portraits of Tahitians

Kehinde Wiley’s ‘Tahiti’ Exhibition Confronts the Legacy of Paul Gauguin

Kehinde Wiley’s website

Gauguin’s history:

‘The art world tolerates abuse’ – the fight to change museum wall labels

Rare Photographs Could Show Paul Gauguin in Tahiti

Paul Gauguin Receiving Fresh Spotlight In Two Widely Varying Exhibits

Is it wrong to admire Paul Gauguin’s art?