The M's storefront window displays, including 'Outer Experiences,' will continue through 2021

Kathy Berdan, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
·3 min read

May 22—The Minnesota Museum of American Art, the M in downtown St. Paul, announced last week it will continue to display exhibits in its storefront windows at Fourth and Robert streets. The indoor space will remain closed.

The window galleries were introduced as a way to continue exhibitions when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down public spaces. The M initially had plans to reopen the museum galleries in June. Now the M plans to continue to exhibit work in its window galleries, the skyway, virtually and at partner locations while it starts work on the final phase of the M's building, according to a news release. Museum officials hope that work can start this year, but can't set plans due to construction delays and supply shortages.

The M opened the first phase of its massive renovation of the historic Pioneer Endicott Building in downtown St. Paul in 2018. That $12.5 million phase covers 18,700 square feet and includes galleries, public spaces and a center for creativity. The second phase, which was expected to be completed in 2020, will add more galleries and fill the first floor of the Pioneer Endicott building complex.

Currently on view in the window galleries is "Outer Experiences: Black Life in Rural and Suburban Minnesota," which is presented in partnership with the African American Interpretive Center of Minnesota. The exhibit is built on oral histories collected by AAICM and explores the experience of being Black outside the Twin Cities. Excerpts from the oral histories are paired with photos by Chris McDuffie. "Outer Experiences continues through June 20.

The M also announced upcoming exhibitions and programs.

"Wise, Gifted, and Black: Art by the Magnificent Golden Agers" will run in the window gallery on Robert Street June 27-July 17. The exhibit is part of a residency led by teaching artists Nicole M. Smith and Lawrence El Grecco Waddell at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center in St. Paul. A group of women elders — known as the Magnificent Golden Agers — created collages, written reflections, poetry and photographs "that reflect discussions around the themes of Black identity and the intersection of art and activism." according to the M news release.

St. Paul Public Schools 2021 Honors Visual Art Exhibition will run June 27-July 17 in the window gallery on Fourth Street, showcasing work by student artists. The exhibit is a long-standing collaboration between the schools, the M and the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In the program's 30 years, more than 9,500 high school students have participated. The students are selected to participate through auditions and art submissions.

The Mississippi River just down the street from the M informed the development of "Many Waters: A Minnesota Biennial," according to the news release. The juried exhibit, which runs July 24 — Oct. 2 in the window galleries on Robert and Fourth streets, the skyway entrance and at NewStudio Gallery in St. Paul, explores the work of more than 50 local artists with connections to the lakes, marshes, streams, rivers and groundwaters in the region. The works were chosen from more than 800 submissions.

"Sutures" runs Oct. 30-Jan. 29 in the Robert Street window gallery. It's the culmination of Michael Khuth's fellowship with the Emerging Curators Institute and features work by emerging artists who create photo- and film-based works. According to the news release, the artists reappropriate imagery — drawing from family photo albums, national archives, media outlets and other sources — to shape new ways to see their communities, nations, pasts and futures.

For more info, go to mmaa.org.