Midway Contemporary Art is pleased to announce the six grant recipients for the 2023 Visual Arts Fund. Established as part of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program, the VAF is aimed at supporting the development of artist organized projects and initiatives that engage the public with visual art happening outside of established arts programming in the Twin Cities metro region.
$10,000 VAF Grants were awarded to:
BlueSky Photo Workshop
Era Editions
PAIR (Pilot Artist In Residence) Pizza and Puppets TEMP/reviews
Why don’t you wa/onder?
Jurors, Laura Copelin (Deputy Director & Co-Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson), Rosario Güiraldes (Curator of Visual Arts, Walker Art Center), and Jonathon Rosemond (artist, Chicago) selected these six projects to award funding from a competitive pool of applicants.
BlueSky Photo Workshop — $10,000
Lead Organizer: Sho Nikaido
A local Japanese photographer, Sho Nikaido, runs BlueSky Photo Workshop. He offers four sessions: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter throughout the year. Each session is six weeks long. Classes are at a different Japanese restaurant in each session: Ramen Kazama, Kado no Mise, Ichigo Tokyo Crepes, and Okome House. Everyone is welcome, and experience is not necessary. We learn and practice the history, mediums, and different styles of photography throughout the course. The workshop will offer some opportunities for people to connect with others and the community by taking photographs.
Era Editions — $10,000
Lead Organizer: Ryan Gerald Nelson
Era Editions is an emerging, artist-run publishing project that will utilize VAF funding to produce and publish two professionally printed books/ monographs. Each book will document the art of two different Twin Cities based/connected artists. The books will be launched at a public book release event in celebration of the featured artists. Having observed a general lack of book publishing within the Twin Cities contemporary art community, Era Editions sets out to play a role in bringing important and varied publishing projects to life while celebrating the artists within this vibrant art scene.
PAIR (Pilot Artist In Residence) — $10,000
Lead Organizer: Kieran Tverbakk
PAIR is an artist-run residency program in the Prospect Park neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Run by studio-mates Kieran Tverbakk and Witt Siasoco, the program will host three artists or artist groups for one month, providing studio space and support to assist the artists in a culminating installation or exhibition.
Pizza and Puppets — $10,000
Lead Organizer: Liping Vong
Pizza and Puppets is a live puppetry performance led by LIPING VONG that will be performed in three pop- up performances in Minneapolis and Saint Paul Public Parks.
TEMP/reviews — $10,000
Lead Organizer: Ryan Fontaine
TEMP/reviews is an online platform for reviews of Twin Cities based visual art exhibitions. Our cohort of writers will consider and critically engage with shows that take place within Minneapolis and St. Paul venues whether arts institutions, academic exhibition spaces, galleries, or unconventional venues, including public art and pop-ups.
Why don’t you wa/onder? — $10,000
Lead Organizer: Philli Irvin
Why don’t you wa/onder? is a transformative public installation project centered in North Minneapolis. Its primary goals are twofold: first, to inspire Northside residents to rediscover often-overlooked local spaces, and second, to stimulate conversations about equitable access to public spaces. This initiative also seeks to address the deficit of rest and play affecting Black and Brown communities.
Ultimately, Why don’t you wa/onder? seeks to reshape public spaces, promote inclusivity, and empower the Northside community by providing opportunities for exploration, rest, and play, while challenging historical inequities in the use of public spaces in Minnesota.