February 18, 2019
In recognition of Black History Month, we’re sharing artworks by African American artists from WAM’s permanent collection. This sampling winds its way from Harlem to Los Angeles and back here to Minneapolis, demonstrating the extensive contributions of Black artists to American art history on a national scale. Taken individually, these pieces exemplify the mastery of…
February 14, 2019
Last year, the Weisman Art Museum became home to a few more friendly, fuzzy creatures. These critters reside high up in a sky-rise on East River Road, they have a wonderful view of the Mississippi River, and in their spare time, they enjoy buzzing around campus. They’re native bees! Supported by a MN Futures Grant…
February 14, 2019
In 1991, I didn’t anticipate the reactions of my art school peers when I told them I had been working as an “exotic dancer” for the past year and a half. Of course I knew that it was a somewhat transgressive job and might bring me some notoriety, but I hadn’t expected to be pitied,…
February 8, 2019
By Shanai Matteson What does it meant to really, truly know water? Not to know about it—but know it, learn with it, teach in it? These are some of the questions guiding the Ways of Knowing Water research collaborative, which began convening in December to explore new models for knowing and teaching water at the University of Minnesota and beyond. Our collaborative—which is…
February 1, 2019
When she joined WAM in 2011, shop manager and buyer Marissa Onheiber noticed a gap in student engagement. As WAM began to turn its focus to enhancing student membership and the collective, Onheiber decided that the shop window provided a perfect solution. “It’s part of our mission to enhance the student experience by offering them…
January 22, 2019
Jack Zipes, University of Minnesota professor emeritus of German and comparative literature, returned to campus Wednesday night to deliver a lecture in conjunction with WAM’s exhibition, The Wonderful World Before Disney. An acclaimed scholar of myth, folk, and fairy-tales, Zipes discussed the past and contemporary social and political roles of these stories, turning to his…
January 18, 2019
In March 2019, we expect an invasion—an invasion of a beautiful sort. The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) will hold its annual conference, Claytopia, in Minneapolis from March 27 through 30. Several thousand ceramic artists will descend on us during that time, and at WAM we will be ready. Ceramic artist…
January 18, 2019
This spring WAM is excited to present Baggage Claims, an exhibit that examines the significance of the things we carry with us through the lens of luggage. Suitcases and crates symbolize the movement of people and belongings across the world, and they evoke the political and economic concerns that incite and result from this travel….
January 18, 2019
In 2017, the Weisman Art Museum received a collection of over 3,000 fairy-tale themed postcards from Jack Zipes, professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. As one of the most prolific scholars of folk and fairy tales, he has been influential in highlighting their social and political role in…
January 18, 2019
ACT×4 When artist Marina Abramović famously declared The Artist Is Present, the immediate follow-up question that could be asked is: “present to what end?” Can we think of a physical presence of an artist in a gallery as having a goal? Presence is an action: performance is the most affordable form of making, the most…