Exhibits
Current Exhibit
my life | July 26-September 29, 2023 | Blythe Brenden-Mann Community Center at MIDB
The my life art exhibition is a window into the daily lives of transition students from three countries and their dreams for the future. The exhibition is in collaboration with three transition projects, two of which are international. The third collaborator is a Project of National Significance focused on the transition of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Minnesota, led by Renáta Tichá. Youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities from Minnesota, Singapore, and the Czech Republic share photos of their transition from school to adult life.
To view the exhibit please schedule a showing. Email Nik Fernholz at fern0104@umn.edu.
Photo Exhibit Survey | z.umn.edu/photosurvey
Please, review the photos in the exhibit, and as you are doing so, write down any impressions you have while focusing on the Minnesota, Singapore and Czech sets of images the students took or created about their transition to adulthood experiences. Your responses will be anonymous. The form can be found at z.umn.edu/photosurvey.
Brief description of each project
Czech Republic project: Online Gallery
PEDAL project: University of West Bohemia, Faculty of Education
Funded by the Czech Science Foundation
The aim of the PEDAL (researching transitions of young people with intellectual disabilities) project is to fill the gaps in the current knowledge of the lived experience of young people with intellectual disabilities in the key period of transition from school to adult life. The research team combines social science methods with performative arts and new media approaches in an innovative way.
Cílem projektu PEDAL (výzkum přechodů mladých lidí s mentálním postižením) je vyplnit mezery v dosavadním poznání o prožité zkušenosti mladých lidí s mentálním postižením v klíčovém období přechodu ze školy do dospěléhoživota . Výzkumný tým inovativním způsobem kombinuje výzkumné společenskovědní metody s performativním uměním a přístupy nových médií.
Minnesota, USA project: Online Gallery
A Community-Based, Collaborative Transition Model for Minnesota Youth with IDD
Funded by the Administration on Community Living
The goal of this 5-year Project of National Significance is to map current transition practices and to work with the project partners, including transition programs, high schools, and state and local agencies, to implement strategies to improve the experiences and outcomes of youth and young adults with IDD in Minnesota.
Singapore project: Online Gallery
Developing Regenerative Societies Through Inclusion and Diversity: A US-Singapore Project to Support Youth with Disabilities and Their Families in Transition from School to the Community.
Funded by the US Embassy in Singapore
The goal of this collaboration between the US (Minnesota) and Singapore is to develop a transition toolkit for mapping and sharing transition experiences of youth with IDD in Singapore and in Minnesota using multimedia.
Past Exhibitions
“Art Glow” | February 2 - March 30 Weekly | Northrup King Building
1500 Jackson St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413 | Google Maps
3rd Floor Gallery | Room 332
Art for All: The Stephanie Evelo Program for Art Inclusion at ICI connects artists with disabilities with organizations throughout the Twin Cities area. In this exhibition, 16 artists from Minnesota and Wisconsin will showcase their work in various media, including 3D installations, fiber, watercolor, and photographs.
Featuring: Alison Bergblom Johnson, Ansel Langmead, Chloe Geraty, D.O Fox, David Bauman, Diane Weinerman, Emma Baldwin, Glendy Scaletta Rocco, Jonah Anderson, Loretta Bebeau, David “Mack” McDonnell-Forney, Mark Maasch, Nathaniel Quenzer, Ray Pagenkopf, Ryan Varley, Sam St. John.
The Northrup King Building is off-campus at 1500 Jackson St NE, Minneapolis. It is the largest art complex in Minnesota. Gallery hours are every Thursday 1-6 pm and every Saturday noon–4 pm.
This Art for All exhibition will also feature three events:
- February 16* at 6 pm, Alison Bergblom Johnson will speak on the topic of “Disability Justice Through the Lens of Art and Supporting Non-disability-focused Galleries Curating Art by Artists with Disabilities.” This event is FREE.
- March 2*, Cow Tipping Press will host a neurodiverse book release and author reading from 7–9 pm. Gallery viewing hours are 3-6 pm.
- March 30*, there will be a closing reception and art market from 4–7 pm.
Through exhibits and events, ICI’s Art for All creates inclusive spaces for discussing, promoting, and selling the artists’ work.
"woven from life itself" | August 22–October 30, 2022 | Norway House
To purchase art, please email both Nik Fernholz at fern0104@umn.edu and the artist directly.
In partnership with Norway House's Minnesota Peace Initiative—which serves to foster engagement related to peace issues and peacemaking efforts worldwide—this group exhibition featured local artists as well as artists from Norway.
The exhibition celebrated disability pride and pride in other identities, and it reflected the diverse cultural and ethnic community that makes up the neighborhood of Norway House.
It featured art by Minnesota artists David "Mack" McDonnell-Forney, Janette Tafoya Giles, Ingrid Hansen, and Frode Felipe Schjelderup from Stavanger, Norway. The exhibition also highlighted documentarian Heidi Benedict Sundby and musician Bjørn Hatterud, both from Oslo, Norway. It also featured “Little Waterfall” by William Britt.
"Finding Myself in Color" | Avery Hunter | July 7–September 9, 2022 | Blythe Brenden-Mann Community Center at MIDB
2022 was Art for All's year to celebrate disability pride and pride in identity. Avery Hunter expresses this pride through his art. Living and identifying as a transgender man with autism, schizoaffective disorder, ADHD and rheumatoid arthritis, Hunter explores what it means to be human in his work.
"I have been driven to accomplish distinct aesthetics in my work through the levels of psychosis that I experience. The amount of color in my work speaks to the freedom I feel in expressing my voice creatively, and the subject matter I present in quite a few art pieces advocates for those who need to be represented without stigmas, such as the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities. Yet there is more to one’s identity than their belonging in these communities. Therefore, I continue to explore what it means to be human in my work."
Read Hunter's full article in ICI's FYI monthly newsletter: FYI
"Beauty in Motion" | May 23–June 24, 2022
Two locations: Blythe Brenden-Mann Community Center at MIDB | 2025 E. River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55414University of Minnesota Department of Art, Regis West Gallery | 418 21st Ave South, Minneapolis, MN 55454
More than two dozen art students, led by AJ Molle from the post-secondary Transition Plus School , presented "Beauty in Motion." Through media ranging from watercolor to paper mache, the students offered a glimpse into their personal and collective lives. Everyone goes through a period of change in their lives and this is their story, through the lens of art. Featured artist Lena Osman mentored the students during the Spring 2022 term.
"ICI Staff Group Show" | March 16–April 29, 2022 | Blythe Brenden-Mann Community Center at MIDB
Staff, fellows and graduate students from the Institute on Community Integration showcased a different side of their individuality through an exhibition at the Brenden-Mann Community Center. Sarah Curtner, Rebecca Dosch Brown, Nik Fernholz, Rachel Freeman, Faith Jones, Maryam Mahmoudi, Pete McCauley, Mark Olson, Uma Oswald, and Alicia Zhang were the featured staff artists in the show.
entrance | October 13, 2021–February 28, 2022
Art for All’s entrance was the first art exhibition inside the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) at the University of Minnesota, the new home of the Institute on Community Integration. The title celebrates the emerging careers of four artists in the Twin Cities area, and also welcomes visitors to the Blythe Brenden-Mann Community Center in the MIDB annex.
Learn more about the show and artists in ICI’s FYI monthly newsletter .
cliffs are poet(z), Summer 2021
Art for All’s largest exhibition to date, cliffs are poet(z), opened in summer 2021, featuring the work of eight diverse artists with disabilities in the Northrup King Building in northeast Minneapolis, the largest art complex in Minnesota. The exhibition covered about 3,600 square feet and was dedicated to Cliff Poetz, Art for All’s longest-serving advisory committee member and a nationally recognized disability activist who died in March 2021.
To learn more about the exhibition, read the feature article in ICI’s FYI monthly newsletter or listen to the interview on Minnesota Public Radio . Lindsey Mooreland, one of the eight artists, was featured in St. Paul Pioneer Press during the show.
Black and White with a Touch of Color, Spring 2021
In spring 2021, Art for All presented Black and White with a Touch of Color, a solo exhibition of the work of artist Donna Ray, who donated her piece, “Lefty Guitar,” to the program. She also spoke virtually to high school art students who were selling their work as a donation to Art for All, and was interviewed for a livestreamed event by Nik Fernholz, Art for All program manager.
To learn more about this exhibition, visit ICI’s monthly newsletter, FYI .
Ray's work since Art for All
May 6, 2023 | Northern Clay Center In Plain Sight - Minneapolis Mn
May 6, 2023 | Carbondale Clay Center The Pairing - Carbondale, CO
December 4, 2022 | The Fearless Artist Miami Basel Pop-Up - Miami Fl
JULY 9, 2022 | Ramsey County Library. Featured Artist - Roseville, Mn 55113
June 9, 2022 | The Fearless Artist Pop Up - New York, NY
April 29, 2022 | Northern Clay Center Member Show - Minneapolis, Mn
January 27, 2022 | The Great Northern Festival (2 shows) #1 The Conservatory Jovan Speller & Andy DuCett group show. #2 Perspectives Molly Joyce - St Paul MN
October 14, 2021 | Lilian Davis Hogan Gallery SMUMN A Survey of Current Work Minnesota Women Ceramic Artist - Winona MN
Accomplishments
July 1, 2022 | The Fearless Artis Young Curators Program Co Hort 4 Learning to be a curator
April 1, 2023 | Received 6 Month Residency Minnesota African American Museum And Gallery to curate a show for the year 2024 ( Work in progress )
April 28, 2023 | PBS interview for Katie O’Rourke show to be aired in fall 2023, Title Art + Medicine Disability