What we are, who we are: the state of the arts

Change is in the air for both the Plains Art Museum and The Rourke Art Gallery Museum, which leads to a question. What is the state of the arts in Fargo-Moorhead?

Former executive director Colleen Sheehy left the Plains in early October of this year. Under Sheehy, the museum completed a major capital campaign, installed a James Rosenquist (pop art icon and Grand Forks native) and opened the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity in 2012, a 25,500 square foot addition to the museum.

She accepted the role of president/executive director of Public Art St. Paul, an art organization whose primary focus is public art.

Needless to say the search for a new executive director is on, along with a search for a curator. This August former curator Becky Dunham accepted a position at Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, at Utah State University. Add a few other staff changes due to academics or whether the individuals answered other job offers, and the Plains has never experienced this much of a turnover at once.

Mark Ryan, director of collections and operations, says it’s merely coincidence and views the changes in a positive light, though he did acknowledge that the turnover exhibited bad timing. Ryan looks forward to fresh perspective and to a new energy at The Plains. “It’s an exciting time to focus not only on what we are, but who we are as an institution,” Ryan says. “That’s the key question we need to ask ourselves.”

Ryan was not at liberty to discuss the other candidates, but he did disclose that he put in for the position. Once the position of executive director is filled, the Plains will be on the lookout for a new curator. Luckily the museum has enough programming to last through the summer of 2016.

The Rourke is facing a similar situation. The former programming coordinator and interim executive director have both resigned due to academics and relocation. Trudy Sundquist has since taken the reigns at the Rourke. Sundquist started out as a part-time intern, but once the programming director quit she was hired full time.

Fortunately for the Rourke, before the former executive director left a grant was secured, courtesy of the Lake Region Arts Council, to further their education programming.

What was once a storage room now houses a workshop space. The Rourke will be offering two free classes a month for a six month period for kids and adults. ”We wanted to try to create all inclusive community programming,” Sundquist said.

Money from the grant will outfit the room with new tables, chairs and the appropriate technology, including projection screens and a new sound system. A broad spectrum of topics is covered, such as aerosol art and cell phone photography.

Jeff Knight, a member of the Rourke board added, “Ever since Jim died it’s been a question of how do you keep this place up? He had such a legacy.”

With both institutions facing such a transitional period, the changes that are happening outside of the gallery are worth noting. Public art is gaining quite the foothold in our community

Earlier this year the Fargo Arts and Culture Commission was created to present public art commissions and placement of Fargo’s public art to the city commission, as well as encourage and educate the public about public art. In fact, the Fargo Arts and Culture Commission also presents opportunities to artists in the area .

The city is accepting proposals from qualified consultants to provide their expertise in the evolution of a Public Art Master Plan. The Plan is expected to ensure that the city government, the public and the private sector are working together for the same goal. The selected individual is also expected to develop a strategy and a manual for the newly formed Arts and Culture Commission. The kicker is that the deadline is November 2.

The city is also seeking public art proposals from either qualified individuals or organizations to contribute to the public art movement in Fargo. Previous accepted proposals have included BeethovenFest and the creative bike rack project. They are also on the lookout for a curator to assemble a temporary exhibit at city hall. The intent is to showcase local talent and to enhance the walls along the hallways for visitors and city employees alike.

Moorhead has its own Art and Culture Commission. According to the Moorhead City Council’s website, “The purpose of the Moorhead Art and Culture Commission is to advise the Mayor and City Council on the development of arts and culture activities, projects, organizations and facilities within the City of Moorhead.” Their aim is to plan, recommend and visualize art and cultural events in the city, and provide leadership in accomplishing their goals, and advocate for funding the endeavors in hopes of boosting economic development, tourism and education in the arts within the city.

As of 2015 Moorhead has had a few public art projects under its belt, including Sticksgarden located between ACE Hardware and M&H on 6th Avenue and Main in Moorhead. The Heritage Garden is located between the site of the old power plant and Woodlawn Park in Moorhead. Plans for public art in 2016 involve a sidewalk poetry project inspired by “Everyday Poems for City Sidewalk” in St. Paul, Minn., created by artist Marcus Young.