2024 Fresh Eye Recap
Is 2024 over already??? How the time flies when you’re having fun!
Fresh Eye Arts being the vibrant and busy organization that it is, we don’t always have the time we’d like to slow down and reflect on our accomplishments. With that in mind, here are just some of the exciting things we got up to in 2024!
In 2024...
Fresh Eye Artists participated in more than 30 public exhibitions, locally and nationally!
Some highlights include Dede Decker at the MN State Fair Fine Art Show, Lynda Mullan at the MN Museum of American Art, and Paul Macaria’s Fox 9 feature for Brushwork at Fresh Eye Gallery.
Our parent organization, MSS, had its 75th anniversary! Celebrations were held year round. Art plays a big part in making MSS a place so many people love and depend on, and we were grateful for the chance to recognize our community.
Fresh Eye Gallery hosted 2,841 visitors and 10 exhibitions. Fresh Eye Artist Will Gonzales curated NON, which celebrated abstract art, and every exhibit included art by Fresh Eye Artists.
We partnered with local organizations like the Textile Center, Springboard for the Arts, Cow Tipping Press, and Life Drawing for the End of the World.
Eye to Eye, our signature collaborative art show, celebrated its 10th year. Our decade-anniversary was the biggest E2E yet, with 44 participating artists. In 2025, Eye to Eye will have a new focus: installation art.
Our Saint Paul studio location hosted artist Nina Robinson for the first Fresh Eye Studio Residency. Nina also curated Pathways at Fresh Eye Gallery, which celebrated her friendship and connection with Fresh Eye Artists Lynda Mullan, Lena Osman, and Kelly Pals.
Fresh Eye Arts staff represented the program at the 6th Annual Progressive Art Studio Conference in Oakland, CA, hosted by Creative Growth. This conference was also the kick-off of the Progressive Art Studio Alliance, a new national network of supportive studios.
Fresh Eye Arts participated in four art fairs, including the inaugural Minneapolis Sculpture Garden Art Fair and the 34th annual Powderhorn Art Fair (where staff braved 95 degree heat and 100% humidity to promote Fresh Eye!)
This list notwithstanding, even on days in the studio when there are no exhibition openings, workshops, guest artists, or any of the other myriad events that supplement the program, Fresh Eye Arts is still an exciting place to be. The talent and visionary creativity of artists with disabilities is the bedrock of Fresh Eye, and all the ways we get to show off to the community really are just icing on the cake!