Two goals of the Walker’s Education department spring directly from the Center’s mission to be a catalyst for the creative expression of artists and the active engagement of audiences: to continue to support and champion diversity and help people become comfortable with new ideas. As project director for mnartists.orgI have developed program goalsthat include building greater awareness of the Walkers commitment to local artists and diversifying mnartists.org membership geographically, artistically, and culturally.

On Saturday, June 23 at the Neighborhood House in St. Paul, mnartists.org held a professional practice and registration event in partnership with the Metropolitan Arts Council, Springboard for the Arts, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. I have been doing these events frequently around the state in partnership with the Regional Arts Councils to assist any artist who needs it to get their work on mnartists.org. In the past two years, more than 500 artists have gotten their work on the site as a result.

On Saturday over 30 artists showed up, including Khun Lwin and Mahamoud Ali, both new emigrants. Khun is from Burma and Mahamoud from Africa. Mahamoud said he haslived in Minnesota for a year and because he was with a group of artists he finally felt at home here. The individual stories of these artists is a big part of the story of mnartists.org and the Walker’s community engagement. Meeting artists and working with them to get their art on the site is extremely rewarding for me, and while personal satisfaction is not necessarily an institutional goal, it is a perk.

One of my favorite observations (or maybe critiques) that I hear from visitors to the Walker is “My kid could make that.” To me this is part of what makes contemporary art so dynamic. This weekend First Amendment Arts presents DESSERT!: The Collaborative Art of Cohen Morano. This exhibition features art made by 6-year-old Morano with artists like Shepard Fairey, Barry McGee, Tim Biskup, and others. Check out the press release below and make sure you get over to First Amendment Arts to taste the sweetness.

First Amendment Arts is proud to present “ Dessert,” the collaborative art of 6-year-old CohenMorano. Much like the title of the show, the art has no grand illusions to be anything but a sweet feast, but for the eyes rather than the taste buds. When asked about why he named the show as such, he simply replied, “ Dessert is really good.”

From the age of two (with a little help from dad, Gangsta Rap Coloring Book artist Aye Jay), Cohen’s watercolor paintings have traveled the globe to a “ Who’s who” of modern art, spanning graffitists, fine artists, printmakers, tattoo artists, as well as clothing and toy designers. Once in the artists’ possession, they have carte blanche to do whatever they wish to one of Cohen’s watercolors before shipping it back to eager little hands.

What has come back has been nothing short of stunning, from Barry McGee’s intricate pen work, Shepard Fairey’s iconic stencils, Chris Ware’s animals on parade, to Mark Ryden’s interpretive use of negative space. With the number of pieces now well over one hundred, artist Jack Davis (of Mad magazine fame) called Cohen “ another Ralph Steadman.” Other artists involved in the show include Juxtapoz regulars Bigfoot, Kaws, and Gary Taxali, Ego Trip’s Brent Rollins, rappers Rammelzee and Z-Man, gig poster giants Art Chantry and Frank Kozik, and Burlesque’s own Aaron Horkey, Todd Bratrud, and Mike Davis. While these collaborative pieces will not be for sale, this is a very rare opportunity for Twin Cities art enthusiasts to come see work from all of these artists in the same place at the same time.

When not painting or drawing, Cohen is your average 6 year old. He loves going to kindergarten, watching cartoons, eating mac and cheese, and everything Star Wars. This last October, Cohen was asked to design a skateboard for Foundation’s limited edition “ F Art” deck series, and his work has been featured in recurring blog entries on the respected art website http://fecalface.com

The show will run from June 16th through July 17th, 2007.

We will have an opening reception on June 16th, 6-10PM (note: no late night afterparty) with music from DJ Mike the 2600 King.

Both Cohen and Aye Jay Morano will be in attendance.

We will also be serving a giant array of desserts, so come hungry!

First Amendment is located at 1101 Stinson Blvd at the corner of Broadway and Stinson in NE Minneapolis.

(612) 379-4151

http://firstamendmentarts.com

Gallery hours:

Monday – Friday: 12 – 5PM

Weekends: by appointment

Some other links of interest:

http://www.mumblemagazine.com/407lilcohenmorano.htm

http://www.foskco.com/fartdeckprogram

While the Walker gets my full-time devotion, I give my part-time devotion to the management of two apartment buildings in Minneapolis. Not too long ago the neighborhood artists finally got their butts in gear (we haven’t had any decent street art in SUCH a long time) and now my building and parking lot are sporting some new acquisitions:

I’ll have to scrub the stuff on the building off, but I’m really hoping the property owner lets me keep the parking lot pieces. They add a little something extra to the space.