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===WARM Gallery (1976–1991)===
===WARM Gallery (1976–1991)===
In 1976 the WARM collective established WARM: A Women's Collective Artspace (also known as the WARM Gallery) in a former clothing store in Minneapolis' [[Warehouse District, Minneapolis|Warehouse District]] in the Wyman Building at 414 First Avenue North. In 1972 New York City's [[A.I.R. Gallery]] became the first women’s cooperative gallery in the United States. WARM Gallery was one of number of cooperative artist galleries established by women using A.I.R. as a model. The gallery hosted solo and group exhibitions by invited women artists and from its membership. Visiting artists at the gallery included the painters [[Grace Hartigan]], [[Alice Neel]], [[Joan Semmel]] and [[Joan Snyder]]. The collective also invited artists and leaders to talks about women's rights through its Feminist Perspectives series,<ref name="Jordan"/> hosting feminist writers [[Robin Morgan]] and [[Germaine Greer]] among others.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lyon|first1=Joyce|last2=Erickson|first2=Elizabeth|title='The House We Built: Feminist Art Then and Now'|url=http://www.womenspress.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=22&ArticleID=4243|work=Minnesota Women's Press|date=2013}}</ref> WARM became a major part of the Minneapolis and Minnesota arts scenes. Other galleries later moved to the Wyman Building, with around 20 eventually sharing the building.
In 1976 the WARM collective established WARM: A Women's Collective Artspace (also known as the WARM Gallery) in a former millinery store in Minneapolis' [[Warehouse District, Minneapolis|Warehouse District]] in the Wyman Building at 414 First Avenue North.{{sfn|Inglot|2007|p=21}} In 1972 New York City's [[A.I.R. Gallery]] had become the first women's cooperative gallery in the United States. WARM Gallery was one of number of cooperative artist galleries established by women using A.I.R. as a model. The WARM Gallery hosted solo and group exhibitions by invited women artists and from its membership. Visiting artists at the gallery included the painters [[Grace Hartigan]], [[Alice Neel]], [[Joan Semmel]] and [[Joan Snyder]]. The collective also invited artists and leaders to talks about women's rights through its Feminist Perspectives series,<ref name="Jordan"/> hosting feminist writers [[Robin Morgan]] and [[Germaine Greer]] among others.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lyon|first1=Joyce|last2=Erickson|first2=Elizabeth|title='The House We Built: Feminist Art Then and Now'|url=http://www.womenspress.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=22&ArticleID=4243|work=Minnesota Women's Press|date=2013}}</ref> WARM became a major part of the Minneapolis and Minnesota arts scenes. Other galleries later moved to the Wyman Building, with around 20 eventually sharing the building.


The collective published the ''WARM Journal'' six times a year. For a time it was the only art magazine published regularly in the Twin Cities.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chiarmonte|first1=Paula L.|title=Women Artists: A Resource and Research Guide|journal=Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America|date=October 1982|volume=1|issue=5|page=A-15|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/27947012}}</ref>
The collective published the ''WARM Journal'' six times a year. For a time it was the only art magazine published regularly in the Twin Cities.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chiarmonte|first1=Paula L.|title=Women Artists: A Resource and Research Guide|journal=Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America|date=October 1982|volume=1|issue=5|page=A-15|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/27947012}}</ref>

Revision as of 20:25, 11 March 2015

Women's Art Resources of Minnesota (WARM) is a women's art organization based in the state of Minnesota. It was founded in 1976 as Women's Art Registry of Minnesota, a feminist artist cooperative. The organization ran the influential WARM Gallery in downtown Minneapolis from 1976 to 1991.

History

Early years

WARM has its origins in the feminist art movement of the early 1970s. Gatherings in the studios and homes of women artists in the Twin Cities led to the beginning of the Women's Art Registry of Minnesota in the winter of 1973 with the establishment of a slide registry of women artists from Minnesota by Lynn Lockie Warkov and Susan Fiene.[1] The group organized their own exhibitions and gathered statistics on the representation of women in the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Walker Art Center.[2] That year artist Judy Chicago spoke at the University of Minnesota and the College of St. Catherine about her Feminist Art Program at the California Institute of the Arts. The next year Chicago, Miriam Shapiro, and educators from the College of St. Catherine laid the foundations for WARM.[3] At the Mid-west Women's Artists' Conference in Michigan in 1975, attendees from Minneapolis learned about the practicalities of maintaining a cooperatively run gallery.[4]

The Women's Art Registry of Minnesota was founded as a cooperative by 37 women artists in 1976. It was the first feminist art cooperative in Minnesota.[5] The group was non-hierarchical, with all members serving on the organization's governing body.[6] They registered as a non-profit on January 28, 1976. They limited the membership to 40 people, who were required to pay dues, attend monthly meetings, and spend at least 300 hours annually on activities related to the organization and gallery.[7]

In 1976 the WARM collective established WARM: A Women's Collective Artspace (also known as the WARM Gallery) in a former millinery store in Minneapolis' Warehouse District in the Wyman Building at 414 First Avenue North.[8] In 1972 New York City's A.I.R. Gallery had become the first women's cooperative gallery in the United States. WARM Gallery was one of number of cooperative artist galleries established by women using A.I.R. as a model. The WARM Gallery hosted solo and group exhibitions by invited women artists and from its membership. Visiting artists at the gallery included the painters Grace Hartigan, Alice Neel, Joan Semmel and Joan Snyder. The collective also invited artists and leaders to talks about women's rights through its Feminist Perspectives series,[6] hosting feminist writers Robin Morgan and Germaine Greer among others.[9] WARM became a major part of the Minneapolis and Minnesota arts scenes. Other galleries later moved to the Wyman Building, with around 20 eventually sharing the building.

The collective published the WARM Journal six times a year. For a time it was the only art magazine published regularly in the Twin Cities.[10]

Catherine Jordan was hired as the gallery's coordinator in 1981. She become executive director of WARM the following year.[6] The collective established the WARM Mentor Program in 1982. Emerging artists are paired with professionals for the two year program. A more intensive program, the WARM Mentor Intensive Program, lasts one to three months.[11]

In October 1986, WARM hosted a national conference at the Minneapolis Plaza Hotel called "The Contemporary Women in the Visual Arts". The conference featured speakers such as Wilhelmina Holladay, artist June Wayne, and Janet Wolff. WARM Gallery and other galleries in the Twin Cities featured women artists during the conference. WARM also sponsored a traveling exhibition featuring artist Harmony Hammond.[12]

Following the conference, WARM found itself in significant debt.[13] While the WARM Gallery was a catalyst for economic renewal in Warehouse District, it closed shortly after the opening of the nearby Target Center sports complex in October 1990. As parking and traffic problems worsened, the gallery experienced a decline in visitors. Unable to keep up with rising rents, the board made a decision to close WARM Gallery in January 1991. They retained the corporation and the Mentor Program, moving to an office on University Avenue in St. Paul before relocating to the Women's Building on Rice Street.[14]

Post-gallery era

The Women's Art Registry of Minnesota continued to hold exhibitions for its members. In addition to its educational and professional programs, WARM maintains an online art registry of local and regional arists and publishes an e-newsletter.[11] WARM changed its name to Women's Art Resources of Minnesota in 2010.[15]

Legacy

The University of Minnesota's Weisman Art Museum held an exhibition of work from 12 of WARM's long-term members in 2006. The exhibition was documented in Joanna Inglot's 2007 book WARM: A Feminist Art Collective in Minnesota. The book includes a history of WARM and entries for each of the 12 artists featured in the exhibition.[16] Upon WARM's 40-year anniversary in 2013, exhibitions were held at both the University of Minnesota's Katherine E. Nash Gallery and Robbin Gallery.[15]

The Minnesota Historical Society holds records and media related to WARM in its collections.[17]

Selected members

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Inglot 2007, p. 13.
  2. ^ Brown, Meredith A. ""The Enemies of Women's Liberation in the Arts Will be Crushed": A.I.R. Gallery's Role in the American Feminist Art Movement". Archives of American Art.
  3. ^ Klein, Jennie (2012). "Doin' It in Public: Feminism and Art at the Woman's Building". Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies. 33 (2): 132.
  4. ^ Moravec, Michelle (2012). "Toward a History of Feminism, Art, and Social Movements in the United States". Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies. 33 (2): 30.
  5. ^ Inglot 2007, p. 3.
  6. ^ a b c Umolu, Yesomi (July 17, 2012). "WARM in the '80s Then & Now: Catherine Jordan on Art, AIDS, and Feminism in the Twin Cities". Walker Art Center.
  7. ^ Inglot 2007, pp. 27–28.
  8. ^ Inglot 2007, p. 21.
  9. ^ Lyon, Joyce; Erickson, Elizabeth (2013). "'The House We Built: Feminist Art Then and Now'". Minnesota Women's Press.
  10. ^ Chiarmonte, Paula L. (October 1982). "Women Artists: A Resource and Research Guide". Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America. 1 (5): A-15.
  11. ^ a b Olsen, Alis. "About WARM: History of WARM". Women's Art Resources of Minnesota. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  12. ^ Crowe, Edith L., ed. (Spring 1987). "WOMEN AND ART DOCUMENTATION GROUP: The Women's Art Registry of Minnesota". Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America. 6 (1): 36.
  13. ^ Inglot 2007, p. 67.
  14. ^ Inglot 2007, pp. 74–75.
  15. ^ a b Abbe, Mary (January 17, 2013). "Women's work, and proud of it". Star Tribune.
  16. ^ Gardner-Huggett, Joanna (2008). "Review: WARM: A Feminist Art Collective in Minnesota by Joanna Inglot". Woman's Art Journal. 29 (1): 64–66.
  17. ^ Holbert, Sue E. (Fall 1990). "MHS Collections: Women's History Resources at the Minnesota Historical Society". Minnesota History. 52 (3): 116.

References

  • Inglot, Joanna (2007). Westlund, Laura (ed.). WARM: A Feminist Art Collective in Minnesota (1st ed.). Minneapolis: Weisman Art Museum. ISBN 978-0-8166-5038-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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