Local Artist Interviews - a new website to showcase Minnesota Artists

Kara Hendershot (Interview)

In August, I started www.local-artist-interviews.com to try to give some exposure to my fellow Minnesota Artists. It came to me one day when I was doing some websearchin' on an artist I had noticed. I do not remember which artist, which would really flesh out the story, but I remember thinking that most of the information I found about an artist came from the artist's own website. Thank God for those artist statements we all hate to do or I would find very little indeed!

Lindsy Halleckson (Interview)

Occasionally I would come across an interview with someone. I learned so much more about the artist in an interview format and felt a stronger connection with the artist and the art. Why was this?

My conclusion was that when someone is interviewed, it automatically makes what they are saying more important than if you just read it in the "About Me" section of someone's website. It also cuts through the bullshit that tends to clog up the message of people's artist statements. Seriously, read some artist statements and see if they aren't a bit on the convoluted and/or pretentious side.

Beth Bowman (Interview on 10/20/10)

Caitlin Karolczak (Interview)

Minneapolis is a great art town. I have a studio in the Northrup King Building (#274) in NE Mpls. It is filled with over 100 artists and more often than not, they are really, really, good artists. And I should not forget the Casket Arts Building, Grain Bldg, Bottling House, Keg House, California Bldg, and all the other NE Mpls Arts District artist studios too. I love St. Paul, too. Especially all of the art to be found in Lowertown. I'm less familiar with out-state art, but I know that I always look forward to the galleries in Stillwater, Duluth, Northfield, and lots of other places.

Lynn Speaker (Interview)

Corey McNally (Interview)

I believe that a good artist shouldn't have fame before garnering their first interview. If the art is good, there should be an outlet for sharing the art and the artist with the world. Something more than the artist's own website.

My hope is that for each artist interviewed, there is some collector out there, loving Minnesota and the art he or she has seen at Powderhorn, or Art-Attack, or the St. Paul Art Crawl, typing in the Google search string "Art + Minnesota," who gets to make a connection which leads to a sale, some publicity, and of course, friendship (OK, friendship might be stretching it, but I wanted a series of 3 for my example).

Kevan Willington (Interview)

The other thing that I want to see happen with www.local-artist-interviews.com is some quality networking. I think being an artist if often lonely, isolating work. I have been in weekly art groups which have been a great source of community for me, but groups fall apart, people move on....

So I created a corresponding Facebook page. That has been the fun part for me. With each interview on LAI, I ask questions about favorite MN artists, what galleries people like, where people go to see art. Then I make Facebook links to everyone mentioned that I can find. I have learned about SO MANY ARTISTS from doing this. I hope that by sharing all of the connections through Facebook, that lots of other people, too, will learn about other MN artists and community will form.

Alyssa Wendorf (Interview)

Dress by Emma Berg, Photo by Emily Utne (Interview)

Want to be involved? Submit your own interview based on my simple question template. Got something else in mind? Send me an email. In the meantime, check out www.local-artist-interviews.com, "Like" LAI on Facebook, and send friend requests to the artists you learn about in the interviews.

Buy art / Visit galleries / Spread the word

Michael McGraw (Interviewer)