Museum names coordinator for Minnesota Artists Program

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has named Christopher Atkins coordinator of the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program.

He replaces Stewart Turnquist whose abrupt resignation in July triggered weeks of protests by state artists who feared that the popular, artist-run program would be scrapped or altered by museum leaders. Artists circulated petitions, confronted board members at the museum's annual meeting and shouted at Institute director Kaywin Feldman in public forums.

Feldman and the museum's board insisted the program is vital to the museum and would continue, but many artists remained skeptical pending the appointment of a new coordinator.

Atkins, who will begin work March 23, was chosen from about 50 applicants by a search committee representing the museum and Minnesota artists. Committee members were Liz Armstrong, the museum's assistant director for exhibitions and programs, and artists Carole Fisher and Irve Dell representing the Exhibition Program.

"I have no idea how it will play out in the artist community, but all I can do is assure people that I thought the selection process was very thorough and very fair," said sculptor Wayne Potratz, a vociferous critic of the museum's handling of the brouhaha. Potratz said in an interview Thursday that he does not know Atkins, but "I have confidence in the process and the choice they've made."

The coordinator is equivalent to a curatorial post but without responsibility for picking art.

Atkins is a writer, critic and arts administrator who earned an M.A. in art history from Goldsmiths College, University of London, in 2003 plus an M.Res. degree in visual cultures from that institution in 2004. He also earned a graduate certificate in museum studies from Harvard University in 2001. He was deputy director of Franklin Art Works, a nonprofit exhibition space in Minneapolis, from 2006 through August 2008. He has been a visiting assistant professor at Macalester College since August 2007 and also teaches at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. A 1998 graduate of the College of Wooster, he worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in the membership and media licensing departments from 1998 to 2002.

The program is the only artist-run curatorial department in any American museum. It typically stages five exhibitions annually, featuring art that is chosen by a committee of artists who are elected each year by their peers. The coordinator oversees installation of the art, writes brochures, raises money, and serves as liaison between the artist's community and the museum.

Mary Abbe • 612-673-4431