Minnesota Marine Art Museum celebrates two new collections with weekend events | News

WINONA, Minn. (WXOW) — The Minnesota Marine Art Museum is celebrating the opening of two new collections this weekend with live artist demonstrations, public painting opportunities and extended evening hours in Winona.

The museum’s “Spring New Look Weekend” runs Friday through Sunday and highlights two new collections: “Myths & Legends of Minnesota: An Exhibition of the Minnesota Plein Air Collective” and “Gordon Coons: Gidibaajimomin / We Tell Stories.”

“These two different exhibitions both explore water in very different ways,” Minnesota Marine Art Museum Director of Communications Caitlin Crouchet said. 

“Myths & Legends of Minnesota” brings together 43 paintings from 32 artists connected to the Minnesota Plein Air Collective.

The exhibition focuses on Minnesota folklore, oral traditions and waterways through artwork created outdoors across the state.

“All of these artworks are a little bit smaller, and they’re done in oil, acrylic, or watercolor, and they’re all done outside,” Crouchet said. “What’s kind of interesting is that along with the painting in the galleries, there’s a small picture called in situ, which means where the painting was done. So you have a view of what the artist was seeing when they were creating the piece, which is kind of special and gives you a different perspective.” 

The collection was created through multiple events held throughout Minnesota and includes artwork inspired by lakes, rivers and natural landscapes across the state.

The second collection features the work of Gordon Coons, an Ojibwa artist and enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Band of Lake Superior Indians of Wisconsin.

His exhibition includes 18 new works created for the exhibition, along with previous works and examples of early Woodland Style art from Norval Morrisseau and Sam Ash.

According to the museum’s website, Coons’ work is inspired by Ojibwa rock paintings, birch bark drawings and oral traditions, using bright colors and interconnected forms to communicate stories and cultural teachings.

“He’s telling stories from a personal perspective from his culture,” Crouchet said. “So each painting, from what I understand, tells a different story.”

The weekend also includes opportunities for visitors to interact directly with artists through demonstrations and hands-on programming.

Saturday’s events begin at 10 a.m. with a plein air paint-along demonstration in the museum gardens. From 10:30 a.m. to noon, Coons will lead a drop-in printmaking activity included with gallery admission.

Additional programming throughout the day includes a public paint-out from 2 to 5 p.m., meet the artist tours and an evening social in the museum atrium.

“Sometimes people really like a different inroad to experience the museum,” Crouchet said. “For example, if you really don’t know where to begin, maybe a tour is a really lovely way to do that. Or you really want to see art in action. Well, watching plein air artists in the museum or out in the gardens is a really unique opportunity.”

“Gordon Coons: Gidibaajimomin / We Tell Stories” will remain on display through Aug. 30, while “Myths & Legends of Minnesota” runs through Sept. 13.

Click here for more information about the “New Look Weekend.” 

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