MINNEAPOLIS, September 18 2015—In celebration of the Guerrilla Girls’ 30th anniversary as an activist art collective, several Twin Cities arts and cultural organizations are thrilled to announce the Guerrilla Girls Twin Cities Takeover in 2016. The first project of its kind for the Guerrilla Girls and the largest arts collaboration of Twin Cities organizations to date, the Guerrilla Girls Twin Cities Takeover aims to inspire individual and collective activism by inviting the artist group to create new artwork and connect with the Twin Cities through youth engagement and community-wide events. The public moments of the project will be the launch in January 2016, followed by the Guerrilla Girls Twin Cities Takeover—a multisite, citywide festival—for one week in February and March 2016.

“We’re super psyched to be coming to the Twin Cities in 2016 for lots of art, performances, workshops, exhibitions and activism,” said the Guerrilla Girls. “What an incredible opportunity to work closely with so many arts organizations and youth groups across the community to come up with creative strategies to promote human rights everywhere, from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Syria, Baltimore to Congo, Silicon Valley to Mumbai!”

Organizations spearheading the Guerrilla Girls Twin Cities Takeover include Hennepin Theatre Trust, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis Institute of Art, St. Catherine University Department of Art and Art History, Walker Art Center, and Weisman Art Museum. Additional organizations include Altered Esthetics, Artistry, Bryant Lake Bowl, Carleton College, Christensen Gallery at Augsburg College, Concordia University Gallery, Gamut Gallery, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Instinct Gallery, Intermedia Arts, Juxtaposition Arts, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Public Functionary, Soo Visual Arts Center, St. Olaf College, The Soap Factory, Third Place Gallery, and Waiting Room.

Over the next several months, the Guerrilla Girls will visit the Twin Cities and work with local youth groups through workshops and classroom visits at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and St. Catherine University Department of Art and Art History to form the basis of the takeover and inspire a new generation of art activism. They will also create a newly commissioned work specific and responsive to the Twin Cities that will be presented in multiple venues.

The Guerrilla Girls Twin Cities Takeover will kick off January 21, 2016 with exhibition openings and free youth-oriented events at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and Walker Art Center. The Minneapolis Institute of Art will present a ReMix of the permanent collection organized by the Guerrilla Girls; the Minneapolis College of Art and Design will present student work created in collaboration with the Guerrilla Girls and Stepping Back, Looking Forward: Honoring Feminist Vision, a group exhibition organized by the Minnesota Chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art; and the Walker Art Center will install a selection of the Guerrilla Girls’ recently acquired poster archive in the exhibition Art at the Center: 75 Years of Walker Collections.

The Guerrilla Girls Twin Cities Takeover from February 29 - March 6, 2016 will unveil the newly commissioned Guerrilla Girls work on Hennepin Avenue in the downtown Minneapolis Cultural District and other locations to be announced, along with new Made Here storefronts created in collaboration with local youth groups. Public panels and discussions with the Guerrilla Girls will take place at the Weisman Art Museum and the State Theatre. Dozens of related exhibitions and events will also take place at Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Instinct Gallery, Juxtaposition Arts, and Minnesota Museum of American Art, among many others.

Please visit www.ggtakeover.com for more information on the Guerrilla Girls Twin Cities Takeover including a map of events, the latest news, press materials, and more.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Hennepin Theatre Trust, Minneapolis
Karen Nelson
karen.nelson@hennepintheatretrust.org, 612-455-9526

Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Kerry Morgan
kmorgan@mcad.edu, 612-874-3667
Ann Benrud
abenrud@mcad.edu, 612-874-3793

Minneapolis Institute of Art
Anne-Marie Wagener
awagener@artsmia.org, 612-870-3280

St. Catherine University, St. Paul
Patricia Olson
plolson@stkate.edu, 651-690-6642

Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
Meredith Kessler
meredith.kessler@walkerart.org, 612-375-7651

Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis
Erin Lauderman
elauderm@umn.edu, 612-625-9685