New Look Weekend Celebrates Four New Exhibitions at MMAM
Friday-Sunday | January 26-28
Minnesota Marine Art Museum | 800 Riverview Dr.
mmam.org
The Minnesota Marine Art Museum (MMAM) in Winona, MN presents the Freshwater New Look Weekend on January 26 – 28, 2024. In 2024, MMAM is presenting a year-long suite of exhibitions and programs that explores bold and often under-told narratives, examines fresh new perspectives of water, and features game-changing artists who help us better our relationship to this precious resource. This New Look Weekend celebrates the opening of four new exhibitions: Mustafah Abdulaziz: Water; Aabijijiwan / Ukeyat yanalleh, It Flows Continuously: Karen Goulet and Monique Verdin; Across a Wide Ocean: Remarkable Stories about the Origins of Identity; and Reflective Impressions: The American Society of Marine Artists 19th National Exhibition.
On Friday, January 26, MMAM will hold a New Look Preview Party. The evening will feature a spirited and spirit-free bar; staged social conversation with featured exhibiting artists Mustafah Abdulaziz, Monique Verdin, Karen Goulet and moderated by Mary Jo Klinker; a musical performance by Jada Brown featuring Willows; mini-tours of the Reflective Impressions led by two artists from the exhibition; special beverages from the La Crosse Distilling Company; and a dancehall shakedown by DJ Rhumpshaker. Tickets may be purchased in advance at MMAM.org or at the door, and are $20 and $15 for MMAM members.
MMAM visitors will receive the special New Look Weekend gallery admission rate of $5 (regular admission is $10) on Saturday, January 27 and Sunday, January 28, and there will be many opportunities to explore the new exhibitions and interact with the artists. On Saturday, Mustafah Abdulaziz will be giving a lecture at 11 am. For over ten years his work has focused on the human impact of climate change by bringing vital stories to the public through large-scale installations around the world. Mustafah Abdulaziz, Monique Verdin, and Karen Goulet will be leading tours of their new exhibitions on January 27 at 1 pm and 2:30 pm, and January 28 at 1 pm. Also on January 27, there will be a screening of the film My Louisiana Love, with artist Monique Verdin and presented with the Frozen River Film Festival. These events are limited ticketed opportunities to meet the artists, and require an additional $5 ticket for each event. Tickets may be purchased online at MMAM.org or at the door if space is available.
New Look Weekend also presents MMAM visitors with many enriching opportunities that are included in gallery admission. On Saturday, January 27, visitors can watch classic marine paintings come together as contemporary painters Nick Fox and Patrick O’Brien put paint to canvas inside the new exhibition, Reflective Impressions. On Saturday and Sunday, from 10 am – 12 pm, Sarah Johnson of The Joy Labs will be doing a community painting project, where attendees are invited to share their thoughts about freshwater and join Sarah to create an art piece that will be displayed in the museum atrium for all of 2024. Finally, Exhibiting artist Karen Goulet will be doing a demonstration of assemblage art in the atrium on Sunday, January 28 from 10 am – 12 pm. Goulet’s exhibition with Monique Verdin, Aabijijiwan / Ukeyat yanalleh, The Water Flows Continuously, is on view at MMAM through July 7, 2024.
This project is presented by the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, with support in part from the Board of Directors, the Elizabeth Callender King Foundation, Gundersen Medical Foundation, Winona Foundation, the Winona Community Foundation, and other generous sustaining contributions from foundations, corporations, individuals, members and volunteers. Special thanks to New Look Weekend sponsors and partners, Minnesota Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Radio, Lake and Company, La Crosse Distilling Company, Visit Winona, Frozen River Film Festival, and Ramshackle Press. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts & cultural heritage fund.
The Minnesota Marine Art Museum is a nonprofit art museum that engages visitors in meaningful art experiences that explore our ongoing relationship with water. Located in Winona, Minnesota, the purpose-built museum is located on the banks of the Mississippi River and boasts six galleries, an educational and events space, and a destination retail shop on its seven acre riverside campus. It is through this surprising diversity that MMAM is not only describing what marine art is, but pushing the boundaries of what marine art can be.
About the Artists:
MUSTAFAH ABDULAZIZ
New York-born and Berlin-based photographer Mustafah Abdulaziz (b. 1986) has devoted over a decade of his life to capturing the compelling narrative of climate change’s profound impact on humanity. Abdulaziz has meticulously documented global water issues through his ongoing Water series. This ambitious project explores diverse regions, from the arid landscapes of Somalia to Brazilian river basins, Pakistani city centers, China’s Yangtze River, and California’s brushlands. Through large-scale installations, Abdulaziz brings these critical narratives to the forefront, delving beneath the surface of the world’s most vital resource—water—offering a remarkable perspective on humanity’s connection with this indispensable element. His notable achievements include the prestigious Leica Oskar Barnack Award, support from National Geographic, and fellowships from the Alicia Patterson and Bertha Foundations. Abdulaziz’s photographs grace renowned publications like The New York Times, TIME, and Der Spiegel, while his work finds representation in exhibitions worldwide, spanning galleries, museums, and public spaces.
KAREN GOULET
Karen E. Goulet (b.1959), is a White Earth Ojibwe Band member and is also from Métis, and Finnish people. She is a practicing visual artist, poet, educator, and community sculptor. Water is her first love, first memories, and her medicine. Water permeates her narratives with waterways serving as the vital connection to family and cultural roots. She serves as the Miikanan Gallery Program Director at the Watermark Art Center in Bemidji, Minnesota, and is the recipient of grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Waterers Fellowship, and the Region 2 Arts Council. Karen also played a pivotal role as a pilot artist for the Big River Continuum Project. Her artistic focus revolves around community, environment, and the preservation of culture. Throughout her life, Karen has dedicated both her professional and personal endeavors to the creation, sharing, and encouragement of artistic practice.
MONIQUE VERDIN
Monique Verdin is a transdisciplinary artist and storyteller who documents the complex relationship between environment, culture, and climate in southeast Louisiana. She is a citizen of the Houma Nation, director of The Land Memory Bank & Seed Exchange and is supporting the Okla Hina Ikhish Holo (People of the Sacred Medicine Trail), a network of Indigenous gardeners, as the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network’s Gulf South food and medicine sovereignty program manager. Monique is co-producer of the documentary My Louisiana Love and her work has been included in a variety of environmentally inspired projects, including Cry You One multi platform performance that utilizes the unique music and stories of Louisiana to inspire connections between people working to steward the natural world wherever they live, Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas (University of California Press), and the collaborative book Return to Yakni Chitto: Houma Migrations (University of New Orleans Press).
Image: A previous New Look Party. Photo by Bailey Tillman.
The Minnesota Marine Art Museum is a member of the River Arts Alliance. To learn more about the benefits of membership, please visit: https://riverartsalliance.org/membership/.