State agencies seek visual art, literary work of crime victims
Minnesota crime victims who use art to express their experience are invited to submit entries to be considered for the eighth annual Art of Recovery, a visual and literary arts exhibition to be held April 20 – June 29, 2012. The exhibition is co-sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Justice Programs and the Minnesota State Arts Board.
Any Minnesotan who has been a victim of crime and has used art as a means to respond, explore, express or heal from their experience is invited to submit work. Submissions may include visual arts (drawing, printmaking, painting, watercolor, sculpture, ceramics, pottery, fabric and apparel, photography, video or mixed media) or literary work (poetry, short stories or essays).
The exhibition will be displayed at the Arts Board office to commemorate Crime Victim Rights Week, April 22 – 28. It also will be included in the St. Paul Spring Art Crawl, April 27 – 29.
Art and literary submissions of nearly 150 Minnesotans have been shown in the previous seven Art of Recovery exhibitions. The range of offenses addressed in past submissions has included crimes against persons and minors, as well as violent and financial crimes.
Individuals who have participated in previous Art of Recovery exhibits may enter; however, work shown previously in the exhibition will not be accepted.
The complete call for entries is available online at www.ojp.dps.mn.gov and at www.arts.state.mn.us.
Interested individuals should submit a completed entry form, brief narrative description, and work samples. The narrative should address how the submission(s) reflects the artist’s experience and/or recovery from a crime. Entries sent by e-mail must be received before 4:30 p.m. on Monday, November 14, 2011. Entries sent by U.S. Mail must be postmarked no later than Thursday, November 10, 2011 and sent to: Art of Recovery, c/o Minnesota State Arts Board, Park Square Court, Suite 200, 400 Sibley Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-1928.
Artwork selected for the exhibition must be delivered to the Arts Board in finished form, ready for display. Individuals who reside in the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area will be responsible for delivering artwork to the Arts Board office and retrieving it following the exhibit. Individuals outside the seven-county metropolitan area will be responsible for sending or shipping their artwork to the Arts Board. Artwork will be returned, postage-paid, by the Arts Board.
Questions about the exhibition or how to submit work may be directed to Alicia Nichols, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Justice Programs at 651-201-7318, 888-622-8799, TTY 651-205-4827, alicia.nichols@state.mn.us; or Virginia Padden, Minnesota State Arts Board, 651-215-1627, 800-866-2787, virginia.padden@arts.state.mn.us.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Justice Programs provides leadership and resources to reduce crime in Minnesota, improve the functioning of the criminal justice system and assist crime victims.
The Minnesota State Arts Board is a state agency dedicated to ensuring that all Minnesotans have the opportunity to participate in the arts. It provides financial support and services for artists, organizations, and arts education activities throughout the state.