Giving Hearts Day Logo (click for larger image)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 24, 2012

Contact: Kris Kerzman, (701) 232 3821, ext. 121

kkerzman@plainsart.org

FARGO, N.D. – Plains Art Museum has been selected by Dakota Medical Foundation (DMF) and Impact Foundation to participate in the 2012 Giving Hearts Day, a 24-hour online fundraising event that will be held on February 14, 2012. Contributions of $10 or more will be matched by a gift secured through the generosity of Otter Tail Corporation.

To support the Museum and have your donation matched, visit impactgiveback.org on February 14 and click on the Giving Hearts Day “Learn More” button.

Plains Art Museum is located at 704 First Avenue North. It is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a nonprofit, regional fine arts museum with plans to significantly expand its programs through its “Little Artist in All of Us” campaign. The campaign is raising funds for the Center for Creativity and Lifelong Learning which includes working with Fargo Public Schools and other educational entities to build teaching studios. The campaign is also strengthening operations by enhancing the Museum’s endowment and visitor services.

Museum programs are made possible, in part, by major funding from members of the Museum, The FUNd at Plains Art Museum, the cities of Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo through The Arts Partnership, The McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, the North Dakota Council on the Arts through an appropriation by the North Dakota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. More information is available at 701.232.3821 or at www.plainsart.org.

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Fargo, N.D. – Plains Art Museum, accredited by the American Association of Museums, presents a full slate of exhibitions, activities, and related events for early 2012. Please call (701) 232-3821 for registration or event details.

Exhibitions and Related Events

January 29 – May 6, 2012. Art on the Plains XI: A Regional Juried Exhibition. Plains Art Museum is thrilled to present Art on the Plains XI: A Regional Juried Exhibition, which features work from 48 established and emerging visual artists working in the region, with representatives from North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. AOP strongly represents contemporary practice in our region and the exhibition will feature work of all media, particularly photography, sculpture, and installation art. The year 2012 marks the 11^th anniversary of this celebration of regional art.

The Museum invited Hesse McGraw as this year’s juror. McGraw is the chief curator of exhibitions and projects at the Bemis Center of Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Neb. He is a curator, writer and artist. Prior to joining the Bemis Center, he worked as the assistant director of Max Protetch gallery in New York City. He was the founding director of Paragraph, a contemporary art gallery operating under the non-profit Urban Culture Project in downtown Kansas City, Mo., where he also served as senior editor of Review magazine.

• Saturday, January 28, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. Preview opening reception for Art on the Plains XI. Gallery talk by juror Hesse McGraw at 8 p.m. Music by Pavlov’s Daughter. Hors d’oeuvres and cash bar. Admission is free for Museum members, $10 for nonmembers.
• Sunday, January 29. Art on the Plains XI opens to the public.

February – March, 2012. The Missfit Cup Liberation Project. With the Missfit Cup Liberation Project, artist Michael J. Strand has asked participants to bring their favorite rejected cups to the Museum, which he will then trade for a new hand-thrown cup to replace it. Their cups will then reside alongside 99 other rejected cups as a collection of the best of the worst, a collectively curated orphanage of castoff cups.

• February 10, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. The Space Between: Art and Humanity. Michael J. Strand will discuss his current and recent projects which inquire about the potential of the “space” between object and humanity. It is in this space, where work is acquired and/or encountered that art finds a new voice and meaning, and with it increases the potential for the arts in the 21st century. Free and open to the public.

February 10 – March 3, 2012. Vote for Your Favorite S.P.A.C.E. Sculpture. 3…2…1…liftoff! Each spring, the Museum pairs up with students from an FM campus in the creation of a sculpture for our outdoor sculpture pad. Student proposals will be displayed in our Atrium and voted on by visitors, and the winning design will be given the go-ahead to place their sculpture on the pad for the summer season. This year, students from NDSU will be proposing designs under the supervision of Associate Professor of Art David Swenson. Keep an eye on our blog at plainsart.org/weblog to see and vote for the proposed designs online.

February 16 – June 3, 2012. Jubileum! Illustrations by Amy Jo Hendrickson Flattum. A designer and printmaker, Hendrickson Flattum blurs the lines between high art and commercial art. Her humor runs through highly detailed and well-executed illustrations. This new body of work, entitled Jubileum! (a Norwegian word for anniversary or celebration) focuses on her Scandinavian upbringing and heritage through the medium of contemporary illustration and printmaking. A special designed print titled Greetings from Fargo will be created specifically for this show.

March 1 – April 1, 2012. School Spirit: Celebrating Youth Art Month. Join us as we recognize the next generation of artists. March is Youth Art Month, a national observance emphasizing the value of art education for all children and encouraging support for quality school art programs. Enjoy the School Spirit exhibition and celebrate the work of hundreds of young artists from schools across the region.

March 19 – April 2, 2012. The Birdhouse Project. The birdhouses are back! Check out the innovative birdhouse designs of second-year NDSU architecture students in this limited run exhibition. Each student is given the name of a prominent architect and a species of bird or bat from our region, then takes on the assignment of creating a birdhouse in the style of the architect that will serve the unique needs of that bird species.

Through April 15, 2012. Birch Bark, Clay, Pixels, Paint. Birch Bark, Clay, Pixels, Paint: New Work in the Permanent Collection, presents a selection of works that are new to the collection and as diverse as the title suggests. Since 2007, hundreds of works of art have been donated to the Museum, and several new pieces have been acquired through Museum purchases or commissions. Birch Bark, Clay, Pixels, Paint, will display 50 of these works, including the first digital art in the Museum collection, Minnesota State University Moorhead Professor Henry Gwiazda’s video piece Claudia & Paul, a doll’s house, consciousness. Other works include an innovative birch bark collage made by the father and son team Pat and Gage Kruse of the Minnesota Mille Lacs Reservation, showing an abstract starburst design.

Social/Activities/Education

Let’s Move at PAM. Plains Art Museum joins with the national Let’s Move campaign, begun by First Lady Michelle Obama and adopted by the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The goal is healthier Americans through eating better foods and getting more exercise.

• Tuesdays at 8:30 a.m., January 24 – February 28. Artful Yoga at PAM. $10 per class/$5 for PAM members. Shake off the winter blahs by starting your Thursday with a gentle yet invigorating beginner’s yoga class in our sunrise-lit 3^rd floor open space. Bring a mat. Jan Knoedel serves as the main instructor for the class. Jan Knoedel is a certified yoga instructor who has taught varied levels of yoga for more than eight years.

Kid Quest. Saturdays, 10 a.m. – noon. This popular and free experience is perfect for families. Enjoy fascinating hands-on gallery activities. Preregistration is required. Register at plainsart.org/learn or call 701.232.3821 ext. 101.

• February 4. Furious Felters. Get your craft on like the artists of Unglued, a unique craft fair that will take over the Museum on Saturday, February 25. Cut and glue zig zags, lace, polka dots and all sorts of fabric textures and patterns to create a fabric landscape.
• March 10. Back by Popular Demand: The Great Art Free For All! Yes! This month you get to do it all! You select your supplies and create your own art ideas.

Classes for Adults. Visit plainsart.org/learn or call (701) 232-3821 to register.

• Digital Photography for Beginners. Five Saturdays, 1 – 3 p.m., January 21 – February 18. $80 for members, $88 for nonmembers. Many of us have digital cameras, but don’t really understand how to use them to get great photographs. This course will teach you how to use camera settings, composition, and subject matter styles to get the best photos for a variety of situations in several settings. Bring your own digital camera, any type will suffice. Ages 18+.

Art for Two. Workshops for an adult and a child (age 5 – 12) to enjoy creative time together. $22 for members, $25 for nonmembers. Call (701) 232-3821 or visit plainsart.org/learn to register.

• My Personal Piggy Bank. Saturday, February 11, 2 – 4 p.m. Get your personal finances in order through art!  Participants will create a unique, recession-proof piggy bank using paper maché and collage techniques.
• Your Own Storybook. Saturday, April 14, 2 – 4 p.m. You and your child will create his/her own version of a favorite story or fairytale in a one-of-a-kind art book.

About Plains Art Museum

Plains Art Museum is located at 704 First Avenue North. It is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a nonprofit, regional fine arts museum with plans to significantly expand its programs through its “Little artist in all of us” campaign. The campaign is raising funds for the Creativity Center for Lifelong Learning which includes the Fingerprints Interactive Education Gallery and working with Fargo Public Schools and other educational entities to build teaching studios. The campaign is also strengthening operations by enhancing the Museum’s endowment and visitor services.

Museum programs are made possible, in part, by major funding from members of the Museum, The FUNd at Plains Art Museum, the cities of Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo through the Arts Partnership, The McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, the North Dakota Council on the Arts through an appropriation by the North Dakota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. More information is available at 701.232.3821 or at www.plainsart.org.

Images available upon request.

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Tradition Falls (PDF) “Tradition Falls”, the first-place snow sculpture proposal for “Winter Wonderland,” by Darius Montazemi, Kelsi Mueller, and Nathan Stottler.

Lucent Gale(PDF) “Lucent Gale”, the runner-up snow sculpture proposal by Drew Holmgren, Collin Johnson, and Tali Johnson.

FARGO, N.D. – The Memorial Union Gallery at North Dakota State University (NDSU) and Plains Art Museum were collaborating with artist and landscape architecture Professor Stevie Famulari to bring a juried snow sculpture competition to the NDSU campus.

However, someone forgot to tell Mother Nature. The Fargo-Moorhead area has only received a dusting of snow since the initial scale model prototypes were judged for the competition last November, making construction of the snow sculptures impossible. The construction was planned for the first week of February, but will now be postponed to next winter.  The current selected teams will be given first chance at a space in next year’s sculpture competition by default should they choose to build.

“We think that this project shows the power of art to not just change lives but to change the weather,” said Colleen Sheehy, director and CEO of the Museum. “The mere planning and organizing of ‘Winter Wonderland’ overturned weather predictions that promised a very snowy winter caused by El Nina, and produced the snowless, warm season we’ve enjoyed this year. That was an inadvertent impact of this project.”

The Memorial Union Gallery will host a repeat exhibition of the snow sculpture prototypes January 12 – 26. The prototypes will then travel to the Museum for an exhibition February 3 – 12.

“Our arts community, in preparation for toughing out our typically intense January and February temperatures and snow in a creative way, would like to take credit for our lack of snow by simply planning this event,” Famulari said.

Audiences can look forward to the larger-than-life structures being carved next year. In the meantime, organizations interested in being part of next year’s event or making a donation can contact Famulari at stevie@steviefamulari.net or Memorial Union Visual Arts and Gallery Coordinator Esther Hockett at esther.hockett@ndsu.edu.

Plains Art Museum is located at 704 First Avenue North. It is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a nonprofit, regional fine arts museum with plans to significantly expand its programs through its “Little Artist in All of Us” campaign. The campaign is raising funds for the Center for Creativity and Lifelong Learning which includes working with Fargo Public Schools and other educational entities to build teaching studios. The campaign is also strengthening operations by enhancing the Museum’s endowment and visitor services.

Museum programs are made possible, in part, by major funding from members of the Museum, The FUNd at Plains Art Museum, the cities of Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo through The Arts Partnership, The McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, the North Dakota Council on the Arts through an appropriation by the North Dakota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. More information is available at 701.232.3821 or at www.plainsart.org.

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Art on the Plains is the Plains Art Museum’s signature juried exhibition for contemporary art in the region. Now in its eleventh year, AOP has become an important career builder for emerging artists and a point of pride among more established professional artists. The exhibition is known for presenting the latest trends in art of the region, providing a snapshot of the artists and art that make up our regional art scene. This year’s accepted entries represent 48 artists from four states.

Art on the Plains XI Release (PDF)

AOP Gallery Guide (PDF)

Click thumbnails for a larger image:

Amber Fletschock, Assemblage 24, 2011
, Mixed Media, 34 x 26 in.

Dan Koeck, Boy Playing in Mud, 2011, inkjet color print, 18 x 24 in.

Raina Belleau, Dignity in Dexterity
 Date, 2011, 
foam, artificial fur, cast resin, acrylic paint, found object, 6.5 x 4 x 3ft.

Jamie Burmeister, The Music Within My Head, 2011, interactive video installation: televisions, ladder, rocker, videos, electronics, 6’x 4’ x 7’ ft.

FARGO, N.D. – With the exhibition “Art on the Plains XI: A Regional Juried Exhibition,” opening January 29, Plains Art Museum will provide a valuable glimpse into the range of artistic talent currently being shown across the upper Midwest. Forty-eight established and emerging visual artists from North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska will be featured in the exhibition, particularly artists that exemplify the region’s contemporary practices in photography, sculpture, installation art, and other media.

Museum Director of Curatorial Affairs Megan Johnston said this exhibition makes a strong case for the Midwest as a source of some of the world’s most critical work.

“This exhibition proves that good work can be made anywhere today,” Johnston said. “The center of the art world isn’t necessarily New York, London or Berlin. It’s not Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, or Houston. It’s right here and right now.”

The exhibition was juried by Hesse McGraw, chief curator of the Bemis Center of Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Neb. He observes that the work in “Art on the Plains” upends traditional notions of the Midwest while offering a rationality found nowhere else in American life.

“The exhibition careens through the fault lines of Middle America: shrinking cities, corporate agriculture, race and class divisions, and meat and potatoes culture,” McGraw said. “Their works graciously reveal a place whose politics are more complex than stark red and blue and where taste is a battleground.”

McGraw, an artist and writer, was the founding director of Paragraph, a contemporary art gallery operating under the non-profit Urban Culture Project in downtown Kansas City, Mo., where he also served as senior editor of Review Magazine.

“Art on the Plains XI” will open in the Museum’s Jane L. Stern and William and Anna Jane Schlossman Galleries with a preview reception on Saturday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m. McGraw will deliver a gallery talk at 8 p.m. The exhibition will open to the public on Sunday, January 29. More information on the exhibition can be found at plainsart.org/exhibits. “Art on the Plains XI” is sponsored in part by Bremer Bank.

Plains Art Museum is located at 704 First Avenue North. It is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a nonprofit, regional fine arts museum with plans to significantly expand its programs through its “Little Artist in All of Us” campaign. The campaign is raising funds for the Center for Creativity and Lifelong Learning which includes working with Fargo Public Schools and other educational entities to build teaching studios. The campaign is also strengthening operations by enhancing the Museum’s endowment and visitor services.

Museum programs are made possible, in part, by major funding from members of the Museum, The FUNd at Plains Art Museum, the cities of Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo through The Arts Partnership, The McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, the North Dakota Council on the Arts through an appropriation by the North Dakota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. More information is available at 701.232.3821 or at www.plainsart.org.

FARGO, N.D. – Plains Art Museum announced today that it reached—and surpassed—a $200,000 challenge grant fundraising goal set by the Burgum family of Fargo. The funds will be used toward construction of the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity at Plains Art Museum.

The challenge grant was announced on December 15, the same day that a $300,000 donation from the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Trust was announced for the Center for Creativity project. For the Center to be ready for students by fall 2012, construction needs to begin this month. To act as a catalyst for ensuring that construction does indeed begin in early 2012, the Burgum family issued the $200,000 grant challenge. For the Plains Art Museum to receive the challenge grant funds in their entirety, donations needed to be received by December 31, 2011. A total of 78 donors contributed $250,000, exceeding the goal set by the challenge grant. With the money raised, construction will soon begin on the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity.

“What a holiday it was with the phenomenal outpouring of generosity from so many people, businesses, and foundations who responded to the Burgum family challenge,” said Colleen Sheehy, museum director and CEO. “I’m so thankful to the Burgums and to everyone who came through in such a short period of time for this match. Now the Center will become a reality that will benefit our youth and the whole community.”

The Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity will open in fall of 2012. Its programs will replace the current Creative Arts Studio at Clara Barton Elementary and will provide services for 6,000 Fargo Public School students and 8,000 total participants in its first year of operation. In subsequent years, 8,000 K-12 students and 12,000 total participants will make use of the Center’s programs, with services provided to other area school districts in addition to Fargo. Students will have access to the Center’s art education in the four studio classrooms and large ceramics studio. Student art shows and other project spaces are also included in the plans. Adult art classes, a teen program, and visiting artists programs are also planned to meet the need for a widely accessible community art center.

“This is a tremendous example of the impact that can be made when people come together,” said entrepreneur and philanthropist Doug Burgum, one of Katherine Kilbourne Burgum’s three children. “Because of the generosity of so many individuals, our community will benefit for years and years to come. On behalf of the Burgum family, ‘thank you’ to everyone who has helped make the dream of a Center for Creativity a reality.”

“We were inspired to make the challenge grant alongside the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum trust gift as a way to honor my late father, Brad Burgum, and his love of the arts that was shared by my grandmother K,” said James Burgum, entrepreneur and grandson of Katherine Kilbourne Burgum.

Construction on the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity will begin after the Museum’s board of directors approves the bids and contractors in mid-January. The Museum soon will launch a grassroots campaign to invite donations from everyone who wants to be part of completing the dream of the Center. The grassroots campaign aims to raise $50,000 to $75,000 for energy and operational efficiency improvements, an art installation wall for donor recognition, the naming of the ceramics studio for artist Robert Kurkowski, electrical signage, and other features. Four historic downtown buildings will be rehabbed and made into one unified building for the Center, located on First Avenue North next to the Museum. The buildings will be linked by a skyway.

About Plains Art Museum
Plains Art Museum is located at 704 First Avenue North. It is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a nonprofit, regional fine arts museum with plans to significantly expand its programs through its “Little Artist in All of Us” campaign. The Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity has been the cornerstone project of the campaign, which also included the commissioning of a major mural by North Dakota native James Rosenquist, which was installed in September 2010 and adds to the Museum’s endowment while enhancing visitor services.

Museum programs are made possible, in part, by major funding from members of the Museum, The FUNd at Plains Art Museum, the cities of Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo through The Arts Partnership, The McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, the North Dakota Council on the Arts through an appropriation by the North Dakota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. More information is available at 701.232.3821 or at www.plainsart.org.

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FARGO, N.D. – Plains Art Museum announced today that an anonymous donor has put forth $80,000 toward the $100,000 necessary for the naming of the Robert Kurkowski Ceramics Studio at the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity.

Kurkowski, a ceramic artist, worked as an arts educator at the Creative Arts Studio at Clara Barton Elementary for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2003. He passed away on December 12, three days before last week’s announcement of a key donation from the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Trust and challenge grant from the Burgum family toward construction of the Center for Creativity, a facility that will take the place of the Creative Arts Studio at Clara Barton Elementary and expand its activities.

“Naming the ceramics studio for Bob Kurkowski was something we were discussing when we learned that Bob was so ill, and we were so pleased to identify a donor who designated a huge portion of the $100,000 in Bob’s name,” said Colleen Sheehy, director and CEO of the Museum.

“He inspired the lives of so many who passed through the Creative Arts Studio at Clara Barton,” she said. “His legacy stands as a testament to the power of arts education. We want to honor that history as we open the Center for Creativity.”

The public can make contributions toward the naming of the studio in honor of Kurkowski by visiting plainsart.org, by visiting http://bit.ly/kurkowskistudio, or by calling the Museum at 701-232-3821.  Contributions made by December 31 will qualify to be matched by the $200,000 challenge grant set up by the Burgum family and will allow construction of the Center for Creativity to begin in early 2012.

Plains Art Museum is located at 704 First Avenue North. It is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a nonprofit, regional fine arts museum with plans to significantly expand its programs through its “Little Artist in All of Us” campaign. The campaign is raising funds for the Center for Creativity and Lifelong Learning which includes working with Fargo Public Schools and other educational entities to build teaching studios. The campaign is also strengthening operations by enhancing the Museum’s endowment and visitor services.

Museum programs are made possible, in part, by major funding from members of the Museum, The FUNd at Plains Art Museum, the cities of Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo through The Arts Partnership, The McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, the North Dakota Council on the Arts through an appropriation by the North Dakota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. More information is available at 701.232.3821 or at www.plainsart.org.

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Photo: Doug Burgum discusses the impact of the future Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity in an announcement at Plains Art Museum. Photo by Dave Arntson.

Photo: A concept image of the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity.

(Click thumbnails for larger image.)

Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Trust Gift to Plains Art Museum Release (PDF)

Center for Creativity Fact Sheet (PDF)

Donation – and challenge grant – to make Museum annex a reality in 2012

FARGO, N.D. – Plains Art Museum today announced that it has received a major gift toward the $2.85 million capital campaign for its Museum annex Center for Creativity project. The Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Trust has given an additional $300,000 to the campaign, with Burgum family members also issuing a $200,000 challenge grant.

Aimed at both ­­students and adults, the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for Creativity is an innovative collaboration between Plains Art Museum, Fargo Public Schools, and community artists. It will offer a dynamic studio and exhibition space for learning, discussion, and display of created work. Located to the west of the Museum, it will replace the Fargo Public School district’s Creative Arts Studio at Clara Barton Elementary. The district will be the cornerstone client at the Center, sending at least 5,000 K-5 students in the 2012-13 school year for gallery and studio learning at the Museum and Center. After its inaugural year, participation is expected rise to at least 12,000 students annually, including students from other area school districts.

“We are so thankful to everyone who has given their time, talent and resources to our Center for Creativity capital campaign; it has truly been a remarkable effort. With this additional gift, we are able to realize a dream that has been years in the making,” said Museum Director Colleen Sheehy. “We are truly grateful to the Burgum family for making this possible, and we are honored to recognize Katherine Kilbourne Burgum for her pioneering work as an arts advocate and educator in our region.”

For the Center to be ready for students by fall 2012, construction needs to begin in January. To act as a catalyst for ensuring that construction does indeed begin in early 2012, the Burgum family has issued a $200,000 grant challenge. To receive the challenge grant funds in their entirety, donations received by the Museum to its Center for Creativity capital campaign between now and December 31, 2011, must reach $200,000.

“Through the challenge grant, we hope to inspire other donors to make their gifts so the doors of the Center for Creativity can open in the fall of 2012,” said James Burgum, entrepreneur and grandson of Katherine Kilbourne Burgum. “We’re making the challenge grant in honor of my late father, Brad Burgum, who was a strong supporter of the arts and a strong believer in the power of challenges.”

In addition to the gift announced today, the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Trust made a $200,000 gift to the capital campaign in 2008.

“We’re extremely thankful to all those donors who have helped get the capital campaign to where it is today. It’s an incredible testament to the commitment they have to enhancing the vibrancy of our community through the arts,” said entrepreneur and philanthropist Doug Burgum, one of Katherine Kilbourne Burgum’s three children. “‘K’, as our mother was known to so many, was a believer in the concept that art should be present and accessible for everyone in day-to-day life. She undoubtedly would have been a tireless supporter of the Center for Creativity and would be incredibly honored that the Center bears her name.”

For more information on supporting the Museum through the challenge grant, visit www.plainsart.org. Donations can be mailed to the Museum at P.O. Box 2338, Fargo, N.D., 58108.

About Plains Art Museum
Plains Art Museum is located at 704 First Avenue North in downtown Fargo. It is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a nonprofit, regional fine arts museum with plans to significantly expand its programs through its “Little Artist in All of Us” campaign. The campaign is raising funds for the Center for Creativity which includes working with Fargo Public Schools and other educational entities to build teaching studios. The campaign is also strengthening operations by enhancing the Museum’s endowment and visitor services.

Museum programs are made possible, in part, by major funding from members of the Museum, The FUNd at Plains Art Museum, the cities of Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo through The Arts Partnership, The McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, the North Dakota Council on the Arts through an appropriation by the North Dakota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. More information is available at 701.232.3821 or at www.plainsart.org.

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[EDIT: Fixed photo formatting issues.]

WHY: Plains Art Museum, Fargo Public Schools, Doug Burgum, and James Burgum will hold a press conference Thursday, December 15, at 2 p.m. to announce a bold new future for Plains Art Museum.

WHO: Speakers will include Colleen Sheehy (Director of Plains Art Museum), Rick Buresh (Superintendent of Fargo Public Schools), Doug Burgum (Entrepreneur and Philanthropist and Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Trust Representative), and James Burgum (Co-Founder of Arthur Ventures and Burgum Family Representative).

WHEN: Thursday, December 15, 2 p.m.

WHERE: Plains Art Museum (704 First Avenue North in downtown Fargo), Ruth and Seymour Landfield Atrium (1^st floor).

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