GALLERY DAYS Book reading and talk/show: Mar. 27, 7pm Washington County Heritage Center 1862 South Greeley St. Stillwater, MN 55082 FREE, All welcome
"If you were around in the 70s (and even if you weren't but are curious to know what the heck was going on in the Twin Cities art, literature, music and food communities), this sums it up. And it's a rich scrapbook of visuals--clippings, posters, photos, mementos--that embody the spirit of the time (our flaming youth) and the place (the warehouse district)", Karin Winegar, former Minneapolis Star Tribune writer.
Before we say goodbye to 2024, here’s a look at some of this year’s prettiest and informational coffee table books by local authors:
“Gallery Days: Memories from the Artists’ Quarter in Historic Downtown Minneapolis”: by Judith C. Stern (PJ Penguin Publishing, no price listed) This interesting book, packed with illustrations, tells part of the story of the life of the author, owner of the Judith Stern Gallery.
“This is the story about one woman’s failures and triumphs during an exciting, brief window of time when the Warehouse District in downtown Minneapolis woke up after a long slumber and became a vibrant artists quarter drawing visitors from afar and artists from the country,” beginning in 1977, the author writes. She places the center of the mecca that drew artists, galleries, filmmakers, tourist and coffee lovers within the area from First Avenue to Second Avenue South and Third Street to Sixth Street North, with the New French Cafe being the center. The demise began about 1983 with the building of the Metrodome.
Stern opened her first art gallery in the Kickernick Building in 1978. A believer in honoring the old, she undertook eight building-renovation projects, plus saving an antique horse-drawn fire pumper. Her book is divided geographically, discussing artists who inhabited the Renaissance space, including Meridel LeSueur, Fred Manfred, Waring Jones and Garrison Keillor, along with many more.
A native of Robbinsdale, Minn., Stern has been a fashion designer and a storyteller with Maren Hinderlie at the Guthrie Theater. She taught American Indian Spirituality through the Science Museum of Minnesota and American Indian Art at the University of St. Thomas, and owned JvonStern Store in Marine on St. Croix, selling her clothing and furniture she designed. She has independently published eight books.
“Gallery Days” is packed with lively anecdotes and artwork ranging from paintings to newspaper stories. It’s an important contribution to the history of the Twin Cities literary community. (For information, contact jsternmotherearth@aol.com)
Karin Winegar, former staff writer at The Minneapolis Star Tribune said, "Congratulations! Your book absolutely deserves the Minnesota Book Award for its range and understanding, its insider perspective --You Were There-- and how it preserves that semi-enchanted time and place."
Jim Lundholm Eades says, "I have read this book. If you want a book that is simultaneously humorous, poignant, historical, interesting, then get this book. The photos are amazing. The text is beautifully written and held my attention even when I only meant to pick it up and browse…. A few hours later I’m still reading. Yep, it’s that good. Highly recommend it."
Following are excerpts from the Minnesota Star Tribune, February 15, 2025, 8am Written by Katie Galioto
A resurgence of artists is brewing in Minneapolis’ Warehouse District EXCERPTS As Timberwolves fans made the cold trudge up 1st Avenue N. for Wednesday evening’s game, many paused for a curious glance through the glowing window of the Kickernick Building, where hundreds of art aficionados strolled through downtown Minneapolis' new fine arts gallery.
The Kickernick’s bargain price and 99% vacancy provided a blank canvas for new owner Kristi Oman of Space Unlimited, a family-run commercial property manager and developer with more than 1 million square feet of space in Minneapolis. Inspiration struck Oman during a June trip to New York, where she stayed in a hotel next to an EDEN contemporary fine art gallery.
Long before the artists arrived, the Warehouse District housed Midwest wholesale operations for East Coast enterprises. The Kickernick Building was constructed in 1896 for a boot and shoe company, but it soon became home to garment makers producing women’s lingerie.
The core of the Warehouse District, roughly 13 blocks linking the North Loop to downtown’s central business district, declined as commercial and industrial activity shifted to the suburbs in the mid-1900s. In her book “Gallery Days,” Judith Stern, whose former gallery got its start in the Kickernick, suggested the area’s artist-led renaissance began around 1977 with the opening of mainstays like the New French Café and the Hanson-Cowles Gallery.
“It was a beautiful, rich experiment that originated from the hearts and minds of local independent individuals with far more ambition and dreams than money,” Stern wrote. “In the end, it may have been a victim of its own success.”
In recent months, public- and private-sector leaders have homed in on the Warehouse District as a key to downtown revitalization efforts. First Avenue N. is slated for a major reconstruction that could re-imagine the corridor in the coming years. Mayor Jacob Frey said the district has the potential to be Minneapolis' version of Times Square, a social district that attracts visitors from across the state.
END OF EXCERPTS
Below: Kristi Oman, owner of Kickernick Gallery / Judy Stern and Gallery Days book at Kickernick Gallery
Click on BOOKS for more information, pricing and ordering
Welcome to Teachings From Mother Earth. I write and publish books reflecting wisdom gained by studying and living with Native Americans. They have much to teach us! Click on BOOKS above.
Now available: Gallery Days, my new 200 page 12 X12 hardcover book telling the whole story! Also new: Artist David Bradley, Northern Roots. Click on BOOKS above.
My Native American Judith Stern Art Gallery flourished in the 1970s and 80s. See examples of the artists and art that were featured in the gallery: Click on FINE ART above.
A short visual story-telling journey details some of my Gallery Days in the Minneapolis Artist's Quarter. Click on HISTORY above.
A story telling history of my JvonStern store in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota is on the BLOG.
Thank you for visiting Teachings From Mother Earth, Miigwech, Judy Stern
