Matthew Bakkom is the curator of the newest (and one of the few) art galleries in downtown Minneapolis. The old Shinders building was transformed into the gallery by artists such as Ralph Burnett. "It's been sitting empty for a year and a half and a group of artists and i thought we should do something," says Bakkom. The art in Bakkom's gallery is not traditional, but contains more contemporary and locally inspired pieces that pushes boundaries and makes politcal statements. Bakkom, Burnet, and the whole team that transformed this old building into an art gallery hope that this will help clean up 8th and Hennepin and the surrounding neighborhoods. Join discussion...

The main question in the art community relating to President-elect Barack Obama, is whether he will help the arts more than President George Bush did. Obama has already mentioned plans to help the art community. Our art and our culture…that’s the essence of what makes America special, and we want to project that as much as possible in the White House,” said Obama. He plans on having a three person advisory that will review the two main agencies that provide funding for the arts, the NEA and NEH. Although these are great improvements from what Bush did, many people are saying that Obama can do more. A coalition of arts organisations, including the American Association of Museums, Americans for the Arts, the Association of Art Museum Directors, and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies submitted a report to Obama’s office recommending further measures to improve government support of the arts. One of the most important suggestions was the increase of the NEA's annual budget to 319.2 million dollars. Category: Join discussion...