(lively music) - Hello and welcome to "Prairie Pulse".

Coming up a little bit later in the show, we'll hear music from the International Treasures, but now our guest joining us is the new director and CEO of the Plains Art Museum, Erin Shapiro.

Erin, thanks for joining us today.

- Delighted to be here.

Thank you so much.

- Well, as we get started, tell the folks a little bit about yourself and your background and maybe where you're originally from.

- Sure.

Originally from upstate New York, so I've been telling everybody used to the winters now that I'm here in Fargo, North Dakota, and I'm a long time museum worker, so actually a trained studio artist originally.

I have my master's in sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art and worked as a working artist for several years and that's how I originally got into museum work.

So I worked at the Cranbrook Art Museum and then worked at several museums in Cleveland, Ohio, and it kind of just went from there.

So, longtime museum worker and thrilled to be here at Plains Art Museum now.

- Well, I understand your most recent home was in Hawaii.

You moved here from Hawaii, I understand.

- [Erin] Yeah.

- So how have you adjusted so far to your new position and new location?

- Sure, we've been loving it.

I tell everybody, we've been here about three months now, and the day we flew out I realized we didn't even own closed toed shoes.

So, it was a bit of an adjustment weather-wise, but really, I mean the Fargo Moorhead community is so welcoming and so friendly that it's been a very easy transition for us and we just feel part of the community and at home already.

So, I'm very grateful for that type of community support here.

I think Fargo is an incredibly special place and I'm just delighted to be here and to be working in the community in the capacity that I am.

- Well, you said your first day was Halloween, October 31st.

- [Erin] It was.

- But let's go back now to the Plains Art Museum.

What is the mission and the role of the Plains Art Museum?

- Sure.

The Plains Art Museum, we really serve as a community connector.

So we are actually the largest and only accredited art museum in both of the Dakotas and Western Minnesota.

So to be an accredited art museum is a huge distinction.

Museums in the United States are accredited through the American Alliance of Museums, and only a very small percentage of museums in America receive that type of distinction.

So that is a huge honor for the museum and really sets a benchmark for us to provide top tier exhibitions, to really be focused on community engagement, to be bringing people in.

We do a lot of work with underserved communities, as well, within the Fargo Moorhead region and beyond.

So when we think about our mission, it's not just about showing and exhibiting art, which is what people often do think about when they think of an art museum, but what we're really trying to convey and to communicate to people is that we are so much more.

We're a place where people can come to have dialogues about topics that might be challenging and you can't have in other public spaces.

We're a space for people to come and to learn, for K through 12 students to come and appreciate art in a whole new way, and we're really here to serve.

And that's something that the team at Plains is working to convey to the community.

We're here for you.

We are your community museum, but we're also recognized on that national level, as well.

And so I think that's something that's incredibly exciting and gives us a unique platform to bring in artists and exhibitions on a national level and really share that with the Dakotas and Western Minnesota.

So it's a unique museum, it's an exciting museum, and we have so many exciting new initiatives coming up, as well.

- Well accredited, you mentioned that a time or two there.

What does that mean and what does it take to be accredited?

- Sure.

It means that you adhere to best practices on every single front.

So the accreditation process actually happens every 10 years.

So, we first received accreditation in 2003, and we are just re-accredited in 2018 and will be up for re-accreditation again in 2028.

So they hold you to it.

I mean, you don't get accreditation then stop.

You have to continue to evolve and to observe those best practices.

But it means that we take the best absolute care of our permanent collection.

So the Plains Museum holds several thousand works in public trust as part of our permanent collection, which I know we'll talk a little bit about more later on in the interview.

But it means that we observe, humidity standards, temperature standards, and that those works are preserved for future generations.

So that's a huge component, and by having those standards, it means that we can accept artworks from other accredited institutions throughout the US.

So for example, in 2025, we have works coming from the Redding Public Museum in Pennsylvania, really phenomenal works that will be on view, and that's only possible because we are accredited and we observe those standards.

So other museums know when they work with us that they can trust that we will care for their artworks, as well.

But it also means that we observe principles in the DEAI sphere, as well.

So diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion.

And this is something that's obviously come to prominence across the board in the United States and museums have really been a leader in this capacity, as well.

So really working to observe best practices in those arenas and give opportunities to be inclusive, to be equitable and also accessible.

So really looking at each portion of the DEAI standards, and that's something that we're looking at the museum.

We're actually doing an internal equity assessment and study moving forward.

We're working on expanding our accessibility and outreach efforts to work with different groups that are often underserved in the museum sphere, so those who may be neurodivergent, on the autism spectrum, low vision or blind, deaf, hard of hearing, really removing barriers.

So I think when you think about being accredited, it means so much more than just exhibitions.

Again, it means that you are truly serving the community that you are in and really observing these national standards that are set by the American Alliance of Museums.

So it's something that we take very, very seriously and are very proud of because it is such a mark of distinction and it sets Plains Museum apart from other museums in the region because we do adhere to those standards.

- Okay.

Well, let's take a step back and talk about when was it founded and how was it founded?

- Sure.

So actually it was founded in the 1960s and it was first in Moorhead, Minnesota.

So our origin roots are not in North Dakota, just across the border.

And it was actually first in a post office, so more humble beginnings.

But we acquired the International Harvester Building, which people may be familiar with for its original purpose, which is in downtown Fargo, and moved there in 1997.

So we've been at our current location for a few decades now, and it is a gorgeous, gorgeous building.

For those of you who have seen it, it's absolutely phenomenal.

It has sort of that rustic feel, large square footage for exhibitions and for event spaces and things like that.

And we also acquired the adjacent building next to us, which is now the Katherine Kilbourne Center for Creativity.

So we're able to host art classes, studio classes.

We have a fully functioning ceramic studio, we have a printmaking studio.

And I wanna really state that this is rare for art museums to not only have the art space, but to also have that studio and that making space as well, so we can really show people how to make art and get them excited about learning new skills and things in that arena, and then also see art.

So really the best of both worlds, in my opinion.

And one of the main reasons that I was so drawn to the museum itself and made the decision to come here was because we're really doing work in all of those different arenas.

And I mean, there is nothing like having a group of third graders come over from Fargo public schools and get to tour the exhibitions, talk about the artwork with our fantastic teaching artists, and then go make a ceramics project right on site.

And I think having that immediacy of making and critical thinking is so important and really gives them a different footing within the art world and a different understanding of what art can be and what it can mean.

And once again, it breaks down those barriers and makes it accessible and interesting for people in the different capacity.

- Okay.

Talk a little bit more about your expertise that you bring to the job with your past experiences.

- Sure.

So like I said, I started actually on the artist side of things, which I do think gives a unique perspective into art in general.

So as I said, I am a trained studio artist.

I received my bachelor's from Hamilton College where I was doing both studio art and English Lit, actually.

So, avid reader and an English major gave me that excuse to read novels, which I really enjoyed through undergrad.

But that was a really great experience and I was also able to study abroad.

And that's actually when I had my first job at a museum.

I studied in Florence, Italy and worked at the Palazzo Vecchio, which is the seat of the Florentine government.

I was a tour guide.

I got to give the secret passage tour.

So I was taking English-speaking visitors through the different areas of the Palazzo Vecchio.

And that was my first taste of actually working with the public in a museum setting and getting to explain things to them and help them appreciate what they were seeing on a deeper level.

And that really resonated for me.

So, I was still more interested in the making side of things, but I think that started the itch of what it can be to work with that museum sphere.

So it's like I said, I went to Hamilton, graduated and then spent a year in Baltimore at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where I was studying critical theory specifically, as well as working on my own art studio practice.

And then from there, earned my MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, which is right outside of Detroit, and that's a very studio-intensive focused school.

So I was able to really, once again, focus on my practice, work in that capacity.

And after graduating, moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and that's when I really started working within the museum sphere in a more official capacity.

So I was there at the Natural History Museum and the Botanical Garden and then secured a position at the Springfield Museum of Art, which is in Springfield, Ohio.

And I was their curator for several years.

So that was a really wonderful opportunity.

Springfield Museum of Art is a Smithsonian affiliate, so I was able to work with a Smithsonian in that capacity and thinking about programming and exhibitions and really appealing to the community in that way.

So spent some time there, and then from there, I've been at several other museums, so moved around quite a bit over the last few years, but was at the Honolulu Museum of Art, working in interpretive resources.

So interpretation is a big part of the art museum world these days, and that's once again, making art accessible to everybody.

The Honolulu Museum of Art is a very interesting case study because the majority of visitors are actually Japanese-speaking, as opposed to English-speaking.

So I was working to think about how we could convey information about our works in a more universal capacity.

A lot of things were written from a very Western perspective.

So once again, thinking about inclusivity in art museums and how we disseminate information for the public.

And then from there I was at the Taubman Museum of Art, which is in Roanoke, Virginia.

And I was the Deputy Director of community engagement.

So I was leading that department, which once again was focused on providing information to the public, building community partnerships with different nonprofits and organizations within Appalachia and once again, working very directly to help underserved groups come into that museum sphere.

And then most recently I was the executive director of Hawaiian Mission Houses and Archives in Honolulu.

So I come directly from that position.

- A lot of experience there.

Let's circle back around.

You mentioned talk about the Plains Art Museum permanent collection.

- Sure, sure.

We have a really phenomenal permanent collection.

So we have works that hit on both the local regional level and the national level.

We have that phenomenal James Rosenquist mural when you first walk into that museum.

You'll see it right in the lobby, it's front and center, it's huge.

And he is a North Dakotan by birth, by origin.

So to secure that mural really was wonderful because it represents the community and it's really our key piece that we want to have tied to the museum in that capacity.

But we also have fantastic works by Walter Piehl, a name a lot of people from this region know.

We have an Andy Warhol that's on view right now.

We just received some new Helen Frankenthaler works, Sol LeWitt.

So there's a lot of names that are recognizable to those who are interested in art, but we also have a really phenomenal Indigenous art collection, too.

So we have that as part of our permanent collection as well.

And we're only able to exhibit a very small percentage of the permanent collection at any given time.

But I mentioned earlier, we're embarking on a capital campaign over the next several years that will actually expand our square footage for exhibitions by 9,000 square feet, which is huge.

And that will give us the ability to have more works from our permanent collection on view always.

And so that will allow us to really exhibit and share those pieces with the community in a greater capacity.

So we're really, really excited about that.

- Yeah.

Well, I understand you wanna focus on underrepresented artists, but with that said, how do you look for regional artists to exhibit?

Are you all encompassing when you're looking for art?

- Sure, that's a great question.

I mean, I think people are always curious, how do we arrive at the exhibitions that we show, and we really try to hit each tier at any given moment.

So, when you walk into the museum, ideally you'll see work by a local artist, regional artists, national artists, and international artists.

So we wanna have full representation across the board in that capacity.

And we actually just hired a new chief curator, which we're really excited about, as well.

Dr. Danielle Gravon will be joining the team at the end of February and she will be really looking to renew our exhibition calendar and work with us to get some really great shows on the book as we move into the future.

But we love our relationships with our community artists and really seek opportunities to showcase the talent right here in Fargo Moorhead, as well.

- Yeah, and tell us about maybe some of the educational programs and outreach things you do, school visits and like that.

- Sure.

We do so much.

I mean, we really do.

And that's one of the things that I am continually impressed about.

We have a phenomenal education team at Plains Art Museum.

So we actually have a relationship with Fargo Public Schools.

So we have students onsite pretty much daily during the school year.

So we have thousands of Fargo Public School students that come through and have that opportunity to view the exhibitions and then do the hands-on art making.

But we also work with a lot of different community groups, as well, on site and offsite.

We work with Art for Art and Autism, which is a great program that allows autistic kids to come into the museum in a safe capacity, experience the artwork and work in that manner.

We also work with seniors, we do work with just different local groups, as well.

We've been working with the unaccompanied minor refugee group.

So we're always interested in developing those type of community-building relationships.

And we actually tailor our curriculum and our art-making projects to the group.

So it's very individualized programming and we take great pride in that.

We want it to be a good experience for everybody and really meet groups where they are, as well.

So like I said, if you can come on site, wonderful.

If you can't, we're happy to go to you, as well.

- So how many employees do you have to get all this work done?

- Sure, we have a lot.

We actually have 50 on site at the museum, but then we also have 50 charitable gaming employees, as well.

So we're at 100 employees total.

So Plains Art Museum does run five charitable gaming sites throughout the Fargo region and that helps fund our operating expenses.

So we have a really phenomenal team across the board.

Yeah, and 100 folks total.

- But with that said, since you brought it up, how are you funded?

- Sure, sure, great question.

So charitable gaming has been a huge piece of that puzzle for us, but we also do a lot of work with grants, local grants, national grants.

Our director of development, Megan Even, just actually broke our grant record.

She received the most grant dollars for us in this past year, so we exceeded our internal record on that capacity.

So grants are huge for us, but also donors.

So we have a really phenomenal member base, fantastic members, and really wonderful donors, as well that wanna support our mission and see Plains Art Museum succeed.

So that community support, you don't always see that with museums.

And I would say, here in Fargo Moorhead, people really want to support Plains Art Museum.

And that to me is exciting.

It shows me that we're doing work that's meaningful for people and they really want to give us that assistance monetarily so we can continue doing the phenomenal work that we've been doing.

- Okay.

And of course, if people wanna become a member, all they have to do is- - Just go to our website.

You can get set up on our website or come on in and you can fill out a membership form.

What's really unique about the museum is that we have free admissions seven days a week.

So membership gives us that ability to offer free membership to everybody or free admission to everybody, excuse me.

And that's a gift.

That's a gift to the community.

And once again, removing those barriers so anybody can come on in seven days a week, see the art, learn something, and enjoy themselves.

- So why are the arts so important in a healthy community?

- Sure.

I mean, there's so many reasons, honestly.

The arts are really, I think, a crucial part of our societal fabric.

I mean, they allow people to have dialogues, to express themselves, but they also help in very concrete ways.

Things like employee retention at other organizations is something we're really thinking about.

So for example, say a family moves here for a job at Sanford Health and then they're looking to integrate into the community and feel part of the community and meet people.

The art museum's a great way to do that.

You can come over if you have a kid, you can take a class, you can come to one of our evening lectures and you can meet people and start to feel like you're more part of the community in that capacity.

So I think we offer that space, that safe space for people to have those types of experiences.

But once again, too, being the largest and only accredited art museum in this region is really something that matters.

And it provides the opportunity for people here locally to see art that otherwise you wouldn't be able to see unless you are at a larger metropolitan area like Minneapolis or Chicago or something of that nature.

So I really think that we have a duty to the residents in this area to provide that type of top tier programming, so you can, right here at home, have those types of museum experiences that will help generate the next leaders in the field of museum work.

- Well, if people want more information, where can they go?

Who can they contact?

- Sure.

So plainsart.org is our website.

So that's got all of our latest and greatest and things that are going on.

We also have our Instagram page, Facebook page, the usual social media outlets.

And those are great places to see what we have coming up.

We almost always have something going on on weekends.

We're open late Thursday evenings with programming.

I mean, there's a lot to come do and see.

- Well Erin, we welcome you to the Prairie region and wish you the best of luck so much.

- Really appreciate it.

Great chatting today.

- Stay tuned for more.

(lively music) The International Treasures is made up of two singer songwriters who met in 2020 in an online music writer's forum.

And they have been captivating audiences ever since.

They tell charismatic stories in their songs and their genuine love for life is contagious.

- One, two, three, four.

(lively guitar music) ♪ This old house used to be my mother's ♪ ♪ Now this old house used to stand to test of time ♪ ♪ Now this old house leans into the weather ♪ ♪ Lets in everything that's cold, wet, and wild ♪ ♪ I tell you what, let's put our backs to the field grass ♪ ♪ Tamp it down and watch that black blue sky ♪ ♪ It's been so long since I felt the rain coming ♪ ♪ Listen for that thunder ♪ ♪ Put my hands to the sky ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ World gone wild and so have I ♪ ♪ Rain coming in, sheets blowing on on the line ♪ ♪ Everything gone wild so why can't I ♪ ♪ Built to last only works for a time ♪ ♪ Only works for a time ♪ ♪ Wishes in the wind dropping rain on my face ♪ ♪ Wish I could clear out of here ♪ ♪ Clear out my mind ♪ ♪ Broken windows look out on these dreams ♪ ♪ Touching the line just to prove I'm alive ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ A world gone wild and so have I ♪ ♪ Rain coming in ♪ ♪ Sheets blowing on the line ♪ ♪ Everything gone wild so why can't I ♪ ♪ Built to last only works for a time ♪ ♪ This old house used to be my mother's ♪ ♪ Now this old house used to stand to test the time ♪ ♪ Now this old house leans into the weather ♪ ♪ Lets in everything that's cold, wet and wild ♪ (gentle guitar music) ♪ Love is a lemon ♪ ♪ And I wonder why ♪ ♪ It can taste of home ♪ ♪ And it can burn your eyes ♪ ♪ But in the right hand ♪ ♪ With a little time ♪ ♪ It becomes a sweet lemon pie ♪ ♪ One look in the mirror ♪ ♪ And I can plainly see ♪ ♪ I'm not there yet ♪ ♪ Where I should be ♪ ♪ Sometimes a lemon without a prayer ♪ ♪ No warranty beyond compare ♪ (gentle guitar music) ♪ God is my pen pal ♪ ♪ Spell checks each song ♪ ♪ God's punctuation ♪ ♪ Is never wrong ♪ ♪ He sets the tempo ♪ ♪ The notes in the air ♪ ♪ And he told me once ♪ ♪ I'm beyond compare ♪ ♪ So I believe ♪ ♪ So I sing ♪ ♪ So I give myself to all things ♪ ♪ Broken and screwed up beyond repair ♪ ♪ Broken and screwed up beyond compare ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ (gentle guitar music) ♪ Love's never perfect ♪ ♪ That much is true ♪ ♪ But sometimes it feels that way ♪ ♪ With me and you ♪ ♪ I can't compare myself ♪ ♪ There's too much we share ♪ ♪ You and me ♪ ♪ Beyond compare ♪ ♪ Love is a lemon ♪ ♪ And I wonder why ♪ ♪ It can taste of home ♪ ♪ And burn your eyes ♪ ♪ But in the right hand ♪ ♪ With a little time ♪ ♪ It becomes sweet lemon pie ♪ (gentle guitar music) - Well, that's all we have on "Prairie Pulse" this week.

And as always, thanks for watching.

(lively music) - [Announcer] Funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund with money from the Vote of the People of Minnesota on November 4th, 2008, and by the members of Prairie Public.