Ellen Mueller is an artist, author, and Director of Programs at Arts Midwest in Minneapolis. A few weeks ago, she walked by the M, noticing the current window exhibition, Im/perfect Slumbers, as well as Jose Dominguez’s sunny skyway installation, It’s Okay to Laugh. While her experience at the M was similar to many passers-by, Ellen went on to publish a zine about it, jump starting a springtime resurgence of her experimental arts writing publication, Art Sprawl. The single-page zine (which you can download for free here) shows a walking route she took from Lowertown Underground Artists, past the M on 4th and Robert streets, ending at Night Club Gallery.
Ellen is a celebrator. Her enthusiasm for checking out what’s new in the local art world is obvious, especially when shows are accessible, walkable, and available to anyone. She says that “by putting art in these public facing windows, it invites a whole new audience.”
These past three years of exclusively public-facing exhibitions at the M have brought a completely fresh perspective to how artwork gets presented in exhibitions at museums. Ellen digs it. She says, “I love that it treats everybody as a potentially interested viewer.”