Art and Democracy - University of Minnesota

We produced this event to unite the worlds of social justice action and art on campus, build coalitions, and increase awareness of Democracy Matters on campus. We partnered with Substance and the Arts Quarter Collective. The venue was the Steak Knife, a small restaurant off campus with a small stage which brought the social justice scene to the night life scene of Dinkytown. We had students come in and out all night and we counted 150 heads at one point. Because there was no cover, students stopped by to check out the art and grab some good food and beer and listen to some of the music before heading out to other venues nearby. Our visibility also attracted people off the streets to come check it out. There is no way we would have reached as many people with an on-campus location.

One of the highlights of the nights actually started off as a disaster when a mic broke and a group of actors had no room on stage to perform a piece about the hunger struggle in America. They decided to move the play out to the parking lot and the audience followed them out. It was cold, but the performance was so moving it didn’t matter. The fact that it was a play about homelessness and hunger and it was performed in a parking lot added an element of ironic reality.

The planning of this event was difficult because we had no experience putting on an art show. We learned a lot and formed a new coalition with a student art group on campus that helped us with artistic direction. We had some no-shows for artwork and problems with getting funding for an event at a venue that serves alcohol but it was worth it in the end because we reached a new audience.

Sarah Emmel

Democracy Matters Campus Coordinator

University of Minnesota