We’re stoked to welcome back Bronx-based graffiti artists Tats Cru (Bio, Nicer, BG183) to Minneapolis as our Spring invited Artist in Residence from April 26–May 4, 2019. During their residency, Tats Cru will complete an 840 square foot (60’ x 14’) mural to serve as a backdrop for the forthcoming skate-able art plaza on the JXTA campus, made possible in part by a generous gift from Wet Paint. In addition to completing this mural, Tats Cru will also host the first Minneapolis gallery exhibition of their work. Their exhibition, Live from New York, will be on view in the 2007 Emerson Gallery from May 3–June 29, 2019. The exhibition will open on Friday, May 3, as part of our third annual Move the Crowd Fundraiser (tickets still available here!).
This is Tats Cru’s first visit to Minneapolis since a local residency in 2011. During that visit, they completed two murals around the Juxtaposition Arts campus. A mural at the JXTA campus gateway proclaims “Welcome to North Minneapolis” on the exterior Western-facing wall of 1808 Emerson Avenue North (where JXTA’s Textiles & Screen Printing, Environmental Design, and Graphic Design Labs are currently housed). Another mural depicting JXTA’s 2018 Bruner Loeb Forum conference “Putting Creativity to Work” decorated the exterior Eastern-facing wall of JXTA’s now-demolished building on the corner of Emerson Avenue North and West Broadway Avenue.
Now, Tats Cru will return to Minneapolis to complete another mural on the Juxtaposition Arts campus. The JXTA team is in the process of preparing the corner of Emerson and Broadway for a semi-permanent skate-able art plaza that will be open to the public in the summer of 2019, a project executed in collaboration with our partners City of Skate. The mural’s design will be inspired by community input; throughout the last several months, we’ve asked folks in JXTA’s neighborhood to nominate heroes and sheroes they’d like to see depicted in the mural. A brand-new custom-designed and community-focused mural will ensure the space is a fresh, vibrant, and unique space for visitors. Plus, the JXTA campus will be open to the public so visitors can have a chance to see Tats Cru’s mural painting process during their residency on April 29th & 30th (pending weather conditions). The skate-able plaza and mural will activate the lot where JXTA’s programs were previously housed and hold the space while together with our community we raise $14 million for a state-of-the-art facility that will ensure access to our work for generations to come.
Click here to watch a progress video via Earthcam from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization.
The gallery exhibit, Live from New York, will be on view May 3–June 29, 2019 and features new original paintings from Bio, BG183, and Nicer. Their work makes use of “complex and intricate wild styles” as well as a dramatic palette of color. As both individuals and a collective, Tats Cru has shown their work nationally and internationally including with the Smithsonian Institution, The Bronx Museum, and The BOX Gallery Guangzhou. They have created ad campaigns for McDonalds, Coca Cola and MTV and they have also given lectures about their work across a range of informal and academic institutions. We are excited to show work that intersects with JXTA’s origins and the organization’s ongoing mission to engage with contemporary artists working across a broad spectrum of practices and places.
Join Us!
TATS CRU EXHIBITION: LIVE FROM NEW YORK:
On view May 3–June 29, 2019
Open gallery hours with Tats Cru: Saturday, May 4, 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Gallery hours: 10:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m., Monday–Thursday, and by appointment (612-588-1148) 2007 Emerson Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55411
MOVE THE CROWD THIRD ANNUAL FUNDRAISER:
Friday, May 3, 2019 Doors: 6:00 p.m. 2007 Emerson Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55411
Tickets available here.
TATS CRU MURAL PAINTING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC:
Monday, April 29, 2019 (time TBA and date subject to change pending weather conditions)
Tuesday, April 30, 2019 (time TBA and date subject to change pending weather conditions)
Corner of Emerson Avenue North and West Broadway Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55411
Thank you to our partners City of Skate, Wet Paint, and West Broadway Coalition for helping make these events and residency possible.
