An exhibition curated with Jayme McLellan from Civilian Art Projects, featuring artists from New Orleans
Featured Artists: Tim Best, Kyle Bravo, Aubrey Edwards and Alison Fensterstock, Courtney Egan, Stephen Collier, Sally Heller, Jenny LeBlanc, Srdjan Loncar, Cynthia Scott, David Sullivan, Dan Tague
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More than a century ago, when paddle boats traversed the Mississippi River carrying cargo both material and human, the river banks were a new frontier. This frontier created a space of unlimited opportunity for travel, commerce, and change. As the cities that sit at the origin and conclusion of the great Mississippi River, Minneapolis and New Orleans have unique relationships to this storied body of water and the fabled frontier it offered.
Curated by Jayme McLellan of Civilian Art Projects in Washington, DC, Frontier Preachers developed out of a desire to investigate a frontier anew, long after the heyday of the river as central artery in the heart of America. This new frontier, as told through eleven emerging and established artists from New Orleans, explores a changed landscape and recognizes that the opportunities of the past may indeed have limits.
According to McLellan, “the success of the American Frontier gave rise to capitalists eager to make a profit at any cost. Today, we are seeing the dramatic consequences of unchecked conquest played out in every home in America. Today, we have reached environmental, economic, and moral limits in terms of what our cities and shores may provide.” We have reached a time of new understanding about our connections to one another including the role of government in our lives.
By inviting eleven artists from the bottom of the Mississippi River to create work at its Northern spring, and by inviting a curator from the seat of U.S. government, Frontier Preachers is an exhibition about a collective American story. Few other places have felt the epic failure of government as acutely as New Orleans. And although they are united by the physical and emotional detritus left behind by Hurricane Katrina, the artists in Frontier Preachers have distinctly moved beyond it.
The resulting exhibition of large scale, site-specific installation, video, and multi-media projects showcases the work of talented, visionary artists who each have a distinct voice and practice maturing in the wake of tragedy. According to McLellan, “the crux of the exhibition, and the strength of each individual artist’s work, lies at the heart of the duality of humanity. Through the process of making art, the artists examines that we are capable of great good and great error. Each invents a strong project with a unique story and careful nuance. And as always, in anything to do with New Orleans, there is an air of celebration and discovery. In New Orleans, there is always a party.”
To learn more about the artists, please enjoy the following artist interviews:
Jayme McLellan and Stephen Collier
Jayme McLellan and Cynthia Scott
Jayme McLellan and Srdjan Loncar
Jayme McLellan, Kyle Bravo, and Jenny LeBlanc
Curator Jayme McLellan lived in New Orleans during the 90s’ and returned in June 2008 to curate an exhibition for the budding New Orleans Visual Artist Registry (NOVA Projects). During that and subsequent trips, she met the artists featured in Frontier Preachers and developed the concept behind the exhibition. Jayme McLellan is director and founder of Civilian Art Projects, a multi-faceted art space based in Washington, DC representing and supporting emerging artists. Since 1996, she has organized and curated over 100 exhibitions and events to promote art, artists, and ideas of social importance. This is the first time she has curated an exhibition in Minneapolis.
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