Alumni Highlight / Erin Sandsmark '17 | Minneapolis College of Art and Design

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Alumni Highlight / Erin Sandsmark '17

This spring we are interviewing some of the generous MFA alumni who donated work to our new via the . This new fund will support scholarships for future Black, Indigenous, and People of Color MFA students.

Erin Sandsmark is a Minneapolis based artist, originally from Fargo, North Dakota. Sandsmark received her Bachelors of Fine Art degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. In the spring of 2017 she received her Masters of Fine Art at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Sandsmark has been the recipient of the Brown-Makenzie Arts Scholarship and the Sally-Spencer Scholarship. She has been exhibited at the Regis Center for Arts Quarter Gallery, West Gallery, the Katherine E. Nash Gallery, the MFA Whittier Gallery, 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø MFA Gallery, Co Exhibitions Gallery, New Bohemian Gallery, Red Garage Studio, Altered Esthetics, Artspace Jackson Flats, and Studio 427. Sandsmark has participated in Art-A-Whirl and the annual 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø Art Sale. Her current solo exhibition "Ourselves" is at the Freeborn County Arts Initiative in Albert Lea, MN. Sandsmark is  an art instructor with ArtiCulture, a non-profit providing art to the community through classes and public art projects and she is a Continuing Education instructor with the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Which year did you graduate and what brought you to 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø for your MFA? Could you speak a little bit about your background?

I graduated from the MFA program in 2017. Originally I am from Fargo, North Dakota and looked at the Twin Cities growing up as a place to explore art and culture. I had actually thought about attending 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø for my Bachelors of Fine Arts after attending a portfolio day my senior year of high school, but I ended up going to the University of Minnesota for my BFA. Despite this, 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø continued to be on my radar. So when I decided I wanted to further my artistic career and education, I applied to 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø!

How did your art change while you were at 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø?

Attending 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø allowed me to work with so many amazing artists and talk about taking my work to the next level with each critique. I learned to take more risks with scale, and I improved my painting technique. Spending so much time painting in the studio allowed my work to grow and change at an accelerated rate.

How has your work evolved since your time at 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø?

I am continuing to paint portraits, but I've moved beyond painting my own body specifically. In a show I had at the Freeborn County Arts Initiative in 2019, I focused on women of all backgrounds to create a show about each individual's personal power. I love the body and the stories it can tell, so that has not changed. After 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø, I have also started to add more commissions to my practice.

What is next? Any new projects or jobs that are in the pipeline?

I am always looking at what's next. I know for now I will continue to work through my list of commissions, and I will take time to find what direction I want to go next in my personal work. I am also working as a freelance arts instructor throughout the area.

You donated work for the 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø Art Sale to support our MFA 2020 Fund, which benefits future Black, Indigenous, and People of Color MFA students - thank you! What motivated you to contribute to this scholarship effort?

It was important to give what I could to this scholarship fund. This country is founded on a multitude of inequities, and BIPOC folks deserve this fund to acknowledge how this country and the art world have left them behind. Our artistic institutions have benefited mostly white men, and I hope this fund can help to change that.

To make a donation, please follow these directions:

Online -

  • go to: 
  • In the "Designation" section, select "Other", and in the box that appears, put "MFA 2020 Fund" (This is important-- please don't just select the pre-populated "51±¬ÁϹÙÍø Scholarships" option.)
  • Complete the online donation form.

By check -

  • make the check out to 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø
  • put "MFA 2020 Fund" either in the memo line or enclose a note saying that's how you'd like the donation to be directed--even a post it note is fine
  • Mail to: 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø Institutional Advancement, 2501 Stevens Ave S, Minneapolis MN 5540

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Ellen Mueller at emueller@mcad.edu.

 

Photos courtesy of Erin Sandsmark

For more information:

Erin Sandsmark

Categories
Alumni
MFA 2020 Fund
Published on
February 26, 2021

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2501 Stevens Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404

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Land Acknowledgement

The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (51±¬ÁϹÙÍø) acknowledges it is located on traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. This is the ancestral homeland of the Dakota and Ojibwe people, who were forcibly exiled from the land because of aggressive and persistent settler colonialism. We recognize that this place has a complex and layered history. As a community dedicated to creativity, 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø is committed to ongoing efforts to support and advocate for American Indian Nations and peoples.


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51±¬ÁϹÙÍø admits students of any race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, or marital status to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, or marital status in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.