New exhibit to showcase U arts scholarship winners, reality TV star and raise funds for new scholarships

"Appreciation: A Celebration of the U of M Arts Scholarship Program" exhibit opens at Katherine E. Nash Gallery Aug. 12

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (08/03/2010) —"Appreciation: A Celebration of the University of Minnesota Arts Scholarship Program," which showcases the art and curatorial work of Miles Mendenhall, a student in the university’s Department of Art and contestant in Bravo’s "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist" show, will open at the Regis Center for Art’s Katherine E. Nash Gallery, 405 21st Ave. S., University of Minnesota West Bank, Minneapolis, on Tuesday, Aug. 10.

As a new twist on traditional fundraising for student scholarships, Mendenhall and Drew Peterson, one of the exhibiting artists, are each donating limited edition screen prints to donors who give to scholarships at the $500 level and above. Like all of the artists in Appreciation, Mendenhall and Peterson were scholarship recipients when they were students.

“The fact that there were donors investing in the future of their artistic community gave me a confidence in myself that I would not have otherwise had,” Mendenhall says. Prints can be previewed at http://art.umn.edu/press.

Mendenhall is currently competing on "Work of Art" to win $100,000 and an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. The entire show has been recorded, but Mendenhall is keeping his vow of secrecy as to just how far he got.

Appreciation surveys recent work by artists Sarah Baker (’10), Drew Peterson (’09), Claire Anderson (’10), Oakley Tapola (’09), Alexander Schluender (‘09) and Mendenhall, and features site-specific and collaborative works created specifically for the exhibition.

Appreciation opens Tuesday, Aug. 10. An opening reception with the artists will be Thursday, Aug. 12 — the day after the finale of “Work of Art” — from 7 to 9 p.m. The exhibition runs through Aug. 26. Gallery hours during the exhibition are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday. Please note: Gallery hours for Thursday, Aug. 12: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., reopening from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is free. For further information, visit www.art.umn.edu or call (612) 624-6518.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the University of Minnesota is a highly competitive program for students intending to pursue advanced degrees in the visual arts and/or careers as professional artists. These students are the recipients of prestigious undergraduate awards, including the Yale Norfolk residency and have gone on to earn MFA’s from elite graduate programs in the arts.