Unrest continues at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which holds its annual meeting today following a public forum Saturday where more than 250 Minnesota artists debated the fate of a popular exhibition program and possible challenges to the museum's board of directors.

Welcoming the group Saturday, museum director Kaywin Feldman reiterated her support for the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP), which she said had been the subject of "rumors and misstatements" following the recent resignation of its long-term coordinator, Stewart Turnquist, after 31 years.

His abrupt departure triggered concern that the program, which is run by artists, would be curtailed, compromised or censored under a recent reorganization plan.

Feldman promised that the museum "will maintain the MAEP as an independent structure" and said she "absolutely believed" the program would benefit from association with the museum's new department of contemporary art. In the face of sharp and often hostile questioning, she said the MAEP would retain the same support staff, gallery space, budget and other perks as in the past.

Many artists, however, expressed skepticism about the museum's motives and plans, especially its new administrative structure, in which the MAEP, like all curatorial departments, will report to an assistant director rather than to Feldman herself.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," an artist yelled from the standing-room-only crowd in the museum's 280-seat Pillsbury Auditorium.

Previously, 17 curatorial and administrative departments reported to the museum's director, a system that Feldman streamlined by apportioning them to five assistant directors. In the future, the MAEP will report to the assistant director of exhibitions and programs, Elizabeth Armstrong, who is also curator of contemporary art. Other curatorial departments report to assistant director Matthew Welch, the Japanese art curator.

Several artists circulated a resolution calling for a return to the old system and asking that Turnquist be honored by the museum and called back to lead the search for his replacement. The resolution was tabled.

Others objected to being called "contemporary" artists, a term they evidently saw as tainted by national and international artistic fashions they believe undervalue the MAEP's grass-roots Minnesota aesthetic. That sentiment, however, drew grumblings from other state artists who exhibit widely and regard themselves as part of a larger contemporary scene.

Artist Melissa Stang, speaking as a "devil's advocate," proposed that the group accept Feldman's assurances "at face value" and consider the possibility that Armstrong -- an internationally respected contemporary-art expert -- could be a more effective champion for the MAEP and liaison to the museum's board.

"We are all not only Minnesota artists; we're trying to contextualize our work" in the contemporary arena, Stang said.

The group plans to continue negotiations with the museum and meet again in September. Attendees were urged to attend the annual meeting at 4:30 p.m. today, open only to museum members. A show of hands suggested that the vast majority of the artists are members.

Mary Abbe • 612-673-4431