A museum reborn

Hearing the revelers crow, you'd think a new day had dawned with the opening Saturday night of the Minnesota Museum of American Art's new Project Space in downtown St. Paul.

And perhaps it has. With its white walls, pale floors and big windows overlooking a soon-to-be inaugurated light-rail line through the capital city, the Project Space has a come-hither appeal that had drivers waving as they passed. Colorful paintings by Minnesota artists line the walls and, on opening night, a jazz combo played as about 300 arts patrons marveled that the museum, dark for the past four years, was back in business.

The museum's new site on the ground floor of the historic Pioneer-Endicott building is still a "work in progress," said director Kristin Makholm. It will be open just two more nights in December (this Friday and Dec. 14), but starting in January it will be open 20 hours a week.

The MMAA has a two-year lease during which it will mount small exhibitions and stage events in the 3,500-square-foot space. Simultaneously it will figure out whether the space meets its needs and try to raise enough money to consolidate its operations and expand its four-person staff. The museum's offices are several blocks away, and its 4,000-piece collection is stored at a third location.

"If we can make it our permanent home, that would show stability and would help us in building audiences and support," said Makholm.

Despite its appeal as a St. Paul icon, the Pioneer-Endicott building poses challenges. The complex consists of two 19th-century buildings that were linked in the 1940s. The museum is in the earliest of the two, the 1889 Pioneer building. The L-shaped Endicott building, which wraps around the Pioneer, was designed in 1890 by Cass Gilbert, who also designed the State Capitol.

St. Paul developer Rich Pakonen bought the complex in 2011 for $1.1 million after it sat vacant for several years. He plans to convert it into 234 units of rental apartments. "We're really excited about having the museum as an amenity for the residents," said Mike Zipko, a spokesman for Pakonen. "Art is so much a part of nearby Lowertown; it's just a great fit."

Still, considering what the museum has gone through in the past four years, such problems seem trivial to Makholm.

When she took the helm in July 2009, the museum was virtually bankrupt and had been closed about 18 months. Since then, Makholm has organized at least 10 shows that have traveled to colleges and museums statewide, helped expand the board of directors, solicited gifts and launched the temporary exhibition site.

"This is fantastic," said Minneapolis ceramicist Maren Kloppmann, about the new spaces and an artist-involvement program that produced the opening show, "Painting the Place Between." Organized by the museum's curator of engagement, Christina Chang, with artist/filmmaker Kristen Lowe, it features eight recent landscape-inspired abstractions by Minnesota-based artists Betsy Byers, Jil Evans, Holly Swift and Andrew Wykes.

"They really love American art here," said collector Colles Larkin, whose husband, John, has rejoined the MMAA board after years of affiliation with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.