Northeast Minneapolis Arts District welcomed two new board members in the last two months, Andrew MacGuffie and Sarah Bogenreif.
And, with the March 13 annual meeting, we thanked Sue Sjoselius for her many years of board service which started in 2017 with Northeast Community Development Corporation prior to its end-of-2020 merger with the Arts District. Sue has taken minutes as secretary and has demonstrated an all-around business sense that is much appreciated at board meetings. A long-time employee of Northeast Bank (Director of Risk Management and Marketing), she and Sarah volunteered together selling tickets at the Speakeasy.
Even before that, Sarah served on two art juries for the Northeast Calendar, a project of NECDC which the Arts District continued. Her bio reads, “Sarah Bogenreif is Marketing Manager at Northeast Bank in Northeast Minneapolis. Sarah has a passion for both visual and musical arts, specifically local artistry. She is a long-time arts advocate and a former musical performer.” Already, she has offered the young tech whiz perspective and has jumped in as secretary, elected at the March 13 annual meeting. She brings her passion for what she does at the bank, to benefit the Arts District as well.
Thanks also to Sue and Sarah for shepherding annual contributions from Northeast Bank to the Northeast Calendar effort or general support, support of the Vision Awards, catering meals, early advertising on the Arts Insights page, and a broad, historical sense of connecting with community.
Andrew MacGuffie is a sculptor, installer of other sculptors’ work (MacGuffie Rigging) and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Art and Art History at Gustavus Adolphus College. He is an Arts District connection to NE Sculpture | Gallery Factory. He promotes sculpture in the district and wants to develop a sculpture walk.
Among Andrew’s sculpture credits are “Bon Chance,” which is in the east yard of the California Building, “High Five Lucky Number Series” at Silverwood Park, and (with Noah Keesecker and Peter Haakon Thompson), “Union Table” in the Union Depot Waiting Room. A regulation-size Ping-Pong® table, it combines structural steel with artistic elements to present a unique interactive and community art experience, equipped with paddles and balls so that visitors may enjoy a game, further enhancing the uniqueness of the space.
In 2019, MacGuffie and Alyssa Baguss wrangled together the Northeast-style Grand Prix that took place during Art-A-Whirl. Find him on Instagram at Andrew MacGuffie (@andrewmacguffie)