UROC Gallery
Current Exhibit
Counterspaces 2.0
Through October
Counterspaces began at the University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR) as a collective healing project for community members who have been impacted by the existing and increasing acts of racialized violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Curated by Rochester Art Center Curator Zoe Cinel and UMR Assistant Professor Yuko Taniguchi, the exhibit is dedicated for listening to the stories, thoughts, and feelings of marginalized community members. Counterspaces is intended to be safe social space which offers support and enhance feelings of belonging in marginalized individuals existing in spaces that are not made with them in mind. Write exhibit organizers: “A counterspace is much more than just one of safety. It is a place of possibility for empowerment and transformation. And it is more than just a space of survival; as it is a space where critiques of and understandings on how oppression operates at the local level are collectively understood and acted upon at the larger, structural one.”
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Past Exhibits
Art and Faith Bridging the Jewish and Black Communities:
May 10 through July 30
Opening exhibit, lecture, and reception: 4 p.m., Wednesday, May 10.
Symposium, 9 a.m., Thursday, May 11.
The University of Minnesota Religious Studies Program and its partners will host an exhibit and two-day community-oriented opportunity to learn about and engage with the intertwining histories of the Jewish and Black communities in North Minneapolis. The exhibit and symposium, titled Art and Faith Bridging the Jewish and Black Communities: Stories of a His
The World Inside You:
Through March 14
Reception: 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, March 9
The University of Minnesota's Creativity Camp Study is both scientific research and a wildly fun eight-day camp experience infused with creative exploration. This exhibition mirrors the camp’s overarching theme, focused around an invitation to travel “the world inside you.” Like exploring the ocean, exploring the self involves delving into constantly evolving depths and encountering unexpected multitudes. This exhibition invites the audience to experience the discoveries made by camp participants in their interior and creative journeys.
Investing in North Minneapolis
August 5 through September 12
The Investing in North Minneapolis exhibition presents community-informed student projects supporting an equitable and green North Minneapolis. In fall of 2021, North Minneapolis residents worked with University of Minnesota architecture students to develop urban planning ideas for North Minneapolis. Ranging from after-school activity centers to green art streets, Investing in North Minneapolis is an exhibit of those ideas in 20+ large format sketches and architectural renderings.
Embrace Humanity
Through August 3, 2021
Together
About the Artist
Sarah Sampedro is a Minneapolis-based photographer interested in social systems, relationships, community, and belonging. Her interest lies in revealing some of the hidden factors that construct social relationships: she has photographed her Minneapolis neighborhood in the midst of an argument over historic designation and gentrification, created a multi-media installation using racially restrictive real estate contracts from Hennepin County, and traveled across Europe to research and photograph border walls.
Minnesota Black Fine Art Virtual Show
Breaking Free by Ivy Vainio
Created by Minneapolis-based Obsidian Arts through a juried open call process, the Minnesota Black Fine Art Virtual Show features works by artists of African descent who call Minnesota home.
"N the No"- February 1 through March 28, 2020
Artivist Ta-coumba Aiken brings his distinctive, healing-focused renderings to the UROC Gallery for "N the No." Part exploration, part investigation, the show asks, "What is the truth? How might you live differently if you knew the truth?"
She Inspires Me
Female artists of all ages and skills share portraits and narratives of the women and girls they admire most in the world. Based on an idea by former Split Rock Arts Program Director Andrea "Andy" Gilats and curated by UROC Gallery Curator Hawona Sullivan Janzen, "She Inspires Me" is meant to delight, inspire, and illuminate what it means to be a woman and a role model in contemporary society.
The Moving Walls of Minneapolis
Art is My Weapon founder Nikki McComb uses data exploring evictions in North Minneapolis as the guide for "The Moving Walls of Minneapolis." Part installation, part visual story, this exhibit, produced in partnership with the University of Minnesota Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, brings a deeply personal local perspective to our country’s affordable housing crisis.
The Caldwells: Black History and Beyond
Charles Caldwell, his son Kenneth Caldwell, and his daughter Nakesha Caldwell bring their passions for painting to the UROC Gallery in "The Caldwells: Black History and Beyond." The show is a partial retrospective of Charles' work, but also features new work by all three artists.