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Intermedia Arts:
Not Just In Our Community, But Of It
Intermedia Arts began in 1973 as a group of student media activists calling themselves University Community Video. Over the last three decades we’ve grown, become multi-disciplinary, changed our name and gained international recognition for our innovative cultural programs. But through all of this, one thing has never changed: our unwavering mission to use art as a tool to build understanding among people.
1970s – Media Activism
Intermedia Arts began in 1973 as University Community Video and was housed in an old church within the University of Minnesota. Our people were university students and community members using emerging video technology to engage new voices and examine pressing social issues.
1980s – Many Voices, Many Forms
In the early 1980's, we expanded beyond video into other artistic disciplines. Multidisciplinary arts, installations, music and performance art with a base in technology opened up opportunities for artists to create work in these new art forms. We changed our name to Intermedia Arts and opened a small visual arts gallery in downtown Minneapolis. By the late 80's, the organization had developed into a multi-disciplinary arts center.
1990s – Setting Down Roots
In 1994, Intermedia Arts purchased the Bee-Line Automotive Building on 2822 Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis. The 55408 neighborhood with the largest concentration of artists was the most natural habitat for our growing organization. The location of our facility in the Lyndale Avenue - Lake Street (Lyn-Lake) area brought us to the center of this heavily populated, racially diverse, younger, and more culturally active neighborhood.
2000s – Local is Global
In the early part of the millennium, in response to global population shifts, Intermedia Arts moved to the forefront of multicultural arts programming. We developed groundbreaking approaches to building community, reaching broad audiences and bringing diverse groups together to hear one another’s stories.
In 2006, we merged with SASE: The Write Place, a local literary arts organization recognized for its commitment to writers often excluded from traditional literary settings, especially writers of color, young writers and GLBT writers.
Up Next: The Future is You
Just as we helped to put small-format video cameras in the hands of community members back in the '70s, we continue to use art, community and current technology to create healthy, vital communities. We need your help, we need your vision, and we need your voice. Join us.
Community is more than just a word to us; it’s a commitment to participating in a creative partnership with the people around us. We bring people together to raise issues, voice concerns, engage in dialogue and create art that inspires positive change on a local, national and even international scale. We are not just in our community, but of it.
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