The concept of Altered Esthetics had several influences, all with a similar community ethic. One instance in particular I remember quite well. I went to Koo's café quite a bit when I was younger. Koo's was a house in near my home in Southern California that had been converted into a community coffee shop and music venue. Mural artists could paint on a wall out back, bands could play in the converted living rooms and out of town guests could stay upstairs as needed. I thought the open attitude toward the music community was wonderful and thought it would be great to foster a similar environment for artists, one where they could engage in a continued creative dialogue. I spent quite a few years in the office world, both during college and after. Not finding satisfaction in the corporate environment, I decided I wanted to spend my energy in a more fulfilling line of work. Also wanting to experience life a different area, I visited a few locations throughout the states. Falling in love with the Midwest after several visits to Minnesota and Wisconsin, I moved to Minneapolis at the end of 2003.

In January of 2004 I rented a space on Quincy St. in the Northeast Minneapolis arts district and Altered Esthetics (AE) was born. AE would be an offbeat art gallery and workshop space, an open environment to foster a philosophy of alternative aesthetics and make the gallery experience easily accessible to a variety of artists. I wanted our shows to provide many artists with a chance to show their work, believing that a group could evince a more powerful statement on any given subject. A pressing and relevant issue of society inspired our first show and other subsequent shows would follow suit. "The Art of War" opened in April of 2004 with an amazing group of artists and collection of works. That first opening was unfortunately bittersweet - two days before the opening I was notified that the building had been sold and the current upstairs tenants would need to vacate. After a few months of deliberation, the new landlord decided to allow us to stay. I signed a year lease and set to putting things back on track.

The "Quincy St. Studios" building was home for our first three years. Our first 12 shows, our first workshops, and our first big projects began in that location. In the summer of 2006, I completed an intensive review of the structure, progress, and future sustainability of the organization. As a sole proprietorship, the gallery only existed in connection to me. As a corporation the gallery could continue as a resource to the community regardless of my connection to it. I thought the transparent and community-minded nonprofit business model best matched the goals of the organization. In July of 2006 I incorporated the business as a nonprofit, thereafter applying to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status. A board was elected and a mission formalized: "Altered Esthetics serves to sustain the historical role of artists as a true voice of society through our exhibits, events, services workshops and programs."
The corporate structure, however, was not the only change that needed to be made. Our shows were increasing in size, the organization increasing in stature and yet our building was in a constant state of construction. Our gallery needed a new home in a secure location more fitting to our growing needs. A space opened up in the cooperatively run Q'arma building, a beautiful structure full of other active artists still on Quincy St. We found somebody to assume what was left of our lease and in November of 2006 made a smooth transition to our new locale.

Our inaugural show at the Q'arma building was a sequel to one of our first and most popular exhibits. Level_13:Bonus Round opened to an amazingly supportive crowd and was a great way to celebrate both the past and future of Altered Esthetics. Our history of growth was steady; in 2004 we hosted 3 tremendous group shows, 4 in 2005 and 5 in 2006. Taking advantage of our stable location we promoted further growth by transitioning into a regularized monthly exhibition schedule. Slating opening receptions for the First Friday of each month, 13 shows were planned for 2007 - one exhibition each month plus an annual online juried exhibition. Since the move, largely due to the new location and active schedule, the activity has been nonstop. Each month brings a new exhibition, a new message to share, a new set of artists to work with and a new way to serve our arts community locally and beyond.

Despite stubborn obstacles in our formative years we have continued to grow and thrive as an organization, fulfilling well our mission to support the arts community. In the past three and a half years Altered Esthetics has hosted 20 themed group shows, bringing the work of over 600 local and international artists, musicians, poets, writers and filmmakers to the public. Our service to the arts community has branched out beyond the realm of just exhibition. Altered Esthetics has worked in partnership with the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association, the Arts Action Plan, and the Northeast Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce in various projects for the local community. In 2005 we launched neArtists.org, a free online resource to continue creative dialogue for partners and friends of the arts district. In 2006, we released our first Northeast Arts District Bike Map, an annual project to encourage sustainable modes of transportation throughout the district and beyond. In 2007 we launched a workshop schedule with courses to stimulate, relieve, protect and contemplate the creative mind and body. Our continued presence on the internet has allowed us fulfill our mission on a global scale, both in our service to artists as well as by taking our mission to a global audience. In May of 2007 our continued path was secured as we were granted our 501(c)(3) status. Run by a dedicated collection of artists, for artists, Altered Esthetics looks forward to our future as we continue to fulfill our mission sustaining the critical role of artists as a true voice of society.

Are you interested in reading about the day-to-day activities of AE? Check out our livejournal blog!