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Maddie Stumbaugh never imagined having a solo art show before they were 30 years old. It was a pipedream, not something that would ever happen to them — until it did. 

Stumbaugh is an artist in residence for Twin Cities Pride, and works in the new Pride Cultural Arts Center in Loring Park. They were granted a studio space for a full year to dedicate to their art and a solo and group gallery show.

At the grand opening party in March, each of the artists had previous work displayed.

“I can't even really describe the feeling of having a full like, three separate walls dedicated to my paintings that are very explicitly lesbian,” Stumbaugh said. 

“I haven't been able to show them previously in either gallery settings or even, like art markets in a more casual sense. A lot of people, even in the general public, even in progressive areas, don't necessarily want to see imagery of two girls kissing and being able to have very large paintings showcasing exactly that and even more intimate acts on the wall.”

That changed when they had their work displayed at the center. People approached Stumbaugh, emotional, thanking them for their work. Stumbaugh said during that experience, it became clear the Pride Cultural Arts Center was going to be a key institution. 

“The community that this space has already created and the conversations I’ve been able to have about how my artwork impacts people and how important it is for both younger and older lesbians alike to see that representation in a gallery setting is beyond words,” they said. 

The idea for the community space came from the Vibrant Storefronts Program, started through the city of Minneapolis, to provide financial support for local organizations to move into vacant buildings downtown.

Kelsey Alto, the director of programming for Twin Cities Pride, said the organization needed more space. The Rainbow Wardrobe, a free clothing closet, wasn’t accessible in its current location. The current artists in residence didn’t have a space to work and there wasn’t a flex area for big meetings to happen. 

“We do all these community belonging events throughout the year, and we were spending all of this money on event space and so many other nonprofits and community orgs spend so much of their money just to exist,” she said. “It was quite the whirlwind, and not the direction we thought we'd go. But now I don’t ever make predictions about where we're going next.”

Applications were due quickly, and they did a soft-opening in February. IKEA reached out and asked to furnish the entire space. At a time when corporate sponsors are stepping back from pride initiatives, Alto said this was a welcome ask. 

It isn’t lost on her that the center is across the street from Target headquarters. In January after Target announced the end of their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, Twin Cities Pride removed them as a sponsor of the yearly pride festival. 

Twin Cities Pride launched a fundraiser to cover the gap and reached their goal in less than 24 hours. But, they can’t count on those individual donations to come in every year and are hoping that small businesses continue to step up their support. 

“The decisions that different corporations are making and how it directly impacts our organization, I mean it really reverberates out into the community,” Alto said. “We did have a lot of smaller businesses step up and become sponsors, so it’s kind of been this flux of what it looks like this year, and it’s definitely a lot different and a lot harder.” 

Alto is hopeful, she said she has felt continued support from the community and rising interest in supporting the new center. 

“I feel like we’re trying to bring back the gayborhood in Loring Park,” she said. “To be able to revitalize this space when it has been so important to the community for so long, and to provide a safe space is something that is invaluable to the community right now.”

The Twin Cities Pride Cultural Arts Center is located at 1201 Harmon Place in Minneapolis. Their hours are 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays.

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The Pride Cultural Arts Center by Twin Cities Pride recently opened in Minneapolis. It serves as a community hub for artists, organizations and resources for the LGBTQ+ community.

Bringing back the ‘gayborhood’ in Loring Park: New Pride Cultural Arts Center debuts

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