Minnesota Art Takes to the Road
Picture yourself in your favorite Minnesota town, enjoying one of those great community festivals鈥攔elaxing while you peruse a wide range of art and crafts for sale, connect with old and new friends, and discover some remarkable local talent. Who doesn鈥檛 love those festivals? What may surprise you is that you may be doing all this while standing inside the Minnesota Art Truck!
Instead of expecting you to go to a museum or store to find a piece of art to your liking鈥攚hich may or may not be original or fit your budget鈥擬att Swenson 鈥�91 has found a way to turn the tables and let Minnesota art come to you.
In 2018, the first full calendar year of his new business, Swenson took his MN Art Truck to 90+ events throughout the state, providing a unique shopping opportunity for not only the local residents seeking unusual and affordable art, but for artists seeking a wider audience for their creations. And by 鈥渁rt,鈥� we mean much more than old paintings and marble busts. Swenson finds artistry in jewelry made from flatware, digital illustration, wooden jewelry, wire sculptures, every type of painting, doodle drawings, coloring, writing, calligraphy, fiber work, handmade paper, photography, screen printing, T-shirts, fused glass, ornaments, greeting cards, pillows, alcohol ink, metal work, welding, and stained glass, to name a few.
As Swenson searched over the years for the perfect creative outlet for his own art, the ideal medium kept eluding him. Then, about five years ago, he was introduced to 鈥渁ssembled art,鈥� which combines two disparate objects into a new form鈥攕ay, perhaps, a robot automaton made from some cast-off item from yesteryear. That was it鈥攖he medium for which he had been searching! And the art form continues to give him amazing joy and fulfillment to this day.
Many Artists and a Truck
As Swenson connected with more artists, he realized how difficult it is for most of them to connect with consumers. He decided to 鈥渟teal a page from the now-booming food truck phenomenon鈥� and sell art from a truck鈥攎ore specifically, original local art displayed in a friendly, welcoming truck.
Earlier, when Swenson had reached out to galleries in hopes of forging some kind of partnership, he was disappointed to find very little interest in anything that wasn鈥檛 鈥渇ine art.鈥� By contrast, when he took his MN Art Truck to communities across the state, he discovered that people鈥攔ural and urban鈥� found his unusual sculptures appealing and were willing to purchase them鈥攅ven people who weren鈥檛 his relatives. They seemed to find his art more approachable and less intimidating than some traditional art forms can be. He has also been gratified that his 鈥渘utty sculptures鈥� have been accepted in juried Minnesota art shows, and have been part of three different curated art exhibits. Some have been purchased around the world, and others added to some permanent corporate collections.
As an Augsburg student, Swenson had gained invaluable practical business experience, particularly through internship programs鈥攚hich served him well in this unique business venture. But, even more importantly, he had learned how to recognize important areas of interest for him that were underdeveloped, and then move to develop them further.
Running a mobile business meant plenty of new learning experiences for him鈥攆inding the right truck, getting it DOT-approved and roadworthy, and setting it up per his business model. Securing insurance was tricky since insurers are accustomed to insuring a fleet, not a single truck. Then, of course, he needed to find artists who wanted to have their art onboard, and then schedule events. He took on every event that came his way.
But no business is likely to move forward unless there are good ways to get the word out, and in this case, to convince Minnesotans that it鈥檚 okay to climb aboard a truck and try out this new model for buying original art. Some of the best responses to the MN Art Truck have been found at rural art and book festivals, farmers鈥� markets, wineries and breweries, and corporate 鈥淎rt Stop鈥� events. There has been moderate success using Facebook to spread the word, though word-of-mouth communication seems to be the most effective鈥攁rtists sharing success stories within their peer groups, satisfied customers telling friends, businesses posting notices, etc. In 2019, Swenson will be partnering with new local groups, such as The Loft, LOLA Art Crawl, 4 Angels Creations, Dundee Floral, Anoka Food Truck Festival, and Holidazzle.
Looking Long-Term
Swenson is thoroughly enjoying his vocation and wants to franchise the Art Truck concept across the country. Doing so, however, will require profitability so that the endeavor doesn鈥檛 simply become a hobby. Though many of the artists whose work he carried on the truck enjoyed success last year, Swenson knew that his numerous start-up expenses would make profitability in 2018 much less likely for him. Now, with those expenses behind him, profitability in 2019 looks promising. Since he and his wife are currently covering the costs of the operation from their retirement and their daughter鈥檚 college funds, a banner second year would be a blessing.
Swenson鈥檚 hope for 2019 is to find a corporate partner that would like to support local arts, and could make use of Swenson鈥檚 business and marketing background鈥攎aybe something, he says, like the 鈥淓xplore Minnesota Art Truck鈥� or 鈥淕eneral Mills Art Truck.鈥� Minnesota artists of all stripes would certainly benefit! And think of all the communities that could enjoy original Minnesota creations!
–by Cheryl Crockett 鈥�89