October 14, 2017, Saturday - Monica Sheets: Collectively We Support Your Autonomy opening reception at the Soap Factory

Time: 7pm - 10pm

Location: The Soap Factory, 514 Second Street SE

Monica Sheets: Collectively We Support Your Autonomy

Monica Sheets is installing a large-scale neon sign created in collaboration with Ne-Art Custom Neon in Northeast Minneapolis on the Soap Factory’s roof. The text – “collectively we support your autonomy” – is inspired by the participatory art projects she has previously initiated, offering a reflection of and comment on the relationships between artist, participant, artwork and audience.

According to Monica, “We can also see this relationship in The Soap Factory’s role in the Twin Cities’ art community. It is the support provided by organizations such as The Soap that enables artists’ autonomy in exploring their varied interests and contributing their knowledge to the world. It is also our collective support of these organizations as artists, audience and volunteers that ensures their continued existence. It seems fitting to me to emphasize these reciprocal roles on The Soap Factory’s exterior while its interior is closed in order to undertake renovations that ensure its own autonomy and continued existence.”

The format and placement of the sign references other historic neon in the area, like the Pillsbury Flour or North Star Blanket signs, but rather than speaking to us as consumers, Monica’s sign addresses us as human beings. The text speaks to our interdependence and responsibility to each other: it is the work of many people coming together, forming invisible structures of support that allows us each to function as self-determined individuals in the world. The sign reminds us of this reality, while also raising the question of how we live up to this ideal.