Ann Jin Soo Preston
Artist Anne Jin Soo Preston’s upcoming exhibit in the Smallest Museum in St. Paul, recessed into the wall just outside WORKHORSE COFFEE BAR, 2399 University Ave., will feature a teeny tiny crocheted replica of the coffee shop.
Preston was inspired by the Minneapolis Satellite Reef, part of the Crochet Coral Reef project on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts this fall, which was billed as “the world’s largest participatory art and science project” and combined work from more than 7,000 crafters from around the world. Preston hopes to engage the local textile artist community and neighbors in creating the WORKHORSE exhibit.
Preston is hard at work creating the shop replica, including walls, chairs and tables. Contributions from the community will be displayed within the petite shop and will focus on a different theme each week in February. Contributions from the community will be displayed within the petite shop and will focus on a different theme each week in February. The themes will include Regular Coffee Shop, Sci-Fi, Beach and Prehistoric.
Preston is also holding workshops at WORKHORSE on Guerilla Yarn Art on two Saturdays, Feb. 6 and 20, 2-4 p.m., as well as casual yarn gatherings on two Sundays, Feb. 14 and 28, 2-4 p.m. Yarn makers are invited to work on their own projects as a community, connect with other yarn enthusiasts, share their skills and experience and maybe even learn something new. Contact WORKHORSE for more details and exact dates, 651-348-7561 or workhorsecoffee.com/index.html.
WORKHORSE COFFEE BAR was awarded funds in 2015 to create the Smallest Museum in St. Paul, as part of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Knight Arts Challenge.
Just outside the coffee shop’s front door is a vintage fire-hose cabinet recessed into the exterior wall of the building. That cabinet has been transformed into a 2-by-3-foot micro-museum, with rotating exhibits scheduled through June 2016.
Congratulations! You never cease to amaze me!
We have changed the workshop and yarn gathering dates to Sundays during the month of February.
DATES FOR WORKSHOPS + YARN GATHERINGS
Guerrilla Yarn Workshops will be February 7 + 28
Community Yarn Gatherings will be February 14 +21
1:00 – 3:00pm
Hope to see you there!
Anne Jin Soo Preston
Anne is amazing and this idea rocks!
This is fantastic!!! Thank you so much for the great article and coverage of this upcoming show at the Smallest Museum in St Paul.
All the best,
– Shannon Forney
SMSP creator and curator