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Brian Nigus
briannigus@briannigus.com // www.briannigus.com
Education
2011
BFA Sculpture Minneapolis College of Art and Design (Minneapolis, MN)
2011
Chinese Language Studies
Communication University of China (Beijing, China)
2010
Study Abroad Program - Studio Art Burren College of Art (County Clare, Ballyvaughan, Ireland)
Solo Exhibitions
2014
This One’s For Me - 2375 S Howell
2013
Woris Insait Yu / Friends Inside the Mountains - Imagination Giants
2012
Lake - No Holds Performance Series - University of Minnesota
(Milwaukee, WI)
Group Exhibitions
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Minneapolis, MN)
FREE ICE - Bermuda Gallery
(Milwaukee, WI)
2014
00000 GH00ST $H0W V - Borderline
8th Annual Edible Book Show - Woodland Pattern
Swim Team Presents: Temporary Projections - The North End
The Oracle - Interviewroom11
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Edinburgh, Scotland)
00000 GH00ST $H0W IV - Imagination Giants
The Printed Object - SGCI at MIAD
Palindrome - Gallery 148, Contributing Artist
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Minneapolis, MN)
2012 the WORST! - The Guest Room Gallery
(Minneapolis, MN)
2011 Spark Festival - Empty Words
BINGO - 8 Shooters Studio A1 Lab Arts
First Annual Foreign Teacher’s Exhibition
Made @ MCAD Made @ MCAD @ BI
Open File - Deponent Board for Emerging Artists - Thorpe Building
(Minneapolis, MN)
(Knoxville, TN)
(Beijing, China)
(Minneapolis, MN)
(Edina, MN)
(Minneapolis, MN)
2010
Slanguage: A Portmanshow - Gallery 148
We’re So Happy to See You It’s Terrible - MCAD
UG 2010 – Burren College of Art Made @ MCAD @ BI Remembering Moher - Cliffs of Moher Visitor Center
Burren, Exhibition of Photography - Burren College of Art Made @ MCAD
BI Worldwide
(Minneapolis, MN)
(Minneapolis, MN)
(Ballyvaughan, Ireland)
(Edina, MN)
(Doolin, Ireland)
(Ballyvaughan, Ireland)
(Minneapolis, MN)
(Minneapolis, MN)
2015
2013
2009 Hybrids: Art and Science - Science Museum of Minnesota President’s Showcase - MCAD Art-A-Whirl - Gallery 13
Made @ MCAD Reading Kinji’s Bookshelf - Performance: Ann Hamilton & Michael Mercil Dear President Blank - MCAD Curatorial
2015 100 People Living Together - Riley Duncan - Present Works
Monster Drawing Rally - Group Live Drawing Fundraiser - Present Works
Irma, Wisconsin - Anouchka Oler, France - Present Works
Neighbors At Work - Curatorial Foreword - 2375 S Howell
Here Lies Youth - Nicholas Carroll, Minnesota - Present Works
(St. Paul, MN)
(Minneapolis, MN)
(Minneapolis, MN)
(Minneapolis, MN)
(Minneapolis, MN)
(Minneapolis, MN)
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Milwaukee, WI)
2014
A Simple Town - Angelena Luckeroth, Minnesota - Present Works
Mood Ring - Nicole Killian, Virginia - Present Works
Disguise After Dark - Group Show, National - Present Works
Picture Show - Lucas Ruminski and James Pederson, Wisconsin - 2375 S Howell
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Milwaukee, WI)
(Milwaukee, WI)
2011
POP SAW THE NEED - Group Show, International - Double Art Gallery
(Minneapolis, MN)
Residencies
2013
Sawyer Lake Artist Residency - Wolf River, WI
2012 The Guest Room Gallery Weekend Residency - Minneapolis, MN
Art Shanty Projects - Reflection Shanty - Medicine Lake, Plymouth, MN
2011
Awards
Rainbow School of Art Teaching Residency - Beijing, China
2012
Studies In Papua New Guinea: Architecture, Art and Ecology ($7000 Kickstarter campaign)
2011
Penny Grant Foundation - Project Assistance Grant
2010 MCAD Senior Fine Arts Merit Scholarship ($6,000)
MCAD Named Scholarship Fund ($2,000)
2007 MCAD Trustee Scholarship ($12,000 / year)
DST Systems and ATK Alliant Community Scholarships ($2,000 / year)
Starlight Blue Star Award for Outstanding Graphic Design (2006 - 2007)
Collections
Sightseer - Lynden Sculpture Garden (Milwaukee, WI)
Publishings
2015
Present Works (Milwaukee, WI)
Monster Drawing Rally, 18 Daily Artist Spotlights
2014
Journal Sentinel: Art City (Milwaukee, WI)
Light Grey Art Lab Podcast (Minneapolis, MN)
The Year in Art and Architecture
Far Away
2013 Bad At Sports Contemporary Art Talk Blog
Shepherd Express (Milwaukee, WI)
2011 Le Toile Magazine (Minneapolis, MN) From the Curb in Milwaukee: Imagination Giants
Lori Waxman’s 60 WRD/MIN ART CRITIC @ INOVA
2010
Ritratti A Penna Biro - Portraits in Pen Ink
Trust Me Magazine (Florence, Italy)
Le’Talk: An Interview with Ben Gansky of 1419
Visiting Artist / Critic / Panel
2015
Panel - MIAD Define, Swim Team, Curating
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
2014
Juror - Milwaukee Domes Art Festival
Mitchell Park Conservatory
2013
Guest Speaker - WLC Art Department
Panel - Problems of Circumstance: Contemporary Feminism
Wisconsin Lutheran College
INOVA, Portrait Society, Imagination Giants
2012
Fine Arts Department Visiting Artist (2012 - Current)
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
Professional Experience
Co-Director / Curator
Present Works (Milwaukee, WI)
2014 - Current
Converting a ruined warehouse space into a live-work art gallery and studio.
Curating and hosting monthly solo exhibitions of both international and national
emerging artists. Creating press releases, updating web and social media content
and communicating with local news outlets. Organization and upkeep of gallery
space, supplies and inventory. Tutoring interns and volunteers through professional
gallery practices. Programming annual fundraisers to generate $1700, and
establishing a local, month-long artist residency program.
Sculpture Lab Technician
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (Milwaukee, WI)
2012 - Current
Administrating and balancing a departmental budget for all sculpture classes.
Implementing money-saving strategies, maintaining and troubleshooting tools
related to welding, foundry, and ceramics work. Keeping students safe, and
collaborating with other departments to help facilitate student and institutional
based projects. Working together with the school’s safety committee to retain
and improve healthy practices. Helping build, operate, and maintain the sculpture
department’s gallery.
Author / Self-Publisher
Soft Feet (Chicago, IL)
Soft Feet is a 142-page book of travel stories and reflections by Brian Nigus from
2006 to 2012. Printed by Lowitz & Sons in Chicago, requiring collaboration with an
off-site designer and publisher, utilizing experience with Photoshop and InDesign to
create limited edition press run, e-book and print on demand versions. Organizing and
managing yearly Amazon.com sales, online shops and coordination with retailers.
2013
Project Manager / Designer
Reflection Shanty (Plymouth, MN)
Design and construction of a kaleidoscopic ice fishing house for the Art Shanty Projects.
Administrating and coordinating tasks amongst team members. Staying within a $1200
budget, and managing transportation and on-site installation.
2012
Set Designer / Constructor
1419 Theatre (Minneapolis, MN) Collaborating with theatre directors and playwright to conceptualize and construct
the set design for Erased Bob Rauschenberg America.
2011
3-D Shop Technician
Minneapolis College of Art and Design (Minneapolis, MN)
Assisting with class demos related to processes in metals, plastics,
and wood. Troubleshooting and equipment repair / maintenance. Individual
consultation with students regarding techniques and design.
2008 - 2011
Gallery Assistant
Minneapolis College of Art and Design (Minneapolis, MN)
Assisting in installation and deinstallation of shows, gallery upkeep,
and show compositions for student and professional artists.
2008 - 2011
Project Manager
Atelier Van Lieshout (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) Working alongside project coordinators to create large-scale sculpture, furniture
and installation artworks from metal, wood, foam, and polyester resin techniques.
Designing and fabricating new toolboxes for employees.
2010
Gallery Assistant
Franklin Artworks (Minneapolis, MN) Recruiting students to help Hang and install Rob Fischer’s show:
Few Landmarks and No Boundaries.
2009
Design Intern Creative Publishing International (Minneapolis, MN)
Assisting in book layout. Photography and promotional material for
moving campaign. Interior design for new Minneapolis headquarters.
2007 - 2008
Teaching Experience
Independent Study Instructor
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Deisgn (Milwaukee,WI) Conducted weekly workshops with two students to learn SolidWorks 3-D CAD
modelling program. Developed relations and collaborated with local metal
manufacturer to provide laser cutting and fabrication of student projects.
2014
Co-Instructor: Sculpture Milwaukee Institute of Art and Deisgn (Milwaukee,WI) Working alongside Jill Sebastian in teaching a course titled Home Bodies.
The course considered how the slippage between studio and habitat becomes a
metaphor for interior spaces (psycho-geography), family life, questions of proscribed
lifestyles, household work and self-portraiture. We explored the movement among
young artists to curate domestic spaces, changing expectations of how we see and
value art. The course concluded with a final exhibition organized off-campus.
2014
Instructor: Welding
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Deisgn (Milwaukee,WI) 2012 - 2014
A seven week course that guided a wide-range of students, from college-level,
to late adulthood, through the process of welding and metal fabrication. Students
learned Oxy/Acetylene and MIG welding techniques alongside individual projects.
Instructor: Graphic Design
East Side Arts Council (St. Paul, MN) Worked within the St. Paul Salvation Army to create and teach a class that
introduced students to design fundamentals through performance and
hands-on activities due to limited access to technology.
2011
Teaching Resident
Rainbow School of Art (Beijing, China) Working with Chinese students aged 3-17 on projects that included
painting, movie making, clay building, and calligraphy, as well as
introducing new curricula and school philosophies to teachers and directors.
2011
Teaching Assistant
Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minneapolis, MN) Assisting in the execution of Saturday classes for 4th-12th grade students.
Ranging from mold making and casting, to painting and drawing.
2011
After School Teacher
Jefferson Elementary School (Minneapolis, MN) Helping run the after school program, Art Adventures, creating lesson
plans, utilizing various materials, and taking field trips to local art museums
2009
Instructor: Movie Making Shawnee Mission School District (Shawnee, KS) Teaching 3rd - 8th graders claymation, stop-motion, and live-action
techniques. Assisting in digital post-production and hosting weekly
film festivals for the community.
Event Planning Experience
Monster Drawing Rally
Present Works (Milwaukee,WI)
Curating 18 local artists to create live drawings that are then sold immediately.
3 Live DJs provided music, and 10 volunteers helped coordinate the event.
One month of advertising, and 18 written artist spotlights brought over 300 guests.
$1700 was generated in 3 hours.
Holiday Turkey Fry
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (Milwaukee,WI)
Initiating and coordinating the first all-school Thanksgiving meal, hosting
over 150 students, staff and faculty. A potluck event, we fried whole Turkeys,
discussed holiday safety, and ate as a community.
2006 - 2008
2015
2012 - 2014
Summer BBQ Send-off Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (Milwaukee,WI)
Taught student workers how to create and build contemporary Chinese BBQs,
prepare food, and cook for an end-of-semester send-off that fed over
50 students and staff.
2013
Event Coordinator
Rainbow School of Art (Beijing, China)
Collaborating with 8 schools to create the district’s First Annual Foreign
Teacher’s Exhibition. Planning weekly events for students and faculty,
including cooking lessons, plein air painting trips and museum outings.
2011
Work Camp Volunteer
Maison de la Nature (Altenach, France)
Preservation and restoration of historic oil mill in Altenach, France. Hosting
community gatherings to assist in local farming techniques, maintaining
gardens within the nature center, and art education workshops regarding
ecological practices.
2010