Ryan Companies US, Inc. Announces Midtown Exchange Public Art Program

Local artists will create commissioned pieces to complement
historic images of building's past

MINNEAPOLIS ( Sept. 6, 2005 ) – Ryan Companies US, Inc. today unveiled its public art program for Midtown Exchange. The former Sears retail and catalog warehouse, expected to officially open in the Spring of 2006, will be decorated with historic images and artistic works that marry the building’s past with its future.

Nine local artists will create the public art program for Midtown Exchange. These artists were culled from a culturally diverse group of more than 30 artists, all of which had been identified by Art Holdings, a Twin Cities-based company that consults on public art programs. Allina Hospitals and Clinics, Neighborhood Development Center , and Sherman Associates are also supporting the program, and joined Ryan Companies in choosing the final artists. The finalists were selected based on their bodies of work, professional history, and connections to the neighborhood. They are:

Bob Parr of Ryan Companies, David Shea of Shea Architects and Kim Cameron of Art Holdings selected the public spaces where the art will be displayed. These spaces include Main Street, the grand staircase, Midtown Global Market, public corridors, passenger shelters and hotel. The works will be unveiled at the building’s grand opening celebration, currently planned for Spring of 2006.

“It was important to us that the artwork in the building not only represented the new cultural diversity of the neighborhood, but also connected to the project’s theme, ‘Unity, Community, Opportunity’,” said Bob Parr, director of development, Ryan Companies. “Art Holdings did a superb job identifying so many qualified artists who met these special considerations.”

In addition to original, site-specific commissioned pieces, Ryan Companies will also display historic photographs and images from the building’s past within the public spaces of Midtown Exchange.

Ryan Companies US, Inc. is a leading national commercial real estate firm offering integrated design-build and development as well as asset, property and facilities management services to customers. For more than 67 years, Ryan Companies has used a single-source approach that offers flexibility in defining the scope of a project and strength in providing effective, timely solutions resulting in a higher certainty of success. In addition to its Minneapolis office, Ryan has offices in Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego and Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa .