The Soap Factory is dedicated to the production, presentation and promotion of emerging contemporary practice across the visual arts. Committed to experimentation and risk-taking, The Soap Factory offers audiences a real and immediate experience of the arts, encouraging a wider understanding of and appreciation for artists and their work.
Based in the historic National Purity Soap Factory in downtown Minneapolis, The Soap Factory is a 501(c )(3) non-profit.
History
No Name Exhibitions @ The Soap Factory was founded in 1988 by a small group of artists (with "no name") as one of the first venues in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul devoted to emerging visual art. Throughout its history, No Name Exhibitions has filled a crucial niche in this vital regional arts community by providing a supportive environment for artists who are at the beginning of their careers or who are exploring new genres of expression.
In 2008, The Soap Factory exhibited the work of over 130 artists and had over 20,000 visitors attend opening nights, tour exhibitions, or participate in our special events. We are unabashedly artist-centered; offering audiences a visceral and immediate experience of art and of the life of the artist.
The Soap Factory is located in the former National Purity Soap Company building, donated to the organization by Pillsbury in 1995. This historic 48,000 sq. ft. wood and brick warehouse-located along the riverfront near the birthplace of Minneapolis-makes The Soap Factory the third largest contemporary art gallery in Minneapolis/St Paul, and one of the largest devoted to emergent practice in the USA. We are the only true "raw" space in Minneapolis/St Paul, a unique showcase for sculpture, installation, painting, performance, photography, film, and video.
The Soap Factory supports artists and their work not only by providing exhibition and studio space on an unprecedented scale, but also by providing a skilled staff to aid artists in realizing new work, by paid stipends to both artists and curators, and by securing press articles and critical reviews of shows in a unique gallery space with a national profile. Doing so, we help position artists to continue beyond their Soap Factory exhibitions, as well as offering our volunteers, many of whom are emerging artists themselves, the opportunity to learn and work within a professional gallery environment.
The Soap Factory is widely respected for its dedication to emerging artists and supporting the cultural vitality of Minneapolis/St Paul. We are proud to have become "one of the country's most talked-about art venues" (Star Tribune, May 2002), "Minneapolis' liveliest venue for untested talent" (Star Tribune, April 2004),"the granddaddy provocateur on the [nonprofit/alternative] scene, with a truly impressive history of exhibits" (The Rake, October 2002), that "uses its huge 40,000 square foot space for extensive showcasing of radical ideas" (The Pulse, July 2003). The Soap Factory has "a good reputation and a prime location -- that suggests a tantalizing future" (Star Tribune, June 2003).