The fall St. Paul Art Crawl this weekend will showcase more artists than ever, growth that many in the artist community attribute to Brenda Brousseau, director of the past six crawls. Brousseau died Oct. 2 of complications related to a cancer diagnosis.
Brousseau’s influence was more than just expanding the numbers and the territory of the twice-yearly event beyond its Lowertown origins, said Linda Snouffer, acting director of the St. Paul Art Crawl. “Brenda was especially instrumental in expanding the diversity of the artists who were showing and the area in which they were showing.”
A tribute to Brousseau from the St. Paul Artist Collective said she championed special exhibitions like the fall 2018 “Check Other,” highlighting Latino artists, and “We are Still Here,” telling the stories of regional Indigenous artists, which is on display in the Schmidt Artist Lofts’ Landmark Gallery.
“We just want St. Paul to be this mecca of art,” Brousseau said in an interview before the April crawl. “We want to bring back the magic.”
Brousseau, a beadwork artist who worked out of her home in the West Seventh neighborhood, created complex beaded mandalas, headdresses, sculptures, and wall art. Her awards in exhibitions across the country include the Juror’s Choice Award at the 35th Annual Contemporary Crafts Exhibit in Mesa, Ariz. She received multiple Minnesota State Arts Board grants and a Jerome Grant through the MN Textile Center.
St. Paul stained-glass artist J.A. Geiger met Brousseau at a not particularly fruitful art show about a decade ago. “We bonded over how terrible the show was,” Geiger says. “Neither one of us sold anything.” But they said afterward they owed their friendship to that bad experience.
Geiger says there was a lot of depth in Brousseau’s art. “So much work went into every piece.”
When it came to the Art Crawl, Geiger echoed Snouffer. It wasn’t just about expanding locations. “It was about trying to reach a more diverse audience and a more diverse group of artists.”
Brousseau worked at Tim Harwig’s Frame Ups picture frame shops 25 years ago, Harwig says. She left for a bit, then returned about five years ago to help Harwig shut down the business.
“We became extremely close friends,” Harwig said. “Brenda was a dedicated and loving person. Her art was very serious to her and her friendships were very serious to her.”
“My art is a reflection of my life,” Brousseau said on her Luna C Bede website. “I have found that even though my art is very personal, once the viewer knows the story behind the art they find their own truth within it. Conversations start at that moment.”
Brousseau’s family declined to comment. There is no information about services. The St. Paul Art Collective hopes to honor her with an exhibit in the future. People who want to send a message to her family can send an email to info@saintpaulartcollective, Snouffer said.
