by access+ENGAGE   August 20, 2006

access+ENGAGE 8.2: The Blue Ribbon Issue

There's something deeply satisfying about state fair competitions. It must scratch some dormant elementary school itch to get a blue ribbon. What's more, it's a pleasure to see fine art side by side with seed pictures of TV personalities, home-grown heirloom tomatoes, and Mrs. Larson's orange preserves in contests of talent. In that spirit, this issue's Mashup collection celebrates the 2006 Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts competition champions—our hats are off! (You can read more about each of these winning artists in a series of articles on mnartists.org). For those of you mourning the dwindling of summer's art fairs, look on the bright side. Now it's fall art season, and we've got a bonanza of You Are Here events in store for every taste — some are edifying, more than a few are aimed at the savvy shopper, and at least one is proudly lowbrow. (And if you've still got some unframed pieces of art tacked up on your wall from your college days, our mnAccess deal is just for you.) If you haven't made it out to the Fair yet this year, there's only one weekend left in the Great Minnesota Get-Together.