Art museum

An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art. Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection. Paintings are the most commonly displayed art objects; however, sculpture, decorative arts, furniture, textiles, costume, drawings, pastels, watercolors, collages, prints, artists' books, photographs, and installation art are also regularly shown. Although primarily concerned with providing a space to show works of visual art, art galleries are sometimes used to host other artistic activities, such as performance art, music concerts, or poetry readings.

Types of galleries

The term is used for both public galleries, which are non-profit or publicly owned museums that display selected collections of art. On the other hand, private galleries refers to the commercial enterprises for the sale of art. However, both types of gallery may host traveling exhibits or temporary exhibitions including art borrowed from elsewhere.

Plains Art Museum

The Plains Art Museum is a fine arts museum located in downtown Fargo, North Dakota, United States.

History

The history of the museum dates back to 1965 when the "Red River Art Center" opened in the former Moorhead, Minnesota, post office. The name of the museum was changed when it was incorporated with the Rourke Art Gallery to form the "Plains Art Museum" in 1975. After a 1987 schism resulting the departure of founding director James O'Rourke, the Plains Art Museum and the Rourke Art Museum and Gallery became separate institutions. The Museum remained in the downtown Moorhead location until 1996. In October 1997, the Museum relocated to a renovated turn-of-the-century International Harvester warehouse in downtown Fargo, North Dakota. The American Alliance of Museums granted accreditation to Plains Art Museum in 2003. This made the Plains Art Museum one of two museums in North Dakota which has received this distinction.

Location

The Plains Art Museum acquired the old International Harvester warehouse building in 1994. The architecture firm of Hammel Green and Abrahamson, Inc. of Minneapolis, also behind the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Walker Art Center, and the Minnesota History Center, composed a design incorporating both old and new styles.