Rifle Sport Gallery
Encyclopedia
Rifle Sport Gallery was open from 1985 to 1988 in the Block E
segment of Hennepin Avenue
in downtown Minneapolis, USA. It was considered an underground component of the Minneapolis art scene and is fondly remembered by many.
The gallery was located on the second floor of a 2-story building located at the corner of Hennepin Avenue
and North Sixth Street, across Hennepin from City Center and upstairs from Shinder's Newsstand. The gallery was only accessible by a long flight of stairs, behind a blue entrance door on Hennepin Avenue. The gallery was near a busy pedestrian intersection that included a bus stop, activity on Block E, and passersby of the North Loop neighborhood in Minneapolis. The neighborhood attracted a broad cross-section of punks, artists, and musicians. Block E was also notorious for attracting criminals, vagrants, and alcoholics.
In the three years it was open, around 130 artists, musicians and performance artists used the space. Artists from around the USA had early work in this gallery. Rifle Sport Gallery was one of many galleries downtown, but it was often open late at night. The building that housed Rifle Sport was demolished with the rest of Block E in 1988. The gallery initially lived on after the demolition, moving near Loring Park, but was closed after a year.
The gallery was named after the defunct arcade (whose signage remained) which previously occupied the space. An unrelated local band Rifle Sport
established their name in 1981.
, Julia Scher
, The Slime Clowns (Zingo & Bloppo), Steve Grandel, Mann Hawks, Robert Grassel
Block E (Minneapolis)
Block E is the name of a block in downtown Minneapolis bounded by Hennepin Avenue, 6th Street, 7th Street, and 1st Avenue North. It is part of the Downtown West neighborhood in Minneapolis. It is one block south of the Warehouse District/Hennepin Avenue light rail station on the Hiawatha Line.-...
segment of Hennepin Avenue
Hennepin Avenue
Hennepin Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs from Lakewood Cemetery , north through the Uptown District of Southwest Minneapolis, through the former "Bottleneck" area west of Loring Park, through the North Loop in the city center, to Northeast Minneapolis and...
in downtown Minneapolis, USA. It was considered an underground component of the Minneapolis art scene and is fondly remembered by many.
The gallery was located on the second floor of a 2-story building located at the corner of Hennepin Avenue
Hennepin Avenue
Hennepin Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs from Lakewood Cemetery , north through the Uptown District of Southwest Minneapolis, through the former "Bottleneck" area west of Loring Park, through the North Loop in the city center, to Northeast Minneapolis and...
and North Sixth Street, across Hennepin from City Center and upstairs from Shinder's Newsstand. The gallery was only accessible by a long flight of stairs, behind a blue entrance door on Hennepin Avenue. The gallery was near a busy pedestrian intersection that included a bus stop, activity on Block E, and passersby of the North Loop neighborhood in Minneapolis. The neighborhood attracted a broad cross-section of punks, artists, and musicians. Block E was also notorious for attracting criminals, vagrants, and alcoholics.
In the three years it was open, around 130 artists, musicians and performance artists used the space. Artists from around the USA had early work in this gallery. Rifle Sport Gallery was one of many galleries downtown, but it was often open late at night. The building that housed Rifle Sport was demolished with the rest of Block E in 1988. The gallery initially lived on after the demolition, moving near Loring Park, but was closed after a year.
The gallery was named after the defunct arcade (whose signage remained) which previously occupied the space. An unrelated local band Rifle Sport
Rifle Sport
Rifle Sport was an American post punk band active in the 1980s and 1990s, from Minneapolis, Minnesota.-Studio albums:*Voice Of Reason *White ...
established their name in 1981.
Artists
Shannon Brady, Phillip Johnson, Michael Joo, Ruthann Goddellei, Jan Elftman, Frank Gaard, Melissa Stang, W. Joe HoppeW. Joe Hoppe
W. Joe Hoppe is an American poet, short story writer and filmmaker who was at the forefront of the performance poetry scene in Austin, Texas....
, Julia Scher
Julia Scher
Julia Scher is an American artist who works primarily with themes of surveillance. She uses a variety of mediums and is most known for her installation art and performance art works. Her work addresses issues of control and seduction....
, The Slime Clowns (Zingo & Bloppo), Steve Grandel, Mann Hawks, Robert Grassel