Twin Cities Pride’s Pride Cultural Arts Center to Expand Possibilities for Pride Programming

Twin Cities Pride will host the grand opening of their new Pride Cultural Arts Center (PCAC), located just blocks away from Loring Park, on February 15.

PCAC will host a variety of Twin Cities Pride programming, including their Artist and Junior Artist in Residence programs, their Rainbow Wardrobe and American Sign Language classes from Minnesota Deaf Queers, according to Twin Cities Pride Director of Programming Kelsey Alto.

The idea for PCAC came about as a result of limitations in Twin Cities Pride’s existing office space, according to Alto. Those included the cost of having to host events too large for their office off-site, accessibility difficulties due to the Rainbow Wardrobe’s basement location and their inability to offer the physical space typical of an artist-in-residence program. PCAC solves all those problems in addition to providing many new programming opportunities for Twin Cities Pride and the Twin Cities LGBTQ+ community.

Twin Cities Pride’s Artist in Residence and Junior Artist in Residence programs will move to PCAC once it opens, Alto says. The adult program features five artists in its 2025 cohort, all of whom will put on a solo exhibition at PCAC. The junior artists will have the opportunity to shadow the older artists while joining them for a joint exhibition in December.

“I am really excited to see the Artist in Residence program come together in this space,” Alto says. “Specifically, we have one artist who has never even displayed art before, and so I’m so excited to see the opportunity for them, but also the joint exhibition that they’re working on in December, it’s gonna have a cohesive throughline amongst all of their art and they’re all such unique artists that I’m really excited to see how they work together to come up with something.”

Like the Artist in Residence programs, Twin Cities Pride’s Rainbow Wardrobe will also have a new home at PCAC. The much larger and more accessible space will allow for improved changing and try-on areas, according to Alto. The Rainbow Wardrobe will also able to be open evenings and weekends in the new space.

In March, the Rainbow Wardrobe will host an upcycling event to give new life to items that aren’t being used.

“We had a ton of prom dresses and other dresses donated to us, but we just could never go through that many prom dresses,” Alto says. “So it’s a way for drag artists or any other textile artist to come and get free fabric to be able to upcycle those dresses.”

In addition to PCAC enhancing Twin Cities Pride’s current programming, Alto says it will help them expand programming aimed at people new to Minnesota.

“We talk to people every single day who are planning to move to Minnesota or already have, and one of the big things that they’re looking for is community,” Alto says. ”So we’re really hoping to create programming here that will create community for those who are seeking to meet people.”

The Rainbow Wardrobe is a significant part of community building for Twin Cities Pride as well, according to Alto.

“That’s where we mainly see people and talk to people on a daily basis,” Alto says. “They move here from other states, they spend everything that they have to get here to safety, and then they hear about the wardrobe. They come in and they’re able to get clothes and especially outfitted for the winter months.”

Beyond Twin Cities Pride’s programming, PCAC will also provide space for other local LGBTQ+ organizations, according to Alto. In addition to the previously mentioned ASL classes through Minnesota Deaf Queers, PCAC will host offices for Transforming Families and be available as an event space for other organizations.

“A big component of this is allowing other organizations to host events here for free,” Alto says.

PCAC is funded in part by the City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department through its Vibrant Storefronts initiative. Although it hasn’t yet opened, PCAC is already starting to bring some vibrancy to the Harmon Place Historic District, according to Alto.

“We’ve already had neighbors walking by and knocking on the door and asking, ‘When are you gonna open?’” Alto says.

PCAC’s grand opening will be its Open House event on February 15 from 12-4 p.m. The event will feature tours, staff on hand to answer questions and light refreshments, according to Twin Cities Pride’s website.

Pride Cultural Arts Center
1201 Harmon Pl., Ste. 104, Minneapolis
Twin Citiespride.org/pride-cultural-arts-center/