After returning to Minnesota from traveling abroad in 1997, Ann Pifer’s experiences of the importance of artistic works in cultures around the world, including Scandinavia and West Africa, inspired her. In August 2004, a year after the birth of her second son, and after leaving her job as a corporate banker, she opened the Grand Hand Gallery on Grand Avenue.
Pifer says the goal of The Grand Hand is to bring the best artistic works of our state to the forefront of the artistic community in Saint Paul. “Our work gives you a feeling that it came from Minnesota,” she says. “Much of the work we display is focused on handmade simplicity and beautiful objects that are uniquely Minnesotan.” These include handmade pieces of cultural influence that are traced back to common Minnesotan ancestors, including Scandinavians, Germans, Asians and Native Americans.
Grand Hand Gallery will exhibit three Minnesota artists in June who collectively represent the “Best of Minnesota,” as Pifer calls them. On July 9, the gallery will host “All Things Considered VIII,” in partnership with the National Basketry Organization, held in conjunction with the National Basketry Organization’s International Conference at Macalester College. Learn more about this and other Grand Hand Art Gallery events on their website.
Grand Hand Gallery
619 Grand Ave.
651.312.1122
