× Expand via Facebook The Soap Factory

After celebrating the art community in the Twin Cities for the last 30 years, the Soap Factory announced today that it will shut down.

Located in the historic National Purity Soap Company building in south Minneapolis, the Soap Factory was known for pushing the envelope and keeping artists at the center of the institution, elevating contemporary art from emerging and mid-career artists.

The Soap Factory has been dealing with financial challenges over the past four years, due in part to maintaining the 130-year-old building. The Board of Directors accepted a $3.8 million offer from its contractor, RJM Construction, to acquire the building. RJM then sold the building to Buhl Investors, which is planning to convert the building into office spaces.

"Although Buhl Investors generously offered rent-free use of a 6,500-square-foot space on the building’s lower level for two years after construction, at its September meeting the Soap Board concluded that the organization lacks sufficient resources to continue operating," the Soap Factory's press release states.

Founded in 1988 by a small pack of artists, the Soap Factory became one of the first venues in the Twin Cities devoted to emerging visual art. First known as No Name Gallery, then No Name Exhibitions, the art organization was crucial to helping artists discover new forms of expression, and by lending a supportive exhibition space for new artists to begin their careers.

“We are deeply sorry that we were unable to save the Soap Factory, but we honor its history and we celebrate the legacy of the artists who made it such an important Twin Cities arts organization for three decades,” said board chair Roy Close.

"The Soap Factory Board of Directors would like its Twin Cities and extended community to know that we will cease operations by the end of this year, and dissolve the organization. This was not a decision that was made lightly, and we close our doors with a sense of gravity and sadness," the Soap Factory shared in a statement to their Facebook page. "We thank everyone who has supported us during our recent more difficult times, but also all the many many artists, curators, and just great people who passed through our doors over the last thirty years. The Soap has been the nexus of so many great moments because of you."

The dissolution of the Soap Factory should be finalized by December 31, and the organization has already donated its historical records to the University of Minnesota Archives.