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Patricia Olson (b. 1951) is an American graphic artist and painter and feminist artist whose works are categorized as Figurative art.

Olson was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She earned her B.A. in studio art from Macalester College in 1973, and her M.F.A. in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1998.

Olson's work has been on exhibition continuously throughout the United States since 1973, sometimes in group exhibitions, and sometimes in solo exhibitions. She has works that are part of permanent collections throughout the United States as well.

Art and Feminism
The intersection of art and feminism can be seen in Olson's works of art, and also throughout other aspects of her life. She is a founding member of the Women's Art Registry of Minnesota, also known as WARM. WARM began as a women's art collective in the 1970s. They opened a gallery in Minneapolis, MN in 1976, "with the specific mission to create an alternative space for women artists and to promote their professional development and individual careers." The lasting legacy of WARM can still be found today, albeit in a different incarnation. Today's WARM is based in Eden Prairie, MN, and provides mentoring, networking opportunities, exhibition opportunities, and an online registry of works for women artists in the Midwest.

Olson and her colleague Elizabeth Erickson have taught the Women's Art Institute, a summer intensive studio program, for the past fifteen years. The Women's Art Institute was housed at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design from it's inception in 1999, until it moved to St. Catherine University in September of 2012. When the Women's Art Institute made the move from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design to St. Catherine University, Olson took over as the new director of the program. For this work, "[t]hey were named 'Changemakers of 2009' by the Minnesota Women's Press for promoting greater self-determination, equality and justice for women and girls."

Teaching Experience

 * 1997-present, Associate Professor, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN.
 * 1999-2012, Adjunct Instructor, Women's Art Institute, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN.
 * 1994-1996, Adjunct Instructor, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN; Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN; North Hennepin Community College, Brooklyn Park, MN.