Arts and Culture : Development News
Last weekend, a vacant building at 1001 West Broadway Avenue in North Minneapolis was turned into a large-scale work of art.
A bold vinyl wrap featuring photographic images from the neighborhood wraps around two sides of the three-story building.
The project kicks off the FLOW Art Crawl, an annual event since 2006 that’s running this weekend with more offerings than in previous years.
Many different galleries, studios, theaters, and other spaces are a part of the art crawl, which stretches down West Broadway, from the Mississippi River to Penn Avenue North, according to art crawl materials. This includes a Caribbean cultural "masquerade parade" and a mini-Open Streets event in partnership with the Minneapolis Bike Coalition. Open Streets allows for bicyclists and pedestrians to freely wander North 2nd Street.
Dudley Voigt, FLOW’s artistic director, says that each year during the event, “We have made a piece of public art that lasted beyond the event.”
The three-story building can’t be occupied at this time, “but that doesn’t mean it can’t be showcased,” she says.
FLOW, along with the West Broadway Business and Area Coalition, collaborated with the city, which owns the building, to “figure out a way to wrap it, to use art on a larger scale and amplify what we’ve been doing for a long time,” she says.
The project expands on the city’s façade improvement efforts and the coalition’s work around business recruitment, corridor marketing and creative placemaking, a prepared statement from the city reads.
The guerilla-style photos that characterize the vinyl wrap, which Armour Photography, owned by Jake Armour, shot in June, feature area business owners, organization leaders, artists, architectural elements of the corridor and more.
“What’s great about this is that you can drive by it and see it anytime. It’s a celebration of the great things happening on the North Side everyday,” she says.
A number of other North Side buildings have also gotten an artistic makeover. “Public art makes any space look good,” on both the inside and outside, Voigt says. At times, this type of public artwork has even led to a building or another space being rented or purchased. “We see that story playing out over and over again, the intersection of art and commerce,” she says.
Meanwhile, the vinyl wrap is expected to last several years. “The city and the community want to see the building occupied before the banner fades,” says Voigt.
Source: Dudley Voigt, artistic director, FLOW
Writer: Anna Pratt
The Minnesota Beer Activists group is planning a community garden centered exclusively on hops, which are used to flavor beer.
Andrew Schmitt, the group’s executive director, saw a need for fresh, locally sourced hops. “I thought, ‘why not have a garden dedicated to just hops, which the community can use?’” he says. “We have a great community of home brewers in Minnesota and this is one way we can help with that.”
He knows of no other community hops gardens in the country. The Minnesota Beer Activists worked with Hennepin County to find a spot for the garden. They setled on a lot at the corner of East 38th Street and Dight Avenue in Minneapolis’s Longfellow neighborhood.
Besides turning a vacant space into a productive one, the garden dovetails with several local breweries. “It brings neighbors together and they can share something they have in common,” he says.
The Minnesota Beer Activists plans to run the hops garden cooperatively. People can sign up to take part in much the same way that they would in any other community garden, collectively maintaining it, he says.
To help get it up and running, Hippity Hop Farms in Forest Lake is donating hop plants and trellises, which cuts down on the group’s overhead costs, he says. Schmitt hopes to track down some rain barrels as well.
The garden will start out by planting Cascade hops, which are “great all around for making beer, in terms of taste and aroma,” he says, adding, “As things progress, we may look at some other styles.”
Schmitt plans to edge the garden with wheat and barley. He also wants to set up a bench to create a park-like feel, he says.
By October, the garden should have its first harvest. The hops will be good for home brewers and cooking enthusiasts alike.
He hopes to make the garden the “leading edge of what could be a movement,” inspiring other community hops gardens in the area, and beyond.
Source: Andrew Schmitt, executive director, Minnesota Beer Activists
Writer: Anna Pratt
A mural in a skyway at downtown St. Paul’s Alliance Bank Center is encouraging all kinds of personal and profound reactions.
The mural, which spans a 36-foot-long construction barricade, has been designed to appear like an oversized chalkboard. Over and over, it contains the line, “Before I die I want to…” with space for 168 people to fill in the blanks.
Shawn Wiski, the property manager for the building, had seen a headline about New Orleans-based artist Candy Chang’s original project. It had to do with how the words, “Before I die I want to….” changed her life, she says.
Chang came up with the project after losing a close friend who’d been a mother figure to her. “She started reflecting on the rest of her life and what she wanted to do,” she says.
The artist took that line of thought and she wound up stenciling it on the exterior of a vacant, boarded-up house in New Orleans. “The response was phenomenal, so it’s been duplicated,” in cities all over the globe, she says.
Wiski thought about the skyway, where the “huge white construction wall calls out for something to be decorating it. It was an opportunity for something to go there that benefits others.”
St. Paul's "Before I die" mural is in an ideal spot, with plenty of pedestrian traffic. “It’s gone over far better than I could have expected. It’s had an overwhelming response,” Wiski says.
Within several hours of the mural’s unveiling in the skyway on July 8, the slots had been completely filled out. Since then, the answers have been erased and already it’s chock-full of answers once again. “It’s been cool to watch the people gather by it, read it, take pictures and write on it,” she says.
The mural will be up for a total of six weeks, as was another art project that came before it. “I just hope it’s an inspiration to all, that it helps everyone reflect on their life and the importance of what they can contribute,” she says.
The mural also offers a community-building exercise. “It teaches us about our fellow businessperson, resident, visitor, and more,” she says.
Many of the responses defy stereotypes, she says. People are “divulging a little bit of their inner self. So it’s personal.”
Source: Shawn Wiski, property manager, Alliance Bank Center
Writer: Anna Pratt
To flesh out its in-progress street design manual that’s part of a broader plan, St. Paul is holding a photo contest of “street elements" that can be found throughout the city.
The manual will provide "a clear framework for street design processes,” according to city information. Community members can help add to the manual with snapshots of “street elements,” which include sidewalks, benches, crosswalks, bike racks and lanes, boulevard trees, outdoor cafes, and more.
The contest, which has an Aug. 1 deadline, is open to anyone, from the amateur to the professional photographer, according to Anton Jerve, a city official who is leading the charge. Contest rules, along with a lengthy list of “street elements,” sample photos and image requirements can be found on the city’s website. Some people may even be able to use their smartphones, depending on how good their cameras are, he says.
The contest is a creative way to get the public involved in the digital manual, which will see plenty of use from city planners, he says. “This is an opportunity for people to go out and take photos and help us customize the manual,” he says, adding, “It showcases the good things we’re already doing.”
This will contribute to the city's Complete Streets Plan, which is all about street design that takes into consideration “the needs of all street users, of all ages and abilities,” city materials state. The manual will “talk about how we can bring the street elements all together to design a complete or balanced street,” Jerve says.
Part of what makes it helpful is that “People will take photos of places they like. It gets people out and about and thinking about the streets, and the relationship between what we’re calling something in the manual and how it’s functioning,” he says.
Source: Anton Jerve, city of St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt
Heyday, a new restaurant coming to Minneapolis's Uptown neighborhood, has big plans to transform the space once occupied by the former Sunny Side Up Café and an adjacent Laundromat.
Lorin Zinter, a principal of Heyday whose partner is chef Jim Christiansen, says the pair scouted out lots of restaurant spaces all over the city for several years before settling on this location. They’re fans of Uptown, which is ideally situated “so close to single-family homes, condos, apartments and other great businesses. It was a great fit for us.”
To make way for Heyday, the concept for which they’re still developing, the pair is planning a dramatic renovation of the space. The building will take on a whole new look and feel, he says.
For starters, they’ll be removing the exterior siding and installing new windows and doors, while the interior will be brought down to the floorboards and studs. “We’ll start from scratch and it’ll be open, extending up to the ceiling,” he says, adding, “I love the original exposed hardwood ceilings.”
Natural materials will characterize the place, while local artist Terrence Payne, founder of the Rosalux Gallery, will create an original piece that will lend plenty of personality to one interior wall. “We’re excited to work with him. He’s immensely talented. We want to use local artists, so visitors can see and feel the impact of people in Minneapolis within the restaurant,” Zinter says.
A bar and lounge will take up close to half of the space, while the restaurant portion will fill out the remainder of the nearly 4,600-square-foot area, he says.
Even though Zinter and Christiansen have a background in fine dining, “We don’t want it to be only a special-occasion place. We want it to be a place in the neighborhood where people feel free to walk down anytime.”
Construction will start in mid-July, while the restaurant aims to open in December.
“I think there’s such a great food scene already on Lyndale, and it’s building nicely. We want to contribute to that and make this part of the city that much more fun and enjoyable,” he says.
Source: Lorin Zinter, co-owner, Heyday
Writer: Anna Pratt
Thistle, an occasional shop that offers repurposed vintage furniture and other home accessories, opened in the historical Milton Square in St. Paul in May.
The space has had a variety of uses through the years, according to shop owner Heather O’Malley.
She describes the place as a “nice complement to the quirky building,” which dates back to 1909. It has a European feeling, with old-fashioned steps that lead down to the store. People can “overlook it from the street and down into my doorway. People love to peek over,” she says.
Although O’Malley made some cosmetic changes to the 800-square-foot space, “My type of furniture, quirky repurposed things, fits in well with this,” she says. To flesh that out a little more, she took away layers to expose old pipes and radiators.
O’Malley, who also has a set-design business, had always wanted to have a shop like this and she likes the neighborhood. As far as work goes, “I love to find things and change them up and make them into something else, give them a new life,” she says, adding, “I felt it was time for me to have a retail spot for it.”
So, when this space opened up, “It was the perfect opportunity,” and it makes sense for the neighborhood, too, which is characterized by older homes, she says.
Since the shop is only open for a limited time over the course of a month, “It’s not like a typical gift shop. It’s constantly changing,” with different merchandise all the time. “People feel like they’re on a scavenger hunt to find something no one else has discovered yet.”
The shop’s next sale dates go from July 11 to 14. (Check the website for further details.) “People get excited about seeing what comes next,” O'Malley says, adding, “There’s been some really interesting comments and good feedback so far.”
Source: Heather O’Malley, owner, Thistle
Writer: Anna Pratt
A new French-style bakery and bistro on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis is hosting its grand opening this Thursday.
The French Corner Bistro & Bakery, which had a soft opening earlier this month, offers a wide variety of baked goods, sandwiches, soups and salads, and wine.
Nadia Storchak, a co-owner of the place along with Vladimir Storchak and Chrystel Klein, says the bistro’s concept is comparable to that of the former Pardon My French restaurants. “It has a similar menu,” she says, adding, “We have a French chef from France. So, it’s not only in the name. We have real French foods.”
The bistro, which has 40 seats inside along with sidewal-café seating, brought about a dramatic makeover of the space, which once housed a bank. “We demolished everything that was here before and started again. It was a big project,” Storchak says.
Inside, the bistro has a French-inspired ambience, with an eye-catching chandelier and granite countertops. “It’s a transitional modern look,” she says.
The place fills a unique niche in the area. “It’s a big need for people living or working downtown. There are a lot of coffee shops, but no place to buy pastries,” she says. Already, the place has been busy. “It’s a great place just to spend time and hang out with friends,” Storchak says, adding, “We have the best macaroons in town. Everyone is saying they’re the best.”
French Corner Bistro & Bakery also helps bring business to the adjacent Dahl Pharmacy, which the Storchaks and Klein also own, she says.
In the future, the bistro hopes to add catering services along with boxed lunches. “We’re looking forward to seeing more customers,” says Storchak.
Source: Nadia Storchak, co-owner, French Corner Bistro & Bakery
Writer: Anna Pratt
As a survivor of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis in 2007, Lindsay Walz, a youth worker, turned to art for healing.
“I found myself through the artistic process and creativity. I could tell my story to myself in a different way,” she says.
That experience led her to open courageous heARTS, an arts-focused youth center at 4164 Cedar Ave. S. in Minneapolis. As a part of a soft launch this summer, the center has special drop-in hours for open studio use. The center is also helping plan community art projects in conjunction with the Standish Ericsson Neighborhood Association (SENA).
Walz, who has long wanted to open a youth center of her own, says courageous heARTS is a “space that’s safe, where youth can express themselves and get the gunk out,” adding, “It’s better if those feelings come out on paper or with words, whatever the case may be.”
The center is a place to explore those possibilities. “Maybe someone is an untapped writer or a dancer or a musician,” she says. “It’s not about being good at it, just doing it.”
Also, youth can learn from each other. “They don’t have to separate themselves,” and they can develop leadership skills through the youth advisory board and other opportunities, she says.
The space, formerly a convenience store that had sat vacant for some time, is an ideal location, according to Walz. She wanted to find a space in the neighborhood, where she lives, “so it would be community-based in the true sense of it,” she says. Plus, the neighborhood doesn’t have a lot of youth programming. “It was about making art and space accessible."
The center will probably occupy the 1,800-square-foot space for a couple of years and then move to another location, since the landlord has other plans for the building in the longer term. “I felt like it would be a good window to get the center off the ground,” Walz says.
At this time, she’s still looking for partners and volunteers to help make the place a success, while an Aug. 1 fundraiser includes a screening of the documentary “Inocente” at the Riverview Theatre.
“Anyone that’s interested we’d love to hear from,” whether that has to do with art or office work or another skill, she says. “We need a lot of helping hands to get off the ground. We want to be around for a long time. That’s the goal.”
Source: Lindsay Walz, courageous heARTS
Writer: Anna Pratt
Urban Growler Brewing, a small packaging microbrewery with a taproom, is in the works for a vintage brick building in St. Paul's St. Anthony Park neighborhood. The place is hosting an open house this Friday and Saturday.
Although the 6,200-square-foot warehouse space still has a ways to go before the brewing can happen, the event is a chance to learn more about Urban Growler or to become a member, according to brewer and co-founder Deb Loch.
Loch, whose business partner is Jill Pavlak, says the women-run brewery’s mission is to "bring people together through beer." Also, they want to make craft beer more accessible to women. Although beer brewing is male-dominated, long ago in the brewing tradition, “It was a woman’s job,” Loch says.
Right now, the brewery is fundraising to build out the space. That includes installing the right equipment for the brewing process. Besides that, “We have to make sure the structural integrity is there to hold the weight of the tanks,” she says.
The brewery plans to make traditional and specialty beers, while its “Plow to Pint” series will include local ingredients. “We’ll be partnering with local farmers and bringing out their story,” and some customers might act as “specialty suppliers,” too, she says. The brewery will have a “kitchen where a small but delicious menu of food that goes with beer will be made. We hope to have a local twist for that as well."
Its ambiance will be “warm industrial,” according to Loch. “We hope it becomes a community gathering spot,” she says, adding, “We envision this area becoming the next Northeast Minneapolis,” brewery-wise.
The place joins a growing list of local breweries springing up in the area, including Bang Brewing Co., Burning Brothers Brewing and Surly Brewing Co. “Craft beer is growing like crazy in the Twin Cities,” she says.
She hopes that the neighborhood “becomes a destination for people outside the area. “There’s a lot of interest in beer out there and there’s plenty of room for everyone.”
Source: Deb Loch, co-founder and brewer, Urban Growler Brewing
Writer: Anna Pratt
The recently formed Women on Bikes Saint Paul, an advocacy group that aims to get more women biking around the city, is looking for a full-time community organizer to lead the way. (See the job posting here.)
The group hopes to fill the position by early July, according to Jessica Treat, the executive director at St. Paul Smart Trips, its umbrella organization.
The idea behind the initiative is to “advance the political will in St. Paul” as it pertains to bicycling. “We want to turn out a coalition of women, including women with kids, for bicycling issues,” she says. “It’s about livability.”
Treat is a co-founder of the group along with Amber Dallman and Samantha Henningson. All of them are avid bicyclists.
The idea for the group came out of a grassroots process to get a bike boulevard on Charles Avenue, from North Aldine Street to Park Street. It was a success, but it took quite a bit of effort to turn out women and families. “That was eye-opening to the three of us involved,” Treat says. “We said, ‘what would it take to turn out that voice repeatedly?’”
The “percentage of women on bikes is a lot lower,” than it is for men, she says, adding, “There are real reasons for that.”
A recent survey from St. Paul Smart Trips of over 200 women in the city showed that safety is a major concern when it comes to biking, especially for those with children, she says. “It’s not that there aren’t sympathetic men, but women with families are a powerful constituency that needs to be heard."
The group’s next step is to pull together a group of spokeswomen from each city ward, who would be responsible for connecting with local politicians. Soon, the group will also organize an advisory body of some sort, to “help us decide what to focus on,” she says.
Some areas of the city have little to no bicycle infrastructure. “We need to have some conversations about trade-offs, what are the priorities,” she says. “We need to start talking about why biking and having a bike-supportive city is important to business in St. Paul, and attracting talent and young people.”
Source: Jessica Treat, executive director, St. Paul Smart Trips
Writer: Anna Pratt
Youthlink, a nonprofit organization that provides services to homeless youth, is installing an original sculpture outside of its drop-in center in Minneapolis’s North Loop neighborhood.
The organization's Youth Opportunity Center is planning an official unveiling for the sculpture this summer, while the basic installation process will wrap up later this month, according to Francis Roen, director of development for YouthLink.
Youthlink worked with a partner at the center, the Kulture Klub Collaborative, a nonprofit organization that engages homeless youth through art, to come up with the piece. The sculpture is a creative solution to the center’s lack of “a visual marking for the space,” which is somewhat tucked away from view, she says.
Considering the fact that the center tries to help youth navigate various resources, “We were missing a key piece of that, as navigators, if we didn’t have a clear marking for this building,” she says.
The resulting piece from local artist Randy Walker, titled “Filling the Void,” is a permanent steel frame that allows for constant change. Like many other artworks at the center, the piece was “created hand-in-hand with young people,” she says. Youth at the center and other local artists will continue to put their stamp on it through time. The frame allows for everything from video projection to living vegetation, according to center materials.
In a prepared statement, Walker adds that the piece is symbolic in that “It provides a foundation, framework and opportunity for those who use it. It is full of potential. It is all about what you do with it.”
Ultimately, Roen hopes the piece conveys that the center is “youth-friendly and a place they can go to receive help.”
Source: Frances Roen, director of development, Youthlink
Writer: Anna Pratt
Doodle Bird Design + Gifts, which opened on May 10 in South Minneapolis, focuses on locally made goods.
Owner Kristin Knych, who is also a graphic designer, says she went that route because, “There’s so much talent out there, that I wanted space to showcase it.” She sells everything from soap to pottery from artists around the state. The store’s inventory also includes crafts from Knych, who describes herself as “a graphic designer by day and an avid crafter by night.”
To prepare the 550-square-foot space for the shop, she tore down a wall, installed new flooring, and gave the walls a fresh coat of paint.
The store’s look is “eclectic DIY chic,” she says, adding that most of the fixtures and furnishings came from thrift stores, garage sales, and the like. Many pieces have been repurposed. For example, one shelf is made out of old ladders.
Behind the storefront shop is Knych’s graphic design studio. In the past, she ran her graphic design business out of her home.
She happened upon the space by chance. Having driven past it many times, Knych, who lives nearby, knew the area had plenty of foot traffic. “I think it’s a very active corner. It has a strong neighborhood feel,” she says. “I felt it needed a little bit of retail to make it more competitive” with other areas around the city.
On a broader level, “I just want to promote local artists as much as I can,” she says. Having a shop that sources local artists and crafters is “a way to make more people aware of the talent we have around here.”
Source: Kristin Knych, owner, Doodle Bird Design + Gifts
Writer: Anna Pratt
Shelly Campbell, a local photographer, is interested in faces, especially those in her neighborhood.
That’s what inspired her to start her ongoing project “Faces of the West Side,” in late 2010. “I realized with the West Side, I don’t need to travel. I have the world at my fingertips,” she says.
Her color portraits of people in the neighborhood are part of a rotating exhibit at Jerabek’s New Bohemian, a coffee shop in St. Paul.
The photos reflect the neighborhood’s diversity, showing people of all ages, ethnicities, and income levels. Some are recognizable characters in the neighborhood, while others are people she might not have met otherwise.
Often, people get referred to her. At times, she’s had to find someone to act as an interpreter for non-English speakers. She’s found that “It’s a great way to get to know a lot of people on the West Side,” she says, adding, “I feel privileged. I never thought I’d get to meet or interact with so many.”
At this point, she’s even seeing some of the same people coming back for another photo, and she tries to document how they’ve changed.
In general, she looks for “images that say something about people,” and seeks the “real person.”
At the coffee shop, she usually displays about 10 photos at once, including some that have been blown up to poster size for more impact, she says. She changes the photos on a quarterly basis, so “Folks have four months of fame,” she says, adding, “Everyone comes in and sees them and they get all excited. The kids get a real trip out of it, which is fun.” In the end, “The photos belong to everyone in the room because it’s them,” she says.
Soon, she plans to apply for grant money to expand the project. “I’d like to do some interviewing or even audio recording during photo shoots,” she says.
Source: Shelly Campbell, photographer
Writer: Anna Pratt
In April, the St. Paul City Council gave the go-ahead to the parks department to enter into a development agreement with Frogtown Gardens.
The agreement lays out the next steps to make the five-acre urban agriculture demonstration site a reality. Frogtown Gardens “will encourage residents to start their own backyard gardens and will promote healthier eating habits,” a prepared statement reads.
The land for the garden once belonged to the Wilder Foundation, which has since moved its offices. St. Paul is working with the Trust for Public Land to acquire the property this year, according to St. Paul information. In the meantime, the trust is trying to raise the $3.45 million needed to buy the land and to jumpstart development and programming.
Mike Hahm, who leads the parks department, says the development agreement with Frogtown Gardens helps flesh out those details. “It’s the next important step to bring this thing to life,” he says. Frogtown Gardens speaks directly to a need for parkland in the neighborhood, a need that the parks department identified a while ago.
As a part of the project, more than half of the property will become public parkland. “We’re super excited about the project. It hits on so many priority issues for Frogtown and St. Paul as a community,” Hahm says. It goes without saying, he adds, that parkland “is important for the community for so many reasons.” Parkland contributes to sustainability and livability, both of which are big goals for the city, he says.
Another part of the acreage will be used for growing fruits and vegetables. “The city is facilitating the partnership between the Frogtown Gardens group and the public, which will own the land,” he says.
Frogtown Gardens is an example of a community-driven effort. “It was the community that raised its hand repeatedly and said it had a vision for this property as a park and an urban agricultural center,” Hahm says, adding, “It caught the attention of various officials and captured the imagination of others in the community.”
Source: Mike Hahm, director, St. Paul Parks
Writer: Anna Pratt
Last year, the Soo Visual Arts Center opened a temporary pop-up shop in a vacant storefront space in Minneapolis’s Lyndale neighborhood, as a sort of experiment.
The place, which it calls Soo Local, has turned out to be so successful that the gallery has decided to stick with it in the long term, according to Carolyn Payne, who heads the gallery.
Kim Bartmann, who owns the nearby Pat's Tap and other local restaurants, rents the space to the gallery, Payne says.
When it became available, Soo Visual Arts jumped at it. Despite a strong arts community in the area, “There aren’t a lot of visual art spaces that highlight locals,” she says.
Already, Soo Local has helped the gallery to broaden its reach, and work with a larger, more diverse pool of artists. The place has featured 200 artists since November of 2012. “It’s amazing, that’s sometimes what we show in one year at Soo Visual Arts,” says Payne.
She characterizes the place as a “more spontaneous, experimental space. We can do things quicker that don’t fit into the exhibition schedule.”
The second location gives the gallery the chance to partner with other local groups, something it often didn’t have the space or time to do in the past. SooLocal is “a way for us to do even more programming within the community.”
It’s also a venue for exploring new ideas from artists, often those who don’t have gallery experience, she says. In those cases, SooLocal is able to help people with everything from installing a professional-level show to writing press releases.
She’s been pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm for SooLocal. In April, the place was so full for a performance by artist Jaime Carrera that she had to turn people away from the doors, she says.
“Tons of people walk in. It has a neighborhood vibe, with lots of families, artists, and non-artists coming in,” she says. “It’s been really fun and we’ve met a lot of people.”
Now, she’s hoping that SooLocal can secure more funding for regular hours, upgrades to the space, and an internship program.
Source: Carolyn Payne, SooLocal
Writer: Anna Pratt
The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota (PAM) is hosting its fourth annual (Anti)Wrecking Ball event on May 17 at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis.
The preservation-themed carnival is being held in conjunction with the start of Art-a-Whirl, the annual Northeast public art crawl, according to Erin Hanafin Berg, a spokesperson for the organization. “The free event will be a celebration of all things preservation in Minnesota,” PAM materials state.
This is the second time that the event has been connected to Art-a-Whirl, which was helpful in spreading the word last year, Berg says. Nearly 300 people attended the event last year, she adds.
On top of that, “We love the Soap Factory because it itself is a historic building, a preservation work in progress,” she says.
The annual party started out as a fun way for PAM to release its 10 Most Endangered list. But after a couple of years, the organization decided to go in a different direction. “Last year it turned into just an all-out party with some preservation-themed things for people to look at and engage with. We had such a good time last year that we’re sticking with that theme,” she says.
Although the event is more about "friend-raising than fundraising," as Berg put it, it has a $10 suggested donation. “We’ll have a few ways for people to part with their money in support of our organization,” she says. Besides providing live music, food and drink, and a number of games, the nonprofit organization will announce its first Site Worth Saving, a program it’s starting to promote preservation, she says.
Source: Erin Hanafin Berg
Writer: Anna Pratt
Through a partnership with a group called CityLabs, which works with a nonprofit consortium called the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities (ACTC) on various sustainability projects, a number of student designers will soon be making their mark on St. Paul streets.
The students, who come from Hamline University and Augsburg College, came up with a stencil design for stormwater drains throughout the city.
On Thursday, that design, and other pieces the students put together as a part of a larger campaign to create awareness around stormwater drains, will be unveiled in a special event at Hamline.
Jason Maher, a spokesperson from CityLabs, explains that the city is required to do a certain amount of education and outreach concerning stormwater drains. That’s where CityLabs and ACTC are able to have an impact: For the stencils, the city “proposed that to us in project form and then we match that with existing coursework,” he says.
The idea is that the stenciled designs calls attention to the stormwater drains, which often end up conveying much more than runoff, he says.
Typically, the city works with the Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) on these types of initiatives, and FMR will be coordinating the stenciling part of this project in the coming weeks. At Thursday’s event, people can sign up to help out with that, he says.
The reason that this project came up has to with the fact that the current designs on the city’s stormwater drains are 20 years old, so the city “wanted a redesign of that campaign.”
Also as a part of this campaign, students designed eye-catching handles to flip over storm doors and coasters for area bars to use.
As the project progressed, the dynamic between the classes and the city was much like that of a graphic design firm and client, “with lots of feedback and give and take,” he says, adding, “Someone from the city works with the students to make sure the outcomes are there and they guide the work.”
Students started out with around seven design concepts, which they narrowed down to three and then one winning design. Along the way, the students came up with lots of “ideas that are super fresh and innovative,” he says.
Source: Jason Maher, spokesperson, CityLabs
Writer: Anna Pratt
Art Materials, which has had a longstanding presence in Minneapolis’s Uptown neighborhood, recently underwent a remodel and added a Northeast location.
Both projects unfolded simultaneously, according to Larry Brown, who co-owns the business with his wife, Joanne. In fact, many of the finishing touches on the remodel of its Lyndale store were still being made this week.
At one point, the store had considered relocating from Lyndale, but after putting the project on hold for a year, “We discovered in that year that Uptown had turned into a veritable beehive of building activity,” with lots of new apartments, restaurants and more. “It was a highly desirable place to be.”
So, after deciding to stay put, “We felt the building needed to be rehabbed,” he says.
The renovation process opened up the space in the vintage building, which had once served as a creamery with an attached garage. Higher ceilings and concrete floors came to light, while lighting fixtures were upgraded, which is important in a store that sells paint colors, he says, adding, “It has a softer and more pleasing look.”
A colorful mural reflecting various aspects of the city, something the store didn’t have room for before, brings a nice contrast to the gray walls, he says.
Later on, the store hopes to give the exterior a facelift, too, he says.
The art-supply store had long wanted to open a Northeast location, to serve the city’s Arts District. “There’s been a void in the area for the things we do and we see it as something to capitalize on,” he says.
Art Materials was able to settle into an industrial space in Northeast, which has a funkier look.
Both stores are destination places, as is a third location in Fargo, North Dakota.
“We have succeeded in changing the face of our business in Minneapolis to be something different and better than what it was,” Brown says.
Source: Larry Brown, co-owner, Art Materials
Writer: Anna Pratt
Potter’s Pasties, which started out with a food trailer and then a food truck, recently opened a storefront space at 1828 Como Ave. S.E. in Minneapolis.
The basement-level place, which specializes in an English-style pastry, is reminiscent of a food stop on the Tube, London’s underground train system.
In the past, the space had been used as a delivery and take-out location for Broadway pizza, according to Potter’s owner Alec Duncan.
Potter’s doesn’t have street access, but bright signage helps show people the way, he says. Duncan sought out a brick-and-mortar location after demand for the pasties “shot through the roof. People wanted to take and bake the pasties and we were selling out all the time,” he says.
Although seating is limited in the space—it’s geared more for take-out—the location works well, especially with the number of students in the area who are always on the go, he says.
The place is decorated with pictures of England and other related paraphernalia that’s personal to Duncan and his wife and relates to their travels. Everything is British-themed, with a lot of red, white, and blue and a giant chalkboard, he adds. Additionally, his mother, a local artist, is working on a canvas to go in the space, and an exterior mural will soon be redone.
Duncan hopes the place helps to revive the small business scene in the area and can be “part of every part of the community,” he says.
Source: Alec Duncan, owner, Potter’s Pasties
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Collective Spaces, a shared workspace for costume designers, is in the works at the Triangle Building in St. Paul’s St. Anthony Park neighborhood.
Amy Sparks, who leads the St. Anthony Park Community Council, says the new business dovetails nicely with the work of the neighborhood group and the Creative Enterprise Zone. Collective Spaces is the brainchild of local costume designer Amy Kaufman, who says in a Park Bugle story that designers lack space to do their creative work.
A place like Collective Spaces enables people from small theaters to share resources, too. Additionally, within the same building, similar collaborative projects centering on photography and printing are happening, according to Sparks. “The landlord seems to be supportive of these artist/artisan light industrial uses, which is encouraging to us,” she says.
Looking at the tight deadlines that costume designers often deal with, “It helps to have a network of collaborators,” Sparks says.
Last month, Kaufman and the building’s other tenants jointly hosted a happy hour to try to bring people together around that mission. “It was a great connecting event, which is exactly what we want to see happen,” Sparks says. “The more networked someone is, the better chance they have of creating a thriving business in the neighborhood.”
This demonstrates that Kaufman, who’s been involved in other neighborhood events, understands the need to build community to be successful. “She’s interested in being part of a larger conversation and a bigger working group," says Sparks. As someone who sees “the value of connecting the dots here in the neighborhood, it’s exciting for me to see.”
Source: Amy Sparks, St. Anthony Park Community Council
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The Tangiers, an upscale eatery coming to Minneapolis’s North Loop neighborhood, is going for a look “reminiscent of entering a great room in an elegant vintage mansion,” its website reads.
To set the scene, the 152-seat restaurant, which is going into 116 1st Ave. N., will have richly colored plush sofas and chairs and the “warm and inviting light” of chandeliers. “It is a venue in which the mature and sophisticated crowd can settle into an environment that speaks to them,” the website goes on to say. As in the nearby Marvel Bar, the restaurant’s lounge will feature fanciful custom drinks, along with artisan cuisine.
In a story from The Journal, Tangiers owner Behnad Taheri says that the restaurant’s name relates to a fictional hotel in the movie, “Casino.”
David Frank, who leads the North Loop neighborhood group, says that many community members are supportive of the restaurant’s plans. To begin with, “The owner of Tangiers came to our Planning & Zoning committee several times, and the board wrote a letter of support for the liquor license,” he says.
“We like seeing active uses where those have not been before,” Frank says, adding that the space has been vacant for some time. In general, the neighborhood group is “glad to see more restaurant uses to complement our growing residential population,” he says. This is a win-win on a couple of different levels: “It's great to see restaurants filling in the neighborhood, and we like that more people will be coming to the North Loop to eat there.”
Source: David Frank, North Loop neighborhood group
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Joel Ahlstrom is planning an old-timey grocery store at 38th and East Lake Street in Minneapolis. It's something the longtime grocer has been working on for four years.
Ahlstrom presented his plan for the $4.5 million Longfellow Market to the Longfellow Community Council’s development committee last month, the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger reports.
Spencer Agnew, a staffer with the Longfellow Community Council, says the neighborhood, as big as it is, has limited options when it comes to grocery stores. Many people end up going outside of the neighborhood to shop for groceries, he says.
With plans for the new market underway, “Neighbors are excited to have a grocery option that is close, walkable, and bikable,” he says, adding that a market study confirms a strong demand for the store.
Besides meeting a practical need, “We are also excited about the potential for the new store to attract additional retail businesses to vacant spaces on East Lake Street,” he says. Ahlstrom “has a great story to tell with his family history,” he adds.
In some ways, Longfellow Market will hearken back to the grocery store that Ahlstrom’s grandparents ran many years ago in the area (see photo). Ahlstrom, who’s been a grocer for a half-century, only recently learned that they’d been in the same business. Ahlstrom also owns the Riverside Market in Isanti and formerly had a grocery store by the same name in Seward.
To make way for the store, the old Peterson Machinery building will undergo renovations and several other structures on the site will be torn down, the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger story explains. The Peterson Machinery building’s high-beam ceilings and original windows will stay intact, but the 14,500-square-foot space will be modernized to save energy.
Hand-crank awnings, tin ceilings, wood floors and cases, shelves that reach the ceiling and vintage packing will give the store an Old World atmosphere. To take the old-timey theme a step further, the store will feature demonstrations of butter churning and candle-making by hand and feature a barbershop quartet on occasion, while employees will don vintage-style clothing.
The store also includes a bakery and a deli, plus a butcher who will prepare specialty ham, bacon and smoked meats.
The Longfellow Market aims to open in mid-November.
“We are always excited to see entrepreneurs bring their own passion and vision to East Lake Street," says Agnew, adding that some of the most successful businesses in the area “offer a great atmosphere and a unique experience." It seems to him that Ahlstrom is doing just that.
Source: Spencer Agnew, Longfellow Community Council
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
An antique carousel that’s housed in the pavilion at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul will be up and running on May 1.
The historic Cafesjian’s Carousel, which dates back to 1914, is in its 14th season at the park, according to city information.
Tamara Beckley, operations manager for Our Fair Carousel, the nonprofit community group that runs the carousel, says the old-timey attraction “adds to the glory of the history at the park. It takes one on a trip back in time.”
For 75 years, the carousel was stationed at the Minnesota State Fair. But in 1988, the carousel was about to be sold, piece-by-piece, to collectors. Our Fair Carousel stepped in then to preserve the iconic carousel, she says.
Over the course of a number of years, Our Fair Carousel gradually restored the carousel, even bringing back the original paint colors on the 68 horses and 2 chariots.
The carousel spent some time at Town Square Park before the group relocated it in 2000 to Como Park.
To keep it going, over 100 volunteers help run the ride throughout the season, and more are always needed, she says.
The volunteer aspect adds to the fun. “It becomes a much more community-involved piece,” she says.
For Beckley, her recruits, and the nearly 100,000 people who ride the carousel during each season, it’s a chance to be “a part of living history,” she says.
Beckley hopes the carousel will be operational in another 50 years. “How cool would that be if people were still riding it and using it and cherishing it,” she says.
In Europe, far-older carousels are still running. “It’s part of a great tradition of people caring for history and bringing it into the future, to make sure it has a home."
Source: Tamara Beckley, operations manager, Our Fair Carousel
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Spill the Wine, a wine bar and eatery that specializes in small-plates-inspired cuisine, opened on April 2 at its new location on Lake Street and Bryant Avenue in Minneapolis.
Restaurant owner Katie Greeman says it’s serendipitous that Spill the Wine wound up at an intersection with several other similar businesses, including the recently-opened Morrissey’s Irish Pub, Bryant Lake Bowl, and Dunn Bros. Coffee. This is something that the six-year-old Spill the Wine lacked in its old space downtown, on Washington Avenue, she says.
In the process of relocating, this was an unplanned bonus: “It all came together beautifully," she says. “We definitely have that community now in place, which is huge,” she says, adding, “It provides the neighborhood with one more place to go to.”
Spill the Wine, which seats 96 people and will soon have outdoor dining for 32 as well, aims to be a neighborhood-friendly wine bar--a vision that aligned with the landlord’s, she says. But the space, which previously housed a bike shop, had to be totally gutted to make way for the restaurant. “It required a full build-out, from scratch,” she says.
At the new space, Spill the Wine has a new look, which she describes as a casual, café-like feel, Pinterest-inspired “shabby chic." For example, the interior features a lot of reclaimed wood and metal, with Mason jar lights, artwork by local artist Terrence Payne, cement floors, and an industrial, open kitchen. “It’s definitely a labor of love. We did everything on our own with no architect,” she says.
So far, the place has been busy. “The neighborhood has been overwhelmingly responsive, with a lot of people going out of their way to say thanks for coming here,” Greeman says.
Source: Katie Greeman, owner, Spill the Wine
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
City Food Studio, a new shared-use commercial kitchen geared for culinary entrepreneurs and cooking enthusiasts, is under construction at 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis.
Owner Journey Gosselin says he's busy lining up contractors to install modern utilities, add glass block windows, and build new walls.
The space will have a special dairy room for making cheese and ice cream, and a storefront retail area. Besides the commercial food prep, a part of the kitchen will be used for a variety of cooking classes, as well.
In terms of its look, “I’m trying to blend a clean and classic 1930s look with a modern, urban art aesthetic,” he says. He'll accomplish that with a big curving metal pot rack that will be a centerpiece for the kitchen; clean white walls; and green and gray tiles, along with other accent elements.
The metalwork inside is a theme that will be echoed in a wire mesh bound for the building’s exterior.
Additionally, the exterior is getting a full makeover. It'll be repainted to a browner shade, while most of the front will be covered by a rust-colored metal façade.
The custom metal façade, which a local artist through the Arts on Chicago project will fabricate, will be shaped like a cityscape, reflecting nearby architecture. “The building will probably recede more. I’m playing down the cinderblocks,” he says.
Separately, the place will soon get a bike rack, and Gosselin hopes that the building might get some sort of bike-delivery system going, he says. The location works well for that, he explains, adding, “I’m excited about how vibrant it is,” and the potential for collaboration with people from all different backgrounds, he says.
“I’m sure it’ll go places I’m not envisioning right now,” he says.
Gosselin hopes to open in the space in mid-May.
Source: Journey Gosselin, City Food Studio
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The recently opened Red Cow at 3624 W. 50th St. aims to be a “sophisticated neighborhood tavern."
The place offers all kinds of gourmet burgers, sandwiches, craft beers, and wines.
Lots of work went into repurposing the building, which previously housed a Blockbuster Video. It wasn’t equipped for a restaurant, says Red Cow owner Luke Shimp. Although the building still has “some reminiscences” of its old days, like the windows that wrap around the building, Red Cow stripped it down to its cinderblock walls, upgraded its utilities, and created a new storefront, he says. This summer, the restaurant plans to paint the façade a new color, as well.
For the interior, Shimp wanted a “warm and industrial feel,” with an open ceiling, wood on the walls, lipstick red booths, a polished concrete floor, and exposed light bulbs. Some parts of the ceiling feature antique tin, too, an example of how the place is a “mix of new and old,” he says.
A unique p-shaped bar makes it so that people “can see everyone across the room,” while work from local artists hangs on the walls.
So far, the Red Cow has been well received by the neighborhood. It helps that Shimp, who lives nearby, knows the neighborhood well. “I have connections in the neighborhood, so when the space became available, it was a natural fit for our style.”
“We couldn’t have asked for a better location,” he says. “It’s great for who we are and what we are and how we want to position ourselves.”
On top of that, Red Cow has a unique niche: “There isn’t anything like this at 50th and France. We’re differentiating ourselves from the rest. We’re happy to be here.”
Source: Luke Shimp, Red Cow
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
An old autoworkers' union hall in St. Paul is getting a new life as a bike shop.
The former Ray Busch United Auto Workers Union Local 879, a one-story building that overlooks the closed Ford plant, will be the first St. Paul location for the local Erik’s Bike Shop chain, according to owner Erik Saltvold.
This is an area that the bike chain had been looking at for a long time. “We were pleased when it became available,” Saltvold says. “It’s a great urban biking area off of River Road, with blocks of fantastic biking options.”
Plus, the area’s demographics are “perfect for us,” with plenty of active-minded people, he says.
It’s noteworthy that this building “used to be an auto union hall and we’re changing from autos to bikes. We’re trying to be a first part of this whole transformation,” at the Ford plant--where bike- and pedestrian-friendly amenities are an emphasis for future redevelopment plans.
Although the building is something of a landmark, having hosted many banquets through the years, its appearance makes it fade into the background. “Our facelift will make it pop,” giving it more of a presence on the street, he says. For starters, the company will be redoing the building’s front, to make it more inviting and more modern, with bigger windows. At the same time, the design will keep intact its 1950s “retro chic” look.
“We’re playing with the building’s classic design,” he says, explaining that the idea is to make it “feel more like a retail store,” he says. “It’ll feel fun and active.”
By the time the remodel wraps up, “When people come inside, they won’t even recognize it. The inside will be totally redone.”
When the shop opens in late summer, “It’ll be convenient for a lot of people biking and recreating in that area,” he says. “It’s going to be a great resource.”
Source: Erik Saltvold, owner, Erik’s Bike Shop
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
The new UP Café at 1901 traffic St. N.E. in Northeast Minneapolis is gearing up for its May 3 grand opening.
The café had a soft opening earlier this year in the building it shares with its parent company, the Upper Midwest Gourmet Company, which distributes coffee and supplies to cafes across the region.
Over the past year, to make way for the cafe, the space that the company previously used as a showroom for products, including its Flamenco Organic Coffee, went through an extensive remodeling process, according to Michael Applen, an accounts manager for the three businesses.
The showroom was an aging part of the industrial building. The company saw an opportunity to turn it into a “state-of-the-art café with everything that we sell,” Applen says. The idea was that the artisan café would also serve as a training facility, to model coffee “being brewed correctly,” in real circumstances, he adds.
The project invovled a total overhauling of the space, with new floors and larger windows put in. The dropped ceiling and carpet were removed. “Everything was updated,” says Applen. The bright yellow walls, natural light and higher ceiling “opens up the space a lot,” while one can also peer into the roastery.
In the coming months, the café plans to add outdoor seating and a garden for growing vegetables and herbs.
A local potter, Joel Cherrico, supplied the coffee shop with handcrafted serving dishes,
UP Café is a “third-wave” coffeehouse that focuses on where the coffee comes from, Applen says. “We have direct relationships with the growers,” as evidenced by the photos from the company’s trips abroad, which are mounted on the café walls. The company roasts only small batches of coffee at a time. “We don’t let it sit on the shelf and go bad,” says Applen.
In an area where high-quality food options are limited, “We hope it gives people a healthier local option,” he says.
Source: Michael Applen, accounts manager for Upper Midwest Gourmet Company, UP Café and the Flamenco Organic Coffee Company
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
An iconic water tower on the rooftop of the building housing the Carmichael Lynch advertising agency in Minneapolis's North Loop neighborhood has become a canvas for public art.
A few years ago, the agency decided to take advantage of the century-old water tower, which was no longer in use, according to Maria Hileman, a spokesperson for Carmichael Lynch.
Designers at the agency came up with the idea of projecting imagery onto the water tower, which took on the nickname Rusty. From there, the "mapping projections" continued to loop around the tower on an ongoing basis.
This year, the agency wanted to expand on the project by collaborating with the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). Sandy Boss Febbo, the project’s art producer, says, “We thought it would be a good way for students to showcase their work.” Figuring out how to design something that translates to the tower is also technically challenging, she says.
The agency ran a contest, which drew 40 entries from various departments at the school. When it came time for judging those entries, it wasn’t an easy call choosing a winner and 16 finalists, she says.
The winning design, from Josh Olson, riffs on the tower’s original projection, which featured a line drawing with eyes, a smile, and other expressive features. In Olson’s 45-second video, a more realistic-looking face peers around, all the while displaying a wide range of emotions. “It’s fun to see the evolution of the idea. The student timed it perfectly to the line illustration,” says Febbo.
Olson's design and those of the finalists will get some play on the water tower, she adds.
From Target Field, people in the stands get a good view of the tower. That's why the agency pushed to get the project done in time for the Twins opener on Monday, but the projections will be easier to spot during the evening games next week, “People will be able to see those loud and clear,” she says. Going forward, “We’re hoping to open it up to other artists outside of MCAD and to use it as a public art space."
The agency is looking forward to working with the school again, Febbo says. “It was a lot of fun. It really reminds you what a dynamic community this is.”
Check out a video of the project here.
Sources: Maria Hileman, Sandy Boss Febbo, Carmichael Lynch
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Last month, the District 5 Planning Council in St. Paul hosted a community meeting to talk about the future of the Arlington Hills Library’s historic building.
Soon, the library's holdings will go to a new space in the in-progress Payne-Maryland community center, while the vintage Carnegie library building will be repurposed.
The city plans to issue a request for proposals for the building later this year, intending to sell or lease the building further down the line. In the meantime, the St. Paul library system is serving as a go-between for the city and the community to help guide the next steps.
Leslie McMurray, who leads the District 5 council, says that the community has long had an interest in what happens to the building, which she describes as a neighborhood treasure.
At the March meeting, attendees helped come up with a set of values and ideals that could form a framework for the building’s planning process. The gist of it is that many people feel the library’s uniqueness is something to build on. They think “it should be a public space, a destination with a unique purpose,” she says.
Some of the ideas that they considered include turning it into an art space or performance venue; a learning center with a focus on literacy or East Side history; or an open civic space of some sort, she says. The words “intergenerational” and “multicultural,” came up, as did the idea of the building having multiple uses, she adds.
“I found it gratifying to hear all of the different ideas,” many of which seem complementary, says McMurray. “People left feeling they do have a stake in the future use of the building. It’s exciting to think about what might come in.”
Right now, a 10-member advisory body is being organized to help continue this conversation. In the next few months, “We’d like everyone who is interested to weigh in,” she says.
Source: Leslie McMurray, District 5 Planning Council
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Flow Art Space, which hosts juried group shows and the occasional solo exhibit on a monthly basis, recently moved into the Northern Warehouse in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood.
Gallery owner Melissa Metzler decided to relocate the gallery, which features local and national artists, from the Keg House Arts building in Northeast Minneapolis, where it opened in 2011, due to noise issues. When she was scoping out new locations, she sought a place that was easy to find and that had a strong arts community. Lowertown was a good match and the historic Northern Warehouse is “ideal for a gallery,” she says.
The building also houses the Black Dog Coffee Shop and Wine Bar.
Already, the 1,200-square-foot space was well equipped for a gallery. The main thing Metzler did was to add more track lighting, she says. Big wood beams, hardwood floors and tall ceilings, along with plenty of wall space, characterize the space. “It has natural materials and has a nice feel to it,” she says.
Also, the building is home to many artists and creative businesses. “I’m benefiting from being in this critical mass. There’s a lot of creative energy and creative people. I like going into that environment everyday.”
In her view, there’s plenty of room for more galleries in the area and beyond. “There needs to be more galleries and places to show artwork,” she says. “Having more galleries together in one area is better for everybody,” she says. “It gives people more options.”
On top of that, “Lowertown is in a real revitalization time right now,” she says. “There’s so much happening with the Depot reopening and light rail--and the artists continue to be there.”
Source: Melissa Metzler, owner, Flow Art Space
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The Blue Ox Art Putt, a $500,000 artist-designed mini golf course, is in the works for a part of the old Schmidt Brewery in St. Paul.
The concept stemmed from an earlier project that a couple of the Blue Ox LLC group members had been involved in at the Walker Art Center in 2004 and 2008, according to Jennifer Pennington, a member of the group. At that time, Blue Ox team member Christi Atkinson led in the making of an artistic mini golf course that was on the Walker grounds temporarily.
Pennington’s husband, Chris, built one of the holes, which turned out to be a popular part of the course, even earning national press, she says. The whole idea was “so fun and engaging,” Pennington says, “We thought, ‘let’s build a permanent one.’”
Beyond that, the mini golf course could also feature other types of arts programming, such as live music, dance, or puppet shows. “We want it to be a community hub,” she says. “It’s really about creating not just an arts destination but a place for people of all backgrounds to come together.”
In preparation for the mini golf course, the group looked at a variety of locations, finally settling on the brewery because of the arts-focused development happening there, she says. The Schmidt Brewery is being converted into an artist live/work complex, along with a museum and a taproom/restaurant.
For the golf course, artists will work individually or in a team to design each hole. “It’ll be something to discover for everyone,” she says, adding that she expects it’ll be the kind of place that “inspires wonder and amazement and beauty.”
The plan still has to go through a city and state approval process because of the brewery’s historic status, but Pennington expects construction on the clubhouse to start this summer. Around the same time, the group will put out a call out for artists. Further down the line, the holes will be constructed off-site and installed in spring of 2014, she says.
The Blue Ox Art Putt is planned to open in May of 2014.
Right now, the Blue Ox team is waiting to hear back on some grant applications. Pennington is optimistic that the mini golf course will be a draw in the neighborhood. “There’s been so much positive feedback. A lot of people have been very generous with sharing resources. It’s been a lot of fun,” she says.
Source: Jennifer Pennington, Blue Ox Art Putt
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Morrissey’s Irish Pub, which opened earlier this month, is helping to transform part of Lake Street in South Minneapolis.
Scott Schuler, who co-owns the place with several partners, says it fills a unique niche in the area. “There’s never been an Irish pub in Uptown. It needed a proper pub,” says Schuler, who is also an owner of Pizza Savoy.
In the past, the space at 913 W. Lake St., which housed Viva Brazil and several other restaurants before that, had been “underfunded and undermanaged,” Schuler says. For a long time, along this part of Lake Street, “There wasn’t a lot going on,” he says.
But the new owners are optimistic about things turning around here. “The whole block is being revitalized,” with the pub, the new Golden Leaf Tobacco shop and the soon-to-open Spill the Wine, he says.
The pub, which features traditional Irish fare with an upscale twist, plus live music, takes its name from Irish co-owner Paul Crilly’s grandfather. In the 1920s, his grandfather, a commander in the Irish Republican Army, went by the assumed name Johnny Morrissey.
Although the space had good bones, Schuler says, it required a complete overhaul to make way for the pub. “We literally gutted it, down to the studs,” installing new electrical and plumbing systems and going through an extensive build-out, he says. “It was a substantial redo,” he adds. “We’re proud of the outcome.”
Sleek black leather booths, an open-rafter ceiling, wooden beams, an exposed brick wall, a custom-designed bar, and a unique pulley fan system, along with photos of the old country, give the space a warm and comfortable vibe, he says. As a testimony to that, “People say it feels like it’s been here forever,” while even some Irish tourists who’ve come by said it felt like home.
Already, the place has been well received by the neighborhood, Schuler says. A number of people have been “thanking us for opening, saying it’s just what the area needs.".
Source: Scott Schuler, co-owner, Morrissey’s Irish Pub
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
St. Paul’s Gremlin Theatre is looking to relocate to another part of the St. Anthony Park neighborhood, an area it has called home for the past five years.
Peter Hansen, the theater’s artistic director, says Gremlin wants to stay nearby because “It’s a great location. We love the businesses and the contacts and we feel that patrons have gotten used to coming here.”
Gremlin will also probably keep its aesthetic and 115-seat house, about the same. “The whole theater is built on the idea of intimacy and closeness to the stage,” he says.
This way, the audience “feels involved in what’s going on,” he adds.
At the same time, the theater hopes to find a way to improve its situation, in some respects.
For example, the theater has to contend with outside noise on occasion. This has partly to do with other activities happening close to the theater, including the Central Corridor light rail transit construction that’s underway, just beyond the entryway.
Hopefully, a new space won’t have those kinds of sound issues. The idea is, “We want to be able to give our patrons and artists a better experience,” he says.
Additionally, the building the theater is housed in could be redeveloped at some point, as well, making for an uncertain future for Gremlin.
The building’s lease goes through July, so that’s when the theater will move out. Although signing up for another lease, in the short-term, was an option, “We figured that treading water wasn’t the best option,” he says.
In the meantime, Gremlin is exploring the possibilities for a new venue. “If we determine that a place we’re looking at doesn’t meet the needs or needs more time, then we’re looking at a situation where we need to regroup and mobilize,” he says.
That could lead to more site-specific work in the meantime, he says.
Considering that the theater has gone through this process twice already, “We’d like to be in a place longer, while still keeping the same sorts of values in terms of how we produce shows,” he says.
Source: Peter Hansen, artistic director, Gremlin Theatre
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Osman Ali, a native of Somalia who lives in Minneapolis, is spearheading an effort to open a local museum dedicated to the artistic and cultural traditions of his homeland.
Right now, the Somali Artifact and Culture Museum is trying to raise $20,000 for a temporary exhibition space, according to community outreach director Sarah Larsson. Ultimately, the museum envisions a brick-and-mortar location of its own, but in the interim, it hopes to find a place somewhere in the metro area, where it can start showing its 700-object collection. To get to that point, the museum aims to raise $20,000, and it's still scouting out possible locations, she says.
"It's about creating space for Somali traditions," to give it the attention and credibility it deserves, she says.
In the collection that Ali has amassed, most of the objects relate to the nomadic tradition in Somalia in the first half of the last century, she says. However, more modern pieces, including some contemporary artworks, are also in the mix. Ali has shown many of these items already in a number of traveling shows, she says.
In talking to people about the museum concept, Larsson has found "There's a huge demand for it," especially in Minnesota, where so many Somalis have resettled. Many people "are worried about the tradition getting lost."
It's encouraging that a fundraising event for the museum on March 15 and 16 at Lincoln International High School in South Minneapolis drew a diverse crowd, she says. Looking through some of the objects on view at the fundraiser, "People were sharing with each other about how different things were used in the past," she says. "These are things that people interact with on a personal level."
The museum is "an opportunity to educate other people and break down stereotypes," and to keep young Somalis connected to their heritage, she says.
The museum hopes to open before the end of the summer.
Source: Sarah Larsson, community outreach director, Somali Artifact and Culture Museum
Writer: Anna Pratt
Photo: Jamal Denman for the Minneapolis Spokesman-Recorder
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The Beez Kneez, which delivers local, raw honey by bicycle, has a $30,000 Kickstarter campaign going to fund a new local Honey House.
The company wants to develop a headquarters in Minneapolis’s Longfellow neighborhood, according to Beez Kneez founder Kristy Allen. The reason is, “Beez Kneez needs a space to harvest and extract honey and bottle it,” she says.
As it is now, the company has to go to other beekeepers’ places to do those things. This can get expensive and it’s time-consuming, she says. Also, the company needs “a place to store things and operate,” along with retail space. A regular office space can serve an educational purpose, as well. “It can be a place where we can meet with people and talk about bees,” she says.
The community-minded company plans to rent out space for people to use the facility for a small fee.
Longfellow is an ideal area because it’s an up-and-coming area of the city, she says, adding, “It’s focused on urban agriculture, too. A lot of people have gardens where they plant flowers or vegetables. We want to add to that.” The neighborhood even has a number of beekeepers, she says.
Beez Kneez are catering to people "who want to harvest honey, but who don’t want to do it in their kitchen or to buy the equipment,” she says.
The Honey House would also make creative use of the bicycle element--as an energy source. “We keep bees in hives with frames, and extracting is the process of taking honey from these frames--by spinning,” its Kickstarter page reads.
So far she’s found that “People are very positive and are very interested in having [this] resource.”
Source: Kristy Allen, Beez Kneez
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
In honor of its 20th anniversary, Lula vintage shop in St. Paul recently underwent a dramatic transformation.
It all started with a project to upgrade the store’s electrical system and snowballed from there, according to store owner Hayley Bush. She wound up pursuing a larger remodel of the space. On Feb. 15, she closed the store temporarily for construction. Although the store has since reopened, she’s still putting the finishing touches on the place.
In the past, merchandise hung from the walls and across the windows, which meant a lot of heavy lifting every day. The arrangement was physically demanding for her, plus, “I needed to make it easier for people to shop,” she says.
Overall, she wanted to streamline the store’s setup, so that it’s easier to spot items and move through the space. “It’s complicated having a vintage store, where the items go by decade or size,” she says.
As for those who aren’t familiar with vintage clothing or confident about what works for them, “I want them to feel at ease right away,” she says.
The new design is clean and ultramodern, in neutral tones. Besides new carpet and lighting fixtures and a fresh paint job, “I’m having everything be clear and minimalist, so items can be showcased better,” she says.
To improve the store’s flow, she's displaying fewer items. This means “I’ll be able to restock it more frequently,” she says, adding, “There’s only so much you can look at at a time.”
Additionally, she wants the store to appeal to both men and women. “I have a lot of men’s clothing and it’s a market I have just as much interest in as women’s wear,” she says. Taking that into account, she realized the dressing rooms had to be bigger and the racks could be taller, she says.
Soon, she plans to mount a big metal sign and photos from fashion shoots. and to add an additional accessory wall, she says.
In April, she’ll be offering expanded hours as well.
“I do have cool stuff and I want people to appreciate it,” she says, adding that the remodel has “already made a huge difference. Sales are good.”
Source: Hayley Bush, Lula
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
Sandcastle, a new eatery taking over the concession stand at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, will open this spring.
The concession stand has been empty for the past couple of years, according to Amy Greeley, who is a co-owner of the restaurant with her husband, chef Doug Flicker, along with Chele Payer (see photo at left).
Flicker is well known for his award-winning restaurant, Piccolo, in Minneapolis.
Greeley and Flicker live nearby in the Longfellow neighborhood.
Greeley says the opportunity came out of a unique relationship with the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board (MPRB), which granted the trio a contract in December.
Construction at the site is planned to start in the coming weeks, according to Greeley.
The existing lakeside structure is getting a fresh look, but the place will "hold true to the concession beach feel," she says. She describes the design as reminiscent of the Boardwalk in New Jersey's Atlantic City, "But it'll feel more modern."
A new full kitchen will be enclosed, with big windows so that people can see food being prepared inside. Heat-treated wood paneling will go on the building's exterior. "The wood will be treated in a unique fashion, like they do it in Finland," she says.
Between the stylized wood paneling and other colorful materials, "At different times of the day, with the way the sun hits it, the reflection or the aspect of the building will look different."
Sustainability, both in the build-out and in the business operations, is a big priority. "We want to get as near to zero waste as possible," she says, adding, "We're talking with people about how to achieve that," including a master recycler.
So far, the community has been receptive to the new restaurant. "What we heard a lot was that people wanted a place to sit down and have a snack and enjoy something close to their homes, that they can bike or walk to."
"We want it to be community-focused, with good, healthy and fun food," and to "be a place where people can spend time and make memories."
The restaurant is slated to open in May.
Source: Amy Greeley, Sandcastle
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
Bikeverywhere.com, a new interactive mapping website, encourages people to venture out by bike.
The website, which will help people map bicycle routes across the Upper Midwest, will launch later this month, according to its creator Doug Shidell, a Minneapolis resident.
Shidell, an avid bicyclist, has long produced bicycle maps and other kinds of guide books through Little Transport Press.
This project came about because “What I realized was, I wanted to do more. I wanted to cover more area, get more information for people,” he says, adding that a digital format seemed ideal.
He’s targeting bicyclists who are “more of an explorer or trying to get some place,” not hardcore athletes who often take the same routes over and over.
On the website, people can plan their routes by looking at practical issues or they can look for picnic areas, public art or Nice Ride bike-sharing docking stations.
“It’s more about the experience of exploring the area by bike, to see the city and rural areas in ways that people don’t normally see it,” he says. “People can start seeing what the city has to offer.”
Shidell is working with several developer teams that are helping to generate the sophisticated maps.
He’s also collected information from bicycle clubs, advocacy groups and even individual riders, to make the maps as comprehensive as possible.
Right now, the website is in the testing phase but when it's ready, those who sign up as Bikeverywhere members can print or save or share maps, he says.
Shidell also has an $8,000 Indiegogo fundraising campaign for the project going to help complete certain mapping features.
Ultimately, Shidell is trying to answer a question he hears a lot. That is, “Where can I ride my bike? My focus is on helping you get around.
The goal is to get more people to ride bikes and hopefully use it for transportation.”
Source: Doug Shidell, creator, Bikeverywhere
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Veronique Wantz, a French-born veteran of the art business who studied art history at the Ecole du Louvre and worked as a curator and antiques dealer in Paris for a decade and as an art consultant and gallery director here for fourteen years, recently decided it was time to start an art gallery of her own.
As she was scouting out possible locations, it seemed serendipitous when an 855-square-foot space in a vintage brick building in Minneapolis’s North Loop neighborhood opened up. Wantz jumped at it, opening the Veronique Wantz Gallery on Jan. 15.
The gallery focuses on work from emerging and well-known national and international artists whose work hasn’t been seen in the Twin Cities before.
This includes a range of artists working in different mediums and styles. “I want it to be fresh and different from what you can find in other places,” she says.
Wantz plans to do six or seven shows a year, including a mix of solo and group exhibits, depending on how large an artist’s body of work is. “My idea is to establish relationships with fewer artists. It’s more about quality than quantity,” she says, adding, “I want to commit to artists and give visibility.”
Previously, the space had been used as a shipping area for a software company. Although the space needed “a vision for what it could become,” she made mainly cosmetic changes. For example, she upgraded the lighting, cleaned up the floors and put a fresh coat of paint on the walls.
Already, the space had plenty of character, with exposed brick, hardwood floors, and high ceilings and old wooden beams, she says. Behind some boards that she removed, she found beautiful original windows intact. “I wanted the same integrity, to keep it the way it is,” just with added polish, she says. “It was really interesting to see how things fell into place.”
More broadly, she’s glad to be situated in North Loop, which she calls the little SoHo of Minneapolis, with all kinds of upscale and up-and-coming restaurants, retail shops and galleries. “I think it fits the neighborhood really well. I am very optimistic about it,” she says.
Source: Veronique Wantz, gallery owner
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Northern Spark, an all-night art festival that’s in its third year, recently announced that in 2013, it’ll take over St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood.
The free festival, which is planned for the evening of June 8, continuing into the wee morning hours, offers a wide variety of performances, visual art, projected images, interactive media, and participatory events, according to Northern Spark materials.
Last year, the festival took place in Minneapolis only, though in 2011 it hosted activities in both cities, including Lowertown. The location has jumped around based on scheduling needs and other factors, according to a post from Knight Arts.
Steve Dietz, who is the president and artistic director of Northern Lights.mn, which organizes the festival, says Lowertown is an ideal location because it “has a significant history as a vital center for artists and arts organizations.”
Recently, the area has seen the reopening of the historic Union Depot, the development of an experimental project space for the Minnesota Museum of American Art and a new venue for the Bedlam Theatre. The coming Central Corridor Light Rail Transit and a new St. Paul Saints stadium will add to the momentum, he says.
The festival has a “unique opportunity to engage with an amazing history, remarkable architecture, creative ferment,” he says.
“We’d like Northern Spark to be an integral part of the exciting future of the area” and to show the neighborhood in a new light, he says.
Ultimately, the festival is about building community. It gets thousands of people “wandering purposely aimlessly at odd hours participating in a shared experience,” he says. “It is a way to not just imagine but participate in creating the place where we’d like to live.”
Recently, the organization put out a call for 10 projects, which can be in any medium. The deadline is March 4.
“The types of experiences range from spectacular to intimate to surprising to thought-provoking,” he says, adding that the most memorable works are interactive in some way.
Although Northern Spark won’t disclose the lineup until March 12, more than 75 projects from 45 organizations will also be showcased at the festival, according to Dietz.
Source: Steve Dietz, president and artistic director, Northern Lights.Mn
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Parka, a new café that opened on January 23 on East Lake Street and 40th Avenue South in Minneapolis, has already generated a buzz.
Victory 44 chef Erick Harcey joined forces with Dogwood Coffee and Rustica Bakery to open the restaurant, which shares space with Forage Modern Workshop, a furniture and home goods store.
Spencer Agnew, who works for the Longfellow Community Council, says the neighborhood welcomes the new business. "People are very excited about Forage Modern Workshop and Parka because of the creative energy they are bringing to East Lake Street," he says, adding, "We are thrilled to see entrepreneurs renovate and bring new life to retail spaces" in this area of Longfellow.
The place carries on the design aesthetic of Forage, which features local designers, with clean, spare lines, big wooden booths, and funky artwork.
The result is "a loving tribute to Minnesota and the far North, with its wooden deer-head wall hangings, the ceramic white squirrel perched on the countertop, and the elaborate Bear Fox Chalk rendition of a 1928 portrait of a bundled-up Inuit family," a story in the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger reads.
“The challenge, but also the most exciting part of this project was to create a space that both Forage Modern Workshop and Parka felt was seamless but was very functional,” the restaurant’s Facebook page states.
Turning around the old carpenter’s union hall involved getting rid of cubicles, partition walls and a dropped ceiling, “to expose the beautiful mid-century industrial architecture,” it adds.
Parka also features some items that the next-door shop sells.
The café, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, has a casual yet upscale feel, the Heavy Table blog notes.
It’s part of a new foodie trend in the neighborhood, emphasizing artisan-quality, locally-sourced fare that Heavy Table says started with Peace Coffee shop in 2010 and has continued since then with Harriet Brewing, Mosaic Café, the Minneapolis location of The Blue Door Pub, and Parka.
Source: Spencer Agnew, Longfellow Community Council
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
St. Paul’s Heritage Preservation Commission is looking at the possibility of putting up several “Old Rondo” street signs in the city’s neighborhood of the same name.
Frank White, a lifelong St. Paul resident and a history buff, put forward the proposal as a way to symbolically recognize the neighborhood’s history, particularly as it relates to some high-achieving black Minnesotans, according to the Pioneer Press.
White has worked to set in motion several other initiatives in this same vein. For starters, he wants to get more name recognition for Toni Stone Field, a baseball stadium in the Dunning Athletic Complex. This includes mounting a related plaque and sign at the stadium, according to a story from the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.
He’s working on similar projects to get more name recognition for Toni Stone, one of the first female players in Negro league baseball, athlete Jimmy Lee, for which the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center is named, and Dred Scott, a slave who famously argued for freedom in a case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Heritage Preservation Commission adopted a resolution on February 14 supporting the effort to add and correct the "Old Rondo Avenue" signage, "as it will be a more accurate reflection of Rondo Avenue and allow for greater interpretation of the impacts of the construction of Interstate 94 to this neighborhood," information from the body reads.
Next, White's proposal will go before the City Council, though the timeline for that is yet to be determined, according to Amy Spong, a St. Paul official who works with the commission.
City Council member Melvin Carter III says, “It went further than what we’ve acknowledged publicly so far to honor the community that exists here in St. Paul. It’s a good thoughtful approach to making sure that we honor our past while building our future together.
“I think Frank has done some important work,” he adds. “It’s always important to understand what history holds.”
It’s about getting a better handle on the future, says Carter, “so young folks who’ve grown up in this community can be aware of the rich set of accomplishments of others and can factor that in as they calculate the prospects for their future.”
Reflecting on White’s hard work, he says, “I appreciate everything he’s done,” adding, “I wish more people were as thoughtful and would look around and come up with ideas to make the city a better place.”
Sources: Amy Spong, City of Saint Paul; Melvin Carter, III, St. Paul City Council
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
In its latest show, a long-running theater troupe at Pillsbury House + Theatre in South Minneapolis called Breaking Ice is tackling big questions about community development in the area.
The show, which runs through February 26, responds to comments that come up in all types of community forums, online and in person, according to Alan Berks, a spokesperson for the theater company.
Through its performance and a facilitated conversation that follows, Breaking Ice explores questions relating to a major question: “How can neighborhoods evolve in economically stable and sustainable ways?” according to event materials.
This show is part of the Arts on Chicago placemaking initiative, which includes 20 art happenings. Pillsbury House + Theatre is leading the charge with the help of a number of community partners. (See
The Line story about the project
here.)
Often, the improvisational-style troupe performs for companies that are having difficulties in the workplace with communication--difficulties that frequently are rooted in cultural conflicts.
“What we get from it is a multifaceted perspective on the issue, with lots of people’s points of view,” Berks says, adding, “It starts to create a more direct conversation about the issues.”
Basically, it breaks the ice on these tough topics, hence the group’s name, he says.
The show delves into thorny questions related to community development, gentrification, and the displacement of longtime residents, questions that touch on race, economics, and culture. “There’s some tension among different sectors of the neighborhood," he says.
The company addresses these issues in a personal way, “from the perspective of people in the neighborhood,” he says, adding, “It’s about showing the human effects, what people are experiencing.”
The idea is to “create more conversations among communities in the neighborhood.”
At different times in history, the neighborhood has seen a large concentration of Scandinavians, African Americans, and Latinos. Historically, a lot of people have moved through, Berks says, adding, “It’s one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the state.”
Despite the culture shock that often entails, the neighborhood seems to “have a lot of ability to embrace differences,” he says, adding, “I think a high concentration of artists helps.” Artists are social connectors who help bridge the gap, he says.
Source: Alan Berks, spokesperson, Pillsbury House Theatre
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
A two-mile swath of Hennepin Avenue that runs through downtown Minneapolis is becoming a cultural district.
On Friday, the City Council approved a plan that lays out a vision for the cultural district, with specific goals for the next decade. The planning document came together through a yearlong process called Plan-It Hennepin, which was a collaboration of the Hennepin Theatre Trust, which owns four area theaters, the Walker Art Center, the artist-minded developer, Artspace, and the city.
Plan-It Hennepin drew over 1,500 people to its workshops and meetings, according to project information.
An “Our Town” creative placemaking grant in 2011 from the National Endowment for the Arts helped make it happen.
Tom Hoch, the president and CEO of the Hennepin Theatre Trust, says it was a robust process. “We’re really trying to think of Hennepin for the next generation,” a younger, more diverse group coming up, he says.
The partners will form a Cultural District Alliance to carry out the multilayered plan, which aims to make the avenue green, creative, safe, and pedestrian-friendly. This will contribute to the Minneapolis Downtown Council’s 2025 Plan, as well.
Basically, the plan centers on how “Arts and culture are playing a role in the connective tissue up and down the avenue,” he says.
For example, walking from the Walker Art Center to the Mississippi River, “You could have a series of wonderful experiences,” he says.
The alliance hopes to expand on that with greater coordination and consistent branding. “We want to have people come to the cultural district, love it and not want to leave,” Hoch says.
Part of the plan is already underway. A storefront project called “Made Here,” is in the works in the former Witt Mitchell building at 7th and Hennepin. It features work from local artists who design furniture. “The idea is to use storefronts that may be in transition and to showcase Minnesota artists,” he says.
Already he's found that many people have "an affinity for the street," he says, adding, “We have a lot of positive momentum behind what we’re doing here."
Source: Tom Hoch, CEO and president, Hennepin Theatre Trust
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
A large mural composed of 600,000 multicolored Lite-Brite pegs will light up St. Paul’s Union Depot on Saturday.
The 12-foot-by-24-foot mural, designed by local artist Ta-coumba T. Aiken, will set the Guinness World Record for the “Largest Picture Made of Lite-Brite,” according to Laura Mylan, project manager for the Forever Saint Paul Challenge. It’s the number of pegs that go into a mural, not its physical dimensions, which determine the size, she explains.
The record Lite-Brite mural at this time has 513,000 pegs, so the St. Paul mural will “easily defeat the record and set a new one,” she says.
The project jumpstarts the Forever Saint Paul Challenge, a contest sponsored by The Saint Paul Foundation and Minnesota Idea Open, to draw out original ideas for improving St. Paul.
On Saturday, the festivities begin at 3 p.m. with live music, oversized board games, food and more, while the lighting ceremony will happen at 7 p.m.
“We’re doing this to inspire big, bold creative ideas for the future,” Mylan says, adding, “We want ideas from everyone, from all walks of life, from across the state. What better way to do that than to create a big, bright public art installation that is truly of the community?”
In keeping with that, the abstract mural has the words “Forever Saint Paul” embedded in it.
Already, hundreds of volunteers have turned out to lend a hand on the mural. “It inspires people. It makes them smile,” she says, adding that most volunteers have found out about the project through social media and word of mouth.
The idea is to engage people in a creative process from the get-go, she says.
Since Jan. 12, people have helped hand-sort the pegs by color and started filling in the giant frame. “We’ve been so thrilled by the volunteer involvement. It’s been amazing.”
It made sense to hire the internationally known Aiken to design the mural because “He happens to work with points of color,” she says. He’s also accustomed to doing large-scale public artworks to which “He brings a great, welcoming presence,” she says.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Carleen Rhodes, the president and CEO of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners, and a Guinness World Record judge will all be on hand at the event.
The mural will be displayed at the depot through the end of the month.
“It has created a great community spirit and people are having so much fun with it,” she says.
Source: Laura Mylan, project manager, Forever Saint Paul Challenge
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
As its name suggests, HiFi Hair, a salon in Minneapolis's Loring Park, has a musical bent.
The salon is approaching its one-year anniversary in the space that was once the lobby of the old Loring Playhouse. Olson advertising company, which moved to the Ford Center downtown, previously occupied the 600-square-foot storefront space along with other parts of the historic Loring Corners building.
Salon owner Jonny Clifford (a.k.a. Jonny Zygomatic) says the theme was inspired by the fact that “The biggest influence fashion has always had is music,” adding, “Why not meld the two?”
A vintage jukebox, from which customers can choose songs, helps set the tone, while artwork in the salon is music-related. One wall is even dedicated to local music memorabilia. “Local music is a rich thing in this city and we would like to pay homage to it,” he says.
Additionally, the salon, which sponsors The Current radio station, hosted a honky-tonk party last Saturday, which brought in around 125 people.
“The jukebox was filled with music that you would expect to hear in an old-school West Texas honky-tonk joint,” he says, adding that the salon “threw peanut shells on the floor and served pulled pork and keg beer.”
It wasn’t what one would expect from a traditional salon, he says.
This speaks to HiFi’s mission. A hair salon like this is a gathering place, he says. “It has a relaxed vibe. It’s a place where people can hang out.”
He stresses “good service and not a lot of attitude,” he says, adding, “Everyone should feel welcome.”
To create that kind of laid-back atmosphere, the place is furnished with salvaged antiques and comfortable chairs. Old dressers, doors, mirrors, and bookcases have been repurposed, resulting in unique hairdresser stations, he says.
The eclectic look fits in with the Loring Park neighborhood, “a wonderful bohemia in the middle of Minneapolis.”
For Clifford, a veteran in the industry, “This is one of the most fun projects I’ve ever had in my career.” He also hopes that the salon helps to breathe new life into Loring Park.
In a space that has long been used for offices, not retail, “I thought it would be nice to bring more traffic to the area here during the day,” he says.
Source: Jonny Clifford, owner, HiFi Hair
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Gastrotruck, a food truck that specializes in “artisanal street cuisine,” is expanding with a straight-up restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis. Its brick-and-mortar counterpart will go by another name, though that hasn’t been publicized yet, according to City Pages.
The food truck will continue to circulate between Minneapolis and St. Paul in the warmer months.
Catherine Eckert, who owns the food truck, describes the changes that are underway at the building it purchased at 2400 University Avenue N.E. as a “complete property renovation.” In general, sustainability is a guiding principal for the restaurant, both in terms of construction and its offerings.
For starters, the restaurant is going for LEED certification, which has benchmarks for green building, the City Pages story reads.
Also, Gastrotruck intends to grow as much as half of its food on the restaurant’s grounds. This will happen in part through vertical grow walls, a green roof and a greenhouse, the story adds. Recycled water runoff will play into that system.
In terms of the restaurant’s interior look, “I am striving for a farmhouse chic feel,” Eckert says.This dovetails with the food truck’s emphasis on products from local farms and companies and handcrafted ingredients.
Gastrotruck, which plans to open the restaurant in the fall, is “all about respecting food and the environment in which it comes from,” its website states. Eckert has high hopes that the restaurant will fill a unique niche in the neighborhood: “We are super excited to offer our neighbors a restaurant that serves sustainable modern Midwestern cuisine that is approachable and affordable,” she says.
Source: Catherine Eckert, owner, Gastrotruck
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
As its name suggests, The Community Meal, a public art project from St. Paul artist Seitu Jones, centers on a huge feast.
In this case, the meal, for which Jones is working with Public Art Saint Paul, will span up to three-quarters of a mile along the Central Corridor light rail transit line. It will happen in September of 2014. Jones wants to see the project's table make it into the Guinness World Records as the world’s longest.
The project recently received a Joyce Award for $50,000. “It has a lot of different layers to it,” he says. “It’s more than just a meal, though the meal will be the high point.” The meal will follow a yearlong “listening project that explores traditions, attitudes, and the presentation of food, with a specific focus on the Central Corridor,” he says.
This year, he’ll visit homes, restaurants, urban farms, and various gathering places along the line to hear people’s food stories.
“What started me thinking about this was just being blown away by the urban agriculture initiatives happening along the Central Corridor,” including urban farms and community gardens, he says. He wants to celebrate these green ventures. “I thought of a meal that could be prepared from the bounty from the city,” to get people thinking about making healthy food choices.
The idea is also an outgrowth of a food assessment that Afro-Eco, an environmental group he belongs to, helped produce. It found that many people feel intimidated by the topic of healthy eating.
To help show people how to cook and eat better, he came up with mobile kitchens that could be pulled by bike or pushed on a cart, which could be set up in parking lots, parks, and other community sites.
This naturally led to the idea of providing one big meal, using mobile kitchens. “One legacy that will be left behind are these mobile kitchens,” Jones says.
The table and its place settings will also be works of art, while spoken word artists will perform during the meal, he adds.
Jones hopes the project gives people “the tools to begin to place themselves in the food system and do interventions in their food." On top of that, “This is an awesome opportunity for 2,000 to 3,000 people to sit down and break bread together at a common table and talk about issues that generally drive dinnertime conversations,” he says.
Source: Seitu Jones, artist
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Groundswell Coffee in St. Paul is looking to create a groundswell of ideas.
Its co-owners, Seth McCoy and Tim Gilbert, want to get the community involved in the coffee shop’s expansion.
McCoy and Gilbert, who bought the neighborhood cafe in 2009, have been able to make the business break even, but in the economic downturn, “It’s been limping along,” McCoy says.
To turn it around, they've tried to restore “the feeling of a neighborhood place," which it had when it first opened. But their efforts thus far "have not been enough,” he says.
After giving it some serious thought, “We agreed that being on that corner was important and we needed to find ways to accentuate that,” he says. That, they knew, would take some creative problem solving.
That’s when they learned that the next-door Borealis Yarn shop was closing. They got the idea to take over the space to create a full-service kitchen, beer and wine bar, along with an art consignment shop. Today they’re trying to secure financing for the $150,000 project.
To raise up to half of that, they’re looking at crowdfunding or community-based capital.
Crowdfunding allows community members to purchase a small stake in the company, he explains. At Northbound Smokehouse in Minneapolis, for example, “At a certain investment level, people could get free beer for life,” he says.
Similarly, Groundswell wants to offer a founders’ club membership for $1,000 apiece. A founding member could then get a free drink every day, he says.
In line with the owners' community values, the place will serve locally sourced food and drink and highlight artists and musicians from the area. “The Twin Cities has a vibrant local economy and we want to tap into that wherever we can,” McCoy says.
With the coming Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line, and in the absence of many commercial buildings of this sort in the neighborhood, “We hope to be a place where neighbors can get together,” one that’s also family-friendly, he says.
Groundswell plans to have a grand opening in May.
Source: Seth McCoy, co-owner, Groundswell Coffee
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Handsome Cycles, a Minneapolis-based bicycle manufacturer founded in 2008, has long had a national presence, with merchandise in 53 retail stores throughout the country.
The online business found its first dealers in the city, with One on One Bicycle Studio and Go Coffee and The Alt bicycle shop, according to Handsome co-owner, Jesse Erickson.
At the same time, “We always wanted a retail space” close to home, so when the storefront space beside One on One opened up, Erickson and his partner, Ben Morrison, jumped at it.
“We saw the opportunity to partner with someone who knows cycling culture and what’s needed on the clothing side,” Erickson says.
Previously, a music store occupied the space.
Erickson and Morrison tore down a wall between the two spaces, both of which are roughly 2,500 square feet, so that customers can go back and forth freely between the shops. “Our side will be more of a lifestyle store in the front half,” while the back area will serve as a showroom and build studio for Handsome’s custom-built bikes.
Beyond that, the Handsome space required little buildout, he says.
In terms of aesthetics, the space boasts exposed brick, hardwood floors, and wide open spaces.
He and Morrison are creating a modular setup that can be rearranged for different purposes. All in all, the place will have an industrial look “that’s raw and clean.” To achieve that, “We’re using a lot of reclaimed stuff,” especially wood from demolished barns and abandoned buildings, while metal piping runs throughout, he says.
Handsome will collaborate with One on One in hosting art shows, film festivals, and other events. “One on One has done a good job,” on this front, he says, adding, “It’s not just a bike retail store. It’s also a destination for the cycling culture.”
The store plans to open in March.
Source: Jesse Erickson, co-owner, Handsome Cycles
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Honeyshine, a gift and home décor store that also offers interior design services, is growing.
As such, the shop, which opened in Minneapolis's Bryn Mawr neighborhood in 2011, plans to move to 2720 W. 43rd Street. Honeyshine will take the spot of a longtime yarn shop, next-door to the Wild Rumpus bookstore in Linden Hills, according to Adam Braun, who co-owns the shop with Daisy Mitchell.
The store, which sells decorative accessories, tabletop entertaining items, jewelry, furniture, art, vintage items, and more, aims to open on May 8.
Fortunately, the space won’t require too much of a makeover, according to Braun. Mainly, Braun and Mitchell will be redoing the floors and the lighting. “We’re going for something warmer,” he says.
Besides offering more room for the business, this is a “proven retail space,” close to a number of restaurants and shops. That’s a boon for the growing Honeyshine. “Linden Hills will do a tremendous amount for our business, being an area with so many great restaurants and stores,” he says. “Having that much foot traffic will be great.”
The aesthetic of the new space, however, will stay the same. Braun describes the place as having a “modern scrappy feel, with clean lines and a lot of different cool objects,” he says. “It’s a mixture of new or modern with vintage things that we find.”
In terms of the design services, the space “is a good example of what we offer and the creativity behind our store.”
With so much to look at, “A lot of people come back to soak in everything,” he says.
That relates to the whole idea behind the shop. “We’re always trying to offer things that you can’t find anywhere else in Minneapolis,” he says.
Source: Adam Braun, co-owner, Honeyshine
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Al’s Bar, a half-century-old bar in St. Louis Park that was demolished in 2009 to make way for a housing development, inspired ProjectAl.
The charitable T-shirt business, which is run out of the basement of co-owner Charley Holden’s home, launched in November 2012.
Holden and his business partner, Derek Hood, who had been regulars at the bar, saw how Al’s gave money to local sports teams, National Night Out, and many other community-oriented events and initiatives. “It had a strong sense of community,” he says.
On a more informal level, many of its regulars knew one another. “They liked the history the place had,” he says. It was frustrating for people “to see their favorite neighborhood establishment, which had been around longer than they had, go.” Its demolishing was a community event. “A lot of regulars loved going there,” Holden says.
When the Uptown Bar in Minneapolis closed, it was the same story, he adds.
Holden and Hood wanted to create a project that would speak to those sentiments. “We want to give back to the community,” Holden says. “We thought that going through charities and local artists would be a great way to do it as well.” Proceeds of shirt sales go to the businesses represented on the shirts, to the artists who design them, and to a charity of the buyer's choice.
Holden rescued the old sign that once hung above Al’s, and employed it as a motif for the company. Whenever friends see it, the expressions on their faces are priceless, he says, adding, “Many remember it and still talk about it.”
“We want to draw attention to and celebrate local landmarks and businesses and recognize the importance those places have to our neighborhoods,” he says. “We want to keep them in our neighborhoods.”
Already, the business has gotten plenty of positive feedback. The company has even received random orders from people outside of Minnesota. “I’m assuming these are from people who have emotional ties to those places. It’s their way of representing them,” he says. “That’s what we get excited about.”
Source: Charley Holden
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
A vacant space alongside the Black Forest Inn will soon be home to the retro-style Glam Doll Donuts shop.
Arwyn Birch, who co-owns the place with Teresa Fox, says, “It’ll be like stepping through a local time warp,” into the 1940s and 50s, adding, “It’ll have a unique atmosphere.”
An old chemical photo booth, vintage art pieces, and works from a local artist will lend atmosphere to the place. Helping to create that feel will be hand-painted stencil tile and tables, which Birch describes as “glamorous and glitzy.”
Many of the shop’s furnishings have been repurposed, like a stainless steel piece of equipment that’s now a baker’s table, topped by a butcher’s block. Leftover tables and chairs have gotten a makeover as well.
Birch and Fox adapted the concept from “kitschy, focused donut shops” that are open late nights out west. “[These] would often be more than an average bakery-donut experience,” she says.
Birch, who has a fashion background, plans to design and make the workers’ attire herself; it will also be vintage-inspired.
Birch and Fox, both of whom have worked in the restaurant industry over the years, “have always been inspired by music and vintage,” she says, adding, “This is the culmination of our strongest passions,” including food.
The shop will offer a variety of classic donuts, but with the Glam Doll stamp on them.
“We hope to establish the place as a neighborhood landmark. The idea that 'you’ve got to go to Eat Street.' We hope to contribute to that distinctive feel,” she says. “There’s a great variety of culture happening here.”
The owners plan to open the shop by Feb. 15.
Source: Arwyn Birch, co-owner, Glam Doll Donuts
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
This month, local muralist Jimmy Longoria will see a couple of his pieces in the permanent collection at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.
Longoria, along with his wife, Connie Fulmer, is behind a nonprofit organization called Mentoring Peace Through Art, which puts youth to work on murals and other art projects.
The two museum-bound pieces come from his collection, and are titled, in Spanish, “My Grandfather’s Shovels.”
“The shovels are very unique in that they’re not decoration,” he says. “It’s not just an artist playing with form.” Rather, the work pays homage to his grandfather, a farmer who lived in Texas. In the 1960s, his grandfather “painted red stripes on [his shovels] so as not to lose them,” Longoria says, The shovels were needed for digging irrigation ditches.
Other farmers ended up following suit, embellishing their shovels with unique designs, to make sure they stayed put.
“It’s about leadership, the kind of leadership that’s tied to what one does naturally, but also ties you to others in the community,” he says.
Longoria also has work hanging in such community centers as the Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC), in North Minneapolis. Soon he’ll be working with students at Richard R. Green Central Park Community School in Minneapolis.
“My art has to be understood almost entirely on a different base than what most were doing in the 20th century,” he says. That is, it’s not about the individual, but it “manifests values of the entire village and its function.”
Whether he’s working with schoolchildren or painting shovels, the work is “interwoven into the fabric of society,” he says. “We use the artist’s toolkit to build community.”
Source: Jimmy Longoria, Mentoring Peace Through Art
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
Smoke in the Pit, a smoked barbecue restaurant, is coming to a building on 38th and Chicago in South Minneapolis that long ago housed the House of Breakfast.
Smoke in the Pit owner Dwight Alexander says he has already built up a clientele for the food at the restaurant’s former location on East Lake Street.
For a couple of years, it offered his specially prepared smoked meats. “No flame hits the meat. It’s pure smoke,” making it healthier than straight-up barbecue, he explains.
To make way for the family-owned business, Alexander is revamping the place, which had to be completely gutted. Right now, construction is still underway, with everything from sheetrock to kitchen equipment being installed. However, the place is shaping up on schedule, even if the space looks a bit raw right now, he says.
Alexander, who lives nearby, aims to open the restaurant by the end of the month or in early February.
He’s done some street vending outside of the restaurant, to let people know that Smoke in the Pit is on the way.
The restaurateur sees the place as a positive addition to an area of the neighborhood that’s undergoing revitalization in many ways. Smoke in the Pit is across the street from a redevelopment that includes the Blue Ox Coffee Company, Covet Consign and Design, photographer Wing Young Huie’s The Third Place Gallery, and the Fox Egg Gallery.
Plus, it offers a place to eat in area that has been known as a food desert. “I already know this will be a big improvement to the area,” he says.
Alexander expects the restaurant to draw people from outside of the neighborhood, as well, especially those who are already familiar with Smoke in the Pit.
Source: Dwight Alexander, owner, Smoke in the Pit
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
For years, Shane Kingsland had wanted to open a shop devoted to his passion, heavy metal.
In the past, he managed a heavy metal record store in Madison, Wis. “Well, a few bumps in the road (and years later), my wife and I finally got around to doing it now" in St. Paul, he says via email.
Into the Void Records, a 650-square-foot shop that specializes in heavy metal records, opened last month in a historic building in downtown St. Paul.
It’s the sister store to the first Into the Void Records shop in Dublin, Ireland, which debuted in 2010.
Kingsland has close ties to the Dublin outfit, which is a collective of Irish record labels. Kingsland, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Ireland, imports the releases for distribution in the U.S. He claims that Into the Void is one of the first transatlantic metal store chains.
The shop carries “Minnesota’s deepest selection of True Metal,” according to online shop information. This includes Heavy, Power, Death, and Black metal genres and some “outer-fringe genres” like Ambient, Darkwave, and Neo-Folk.
It’s a good fit for the location, he says.
The store is in the same historic building as Capitol Guitars, an instrument store that he describes as metal-friendly. Into the Void is also within blocks of Station 4, a venue that “hosts most of the major metal tours that come through the area,” he says.
Revamping the space was mainly a matter of bringing in custom-built racks for LPs, CDs, T-shirts, and more, along with a counter and display case. As for the aesthetic, “I tried to go for a combination of inner-city music store and heavy metal 'man cave' with posters covering a majority of the walls,” he says. “I don't know of any other shop similar in the Cities.”
He hopes the shop reflects the local community’s needs and wants: “We’ve had a very community-oriented game plan from the get-go, with a special interest in getting feedback from the local scene in an effort to really meet their music and metal needs,” he says. “Metal has many subdivisions and sub-genres, and not all of them flourish locally," he explains.
But he also wants to give people "the opportunity to be exposed to new and obscure artists” from around the world, he says.
Source: Shane Kingsland, owner, Into the Void Records
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Vagabond, a fitting name for an “occasional boutique,” recently had a “save the store” sale, to make its February rent.
The store features an eclectic mix of “cute and curious” antiques and old and new furniture and decorations. It opened in a first-floor space in a duplex on 25th and Hennepin in Minneapolis’s Uptown neighborhood this past summer. In the past, the duplex housed an antique store.
The duplex is zoned for commercial uses, according to storeowner Angela Kreitlow.
In setting up shop, Kreitlow added shelves and walls “to make it feel less like walking into a home,” and more like a commercial space.
She also painted the walls with patterns and color schemes that complement the merchandise. “It’s split up into warm and cool areas,” that is, neutral shades and bright pinks and purples, she says. “I’m all about balance and tones.”
At the three-day “save the store” sale last month, her goal was to make at least $2,000, a total she ended up exceeding. “There was a ton of amazing support,” she says. “A lot of people came in those three days.”
At this point, she’s trying to regroup and figure out what her next step should be. She’s also planning an online version of the store, she says.
In towns like Stillwater and Buffalo, where she grew up, stores like this, which have special hours, are destinations, according to Kreitlow. “You can drum up excitement and the sales are different every time,” she says, adding that she communicates with customers mainly through the store’s Facebook page.
Eventually, she hopes to offer classes on reupholstering furniture and other topics to “get people excited about decorating their homes,” she says. “There’s nothing else like this around,” and yet “It belongs here."
Source: Angela Kreitlow, owner, Vagabond
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Public Art Saint Paul, a nonprofit organization that started in 2005, now has several artists-in-residence based in the city’s public works department.
Executive director Christine Podas-Larson says the artists will “impact the way the city thinks, plans and builds” in the long term.
The program aims to “shape a public realm that fosters imagination and strengthens public places as vessels of civic life,” a prepared statement from the organization reads.
Initially, the program had in mind a fellowship-type of arrangement, but it became clear early on that a “deeper level of immersion was required to be effective,” she says. “There’s so much to learn about the language of the city and how it works.”
Furthermore, city projects often develop over a long period, she says.
In 2006, conceptual/behavioral artist Marcus Young joined the program as its artistic director.
After spending a year in the public works department, Young developed the Everyday Poems for City Sidewalks, which imbeds poetry in the concrete of new sidewalks in conjunction with the sidewalk replacement that goes on yearly.
Young has also worked in other areas of the city, dealing with planning, infrastructure development, residential street construction, and more, according to program information.
Building on his ongoing efforts, Public Art Saint Paul more recently sought to flesh out the program with more artistic viewpoints and expertise, Podas-Larson says.
Sarah West, a multidisciplinary artist who’s led public art installations and architecture projects, will work with city streetscapes, bridges, open spaces and other elements. By contrast, Amanda Lovelee, a visual artist who specializes in photography and video, will focus on the urban forest.
“It’s a pretty full complement,” Podas-Larson says. “It’s synergistic yet distinct.”
Typically, one percent of the construction budget for city infrastructure goes to public art, which is created at a certain point in a project’s timeline. Through this program, the artists help bring their sensibility to projects every step of the way.
“It’s unique nationwide. No one else is doing it,” Podas-Larson says. “Other cities are calling us about this model.”
Source: Christine Podas-Larson, Public Art St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
After mulling over a street food restaurant concept, several years ago brothers Saed and Sameh Wadi, owners of the Saffron Restaurant & Lounge in Minneapolis, decided to start out with a World Street Kitchen food truck.
Local legislation had only just changed to allow for food trucks. “We jumped right on it,” Sameh says. “What better way to test the market for street food than on the street?”
World Street Kitchen, which features a seasonal menu of foods from street carts around the world--with a twist--was one of the city’s first food trucks, he adds.
It wasn’t long before the Wadis returned to the idea of a physical restaurant. They looked for a location that would complement the food truck, not compete with it.
Last week they opened a bricks-and-mortar version of the restaurant in Minneapolis’s Uptown area, in The Greenleaf, a building that includes apartments and first-floor retail.
Uptown seemed ideal because “It has a neighborhood feel, but it also has a little nightlife,” he says. “That fits really well with the concept.”
Beginning with an empty shell, they buillt the space out over the last year. “We wanted it to have the same vibe as the food truck, and translate it into here.”
One way they accomplished that is by having counter service. That way, “There’s no separation between you and a guest. You don’t wait for a waiter.”
An open kitchen also lets people see the food being prepped. “It’s an instant connection with the people making the food,” Sameh says.
The dining room has an industrial feel, with recycled materials, wood and concrete, and metal accents. Many items have been repurposed.
Besides the big, bold flavors of many street foods, “There’s something about being curbside,” eating, he says.
He fondly remembers eating street food as a young boy. “Some of the best food I’ve had is from a rinky-dink stand where the person does one thing, and does it really well,” he says.
This kind of food is also a creative challenge to the chef. “While Saffron is a reflection of me as a chef, this is more of a reflection of me as a person,” he says. “This isn’t what I’m trained in, but it’s what I like to eat.”
Source: Sameh Wadi, World Street Kitchen
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
After a short break, the Northeast Farmers Market is returning with its first indoor market of the season on Dec. 15 at the Eastside Food Cooperative in Northeast Minneapolis.
The opening day of the market, which runs monthly through May, features books for sale from the Friends of the Northeast Library, a performance from musician Matt Yetter and a massage chair, according to Northeast Farmers Market information.
The indoor market offers apples, honey products, homemade jam, hand-rolled spring rolls, grass-fed beef, eggs, bread, desserts, and handicrafts.
Although this is a smaller-scale version of the summer market, each of its 10 vendors this season have been a part of it before, according to Sarah Knoss, who oversees the Northeast Farmers Market.
That familiarity has advantages for shoppers. “We have a lot of loyal friends and fans that like to visit our vendors,” she says via email.
Besides the fact that people can access some of their favorite vendors year-round, it’s about shopping and eating locally. “We bring livability to the community and foster sustainability to the Northeast neighborhood,” she says.
The local nonprofit organizations, artists, and craftspeople that grace the market on a regular basis make it unique, she says.
Although the summer market has been successful over the past 12 years, the indoor market is still growing. “There is traffic from the coop and our fans know that we are there but we are trying to get the word out,” she says.
A number of other local farmers markets, including the St. Paul Farmers Market, the Kingfield and Fulton Farmers Market and the Minneapolis Farmers Market, have wintertime sales.
More broadly, “It's really just a way for all of us to get together and enjoy what we do,” she says. “It keeps the us going and motivated to bake, make, and grow.”
Source: Sarah Knoss, manager, Northeast Farmers Market
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
An exhibit that highlights various sights along the Central Corridor light rail line and promotes literacy at the same time opened this month at the St. Anthony Park Branch Library in St. Paul.
The interactive exhibit, called the Alphabet Place, which first appeared at the Rondo Community Outreach Library this past summer, includes photos of letters that artist Amy Unger took while exploring the area around the light rail line. She used some of the “found” letters to create board games and a treasure hunt.
Some people might recognize certain letters she shot at local stores, offices, construction sites and elsewhere, along the light rail line.
Many of the letters are visible from Metro Transit’s number 6 bus route. In the library, children can search for the letters, which have been hidden here and there, throughout the children’s section.
“I can probably look at most of the letters and tell you where they’re from,” she says, adding that she almost got arrested a couple of times, snapping shots of letters from the street.
Unger, who is also a licensed elementary school teacher and a skilled typographer, has collected thousands of images of letters. Q’s and Z’s were among the most challenging letters to find.
Some letters are more whimsical or dynamic than others or new or old. “Some have a center like a face,” she says. “You get excited about the beauty and lines and shape of each letter.”
It takes a lot of visual discernment to find the letters, which she says can help children strengthen eyesight and learn about the alphabet. “I find it lovely and fun,” she says. “I think letters and the alphabet should be endlessly charming and entertaining.”
She also used nails and wires she found along the way, to form letters. The project has turned out to be an interesting way to see the area on foot, something she’d never done before. “I found the whole experience extremely moving,” she says.
Unger landed a $1,000 Irrigate grant to pursue the project, which she started in March.
The fact that the Irrigate grant was about placemaking and collaboration seems especially apropos given that, “I’m in love with University Avenue,” she says. “It was like an urban safari adventure. I have a great sense of place from doing it.”
Source: Amy Unger, artist
Writer: Anna Pratt
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Wednesday, November 28, 2012
St. Paul is marking the beginning of a new era for the historic Union Depot with an opening celebration on Dec. 8, which will be an all-day affair.
After undergoing a $243 million renovation over the past couple of years, soon the 1920s landmark will again serve as a transit hub--this time for trains, buses, bicycle commuting and more.
The station last saw trains in 1971, according to information from the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority.
Josh Collins, a spokesperson with the rail authority, says, "We really see this as an important celebration to mark the completion of the construction," adding, "It's a chance for the public to see their investment," and to show off a beautiful building.
Going forward, the depot will be "the living room of St. Paul," with meetings, galas and conventions happening there, he says.
People can also go to the depot to "use our wifi and get some work done," he says.
The day's celebration, which begins at 10 a.m., includes facility tours, theatrical performances, historical reenactments, music, dance, art, food and more.
The depot's history figures prominently into the event. For example, the nonprofit Bedlam Theatre will be staging performances that recreate historic moments. The theater troupe will portray soldiers returning from World War II, early immigrants arriving in the city, and more. "It'll be a fascinating artistic experience," he says. "I'm really excited about that."
Old photos and artifacts that were uncovered during the renovation will also be on display.
The celebration also offers numerous interactive family-friendly activities, with train-themed photos, a Snoopy statue unveiling, appearances from Winter Carnival Royalty and a screening of the movie, "Elf," according to rail information.
Metro Transit will kick off its bus service to and from the station with complimentary rides. The union depot's new website, uniondepot.org, will soon go live with free bus passes for the day.
Furthermore, people "can learn about our growing transit system," he says.
Next year, the Jefferson Regional Bus Lines and Amtrak Twin Cities will settle in at the depot, while the in-progress Central Corridor Light Rail Transit, which is being branded as the Green Line, will come through the station starting in 2014, according to rail information.
Also in the coming year, One-on-One Bicycle Studio in Minneapolis will open full-service bicycle center with storage space, a repair shop and lockers.
Source: Josh Collins, Ramsey County Regional Rail
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Public Functionary, a new art space coming to the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, reached its $30,000 fundraising goal this week on Kickstarter.
Tricia Khutoretsky, who heads Public Functionary, explains that the center set its sights high because “We really believed in the potential for validation from the community. We also needed a way in which to build a new community” that goes beyond the typical art scene, she says.
The idea is to make the center as open and inclusive as possible, she adds.
With the help of the Kickstarter funds, Public Functionary will open in January of 2013 in a one-story brick building on Buchanan and Broadway, which is also home to The Lab Digital and the Permanent Art and Design Group. The groups worked together to find the space, according to Khutoretsky.
Over the past five months, Public Functionary has been operating out of makeshift offices in the space. This has afforded people in the 2,500-square-foot center “the time to feel it out and figure out the best floor-plan and updates to make,” she says.
Already, the center has hosted several events in the raw space, which is characterized by high ceilings, lots of natural light, and cement floors.
The fact that a train runs by the building is a plus because it’s “constantly creating movement and energy right outside our windows, which feels classically Northeast,” she says.
In terms of the build-out of the space, walls will be moveable. This will help foster experimentation with every exhibit. “We think the gallery of the future is always changing, always responsive,” she says.
On a yearly basis, the center will host exhibits corresponding to an overarching theme, with ongoing events that inspire a dialogue on contemporary art. “We’re focused on creating context and connection and using technology and social media,” she says.
The arts district location is ideal, she says, noting that the entire Public Functionary team lives in the neighborhood. “We're looking forward to becoming a sort of hub or connector to attract more people to the arts activity in the area,” she says.
Source: Tricia Khutoretsky, Public Functionary
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
A novel called, “Moon Palace,” by Paul Auster, made quite an impression on Angela Schwesnedl as a young reader.
So much so that when she and her husband, Jamie, recently decided to open a bookshop within walking distance of their South Minneapolis house, they christened it Moon Palace Books. “It’s the book that turned me into a reader,” she says.
The 840-square-foot new and used bookshop opened on Oct. 25 in a former storage space on 33rd and Minnehaha, alongside Trylon Microcinema and Peace Coffee Shop.
It’s titles like “Moon Palace” that the couple have hand-selected for the store--items that “My husband and I are excited about reading,” she says.
The bookstore has special sections devoted to local authors, cookbooks, gardening, urban homesteading, film, fiction, graphic novels, poetry, children’s books, and more. It also sells ereaders and ebooks.
To get the space bookstore-ready, the couple replaced the garage door with a glass door, painted the interior lavender, and lined the walls with wooden bookshelves. “Everyone says it smells like real wood and books,” she says.
The storefront is highly visible on the street, too, with bold bands of color wrapping around the building's exterior.
The neighborhood has been supportive of the shop, which she says fills a void. “There’s not a lot of bookstores in the neighborhood but there are a lot readers here,” she says. “I think we’ll be a good fit.”
Already, the bookstore has been getting foot traffic from the neighboring businesses, and vice versa.
Although things are still coming together in the bookshop, “If you like to dig around find stuff, it’s a great place,” she says, adding, “I think we’re just a fun and interesting place to shop for books.”
Source: Angela Schwesnedl
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Aria, a special event space in downtown Minneapolis’s Warehouse District, has opened its doors to a creative sound installation called “Playing the Building,” from rocker David Byrne.
“Playing the Building,” which runs through Dec. 4 at Aria, has also exhibited in New York City, Stockholm, and London.
The show's title literally references how “The infrastructure, the physical plant of the building, is converted into a giant musical instrument,” according to the project website.
To make that happen, various pieces of equipment have been fixed to metal beams, pillars, and pipes to create sound. “The devices do not produce sound themselves, but they cause the building elements to vibrate, resonate and oscillate,” the website reads.
This is the first artistic program open to the public to take place at Aria, which took over the old Theatre de la Jeune Lune space nearly a year ago, according to Michelle Klein, a spokesperson for the venue.
“That’s part of the vision for the building,” she says. “The idea is to make it not just a private event center, but a public event destination.”
Considering that the vintage building was once the site of award-winning theatrical productions, “It would be a shame to close the doors and only open it to those who’ve booked the space,” she says.
More broadly, the idea of scheduling community-oriented arts programming in the space speaks to the vision of First and First, the site's development company, headed by Peter Remes.
The idea is about “being much more engaged in a robust way with the neighborhood,” she says. “We want to be a good neighbor, going far beyond sweeping the sidewalks.”
Source: Michelle Klein, spokesperson, Aria
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
As a part of a larger beautification project in the neighborhood, Cooper’s Foods on St. Clair Avenue and West Seventh Street in St. Paul recently added a large mural to its façade.
The mural celebrates the grocery business, picturing a mix of brightly colored fruits and vegetables, according to store manager Steve Daly.
This portion of the building was a blank canvas beforehand, Daly explains. The mural, which was unveiled in late October, runs about six feet wide and 18 feet high, he says.
Nance Derby Davidson of Acme Scenic Arts designed the mural, which was installed in three separate pieces, according to the Community Reporter.
At the same time, the building’s exterior got a fresh coat of paint, along with new planters and hanging plants. “We’re trying to clean up and beautify the area,” which he says was “getting downgraded in looks.”
The project was made possible in part by a grant from Greening the Avenue (GTA), which focuses on aesthetic and environmental improvements in the city’s second ward, according to the Community Reporter.
GTA initiated the idea of doing a makeover on this corner, to which Cooper’s said yes, Daly says.
Daly hopes that the grocery store’s attention to detail on the corner will encourage others to follow suit. “We’re real happy with the progress,” he says. “We’re trying to make the area more presentable.”
A post on the St. Paul Real Estate Blog gives the grocery store’s project a positive review: “It all looks wonderful,” the blog post reads, underscoring the store’s importance through the years. “It is very much a neighborhood store and sometimes a place to catch up on the local gossip,” the post reads.
Source: Steve Daly, store manager, Cooper’s Foods
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Soo Visual Arts Center (SooVac) in Minneapolis’s Uptown neighborhood is trying out a pop-up gift shop as a way to emphasize shopping locally.
The gallery’s shop will “pop up” at 3506 Nicollet Avenue South, which formerly housed Yeti Records, on Thursdays through Sundays from Nov. 17 to Dec. 24. (See
The Line story
here, about Yeti Records going mobile.) The shop’s inventory features a wide assortment of gifts, from paintings to knitwear, which are the handiwork of more than 55 artists, according to the gallery’s executive director, Carolyn Payne.
The gallery has had holiday sales in the past, but the pop-up shop allows for its annual juried show, “Untitled 9,” to go on at the same time. “It’s going to be fun,” she says, adding that it’s an opportunity to “celebrate some of the wonderful Minnesota artists we’ve had the privilege to work with over the years.”
The pop-up shop builds on the gallery’s artist-designed interactive carnival, Sideshow Soo, which was a part of the Pat’s Tap block party in August. “We had a blast getting to know the neighborhood,” Payne says.
Having another storefront space is also a good way to bring more exposure to the gallery. “The spot is great because it is a highly visible storefront space similar to SooVAC in a busy and vibrant neighborhood,” she says.
Soon, the shop will have a window display from Joan Vorderbruggen, who runs the Artists in Storefronts project in Whittier, which places artwork in vacant storefront spaces. Also, an outdoor sculpture from Sean Cairns, a student at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, will be added to the lot.
In the future, SooVac plans to take advantage of the space for other experimental exhibits, to supplement the gallery’s regular shows, Payne adds.
Source: Carolyn Payne, executive director, Soo Visual Arts Center,
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Defiant Tattoo, which relocated earlier in the year to 3014 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis, just opened up the coffee shop side of its business last month.
Emily Rampp, the office manager and a co-owner of the shop, says the tattoo parlor/cafe, which also has a fire pit and a patio, is the only one of its kind in the Midwest.
After researching it, Rampp found only one other similar place in the country, in upstate New York. "It's a rare thing," she says, adding, "That's why it took so long to open."
Although the tattoo studios moved into the space this past spring, the coffee shop was “more of a process,” given the time needed to line up the proper paperwork, she says.
Defiant Tattoo also remodeled the space, which cost $60,000. The 2,700-square-foot space had been vacant for a couple of years. Most recently, it housed a fitness studio. The shop has an open floor plan and 15-foot ceilings. “It’s very spacious,” Rampp says. “People can sit down and drink coffee and watch people getting tattoos.”
The coffee shop is also unique in that it serves a new product called Jet Fuel, an espresso drink with double the caffeine of regular espresso, along with other coffee and tea drinks, plus the popular Heggies frozen pizzas. Soon, it plans to add food from Red’s Savoy, she says.
The shop’s walls are full of art and the space has been furnished with Asian antiques. “It’s very earthy,” she says. “I think it’s one of the nicest-looking tattoo studios around.”
The shop is also hosting various events on an ongoing basis, including open mic nights, bands, movies, a clothing exchange, and even a painting night.
Previously, the shop had been near the corner of Lyndale Avenue and Franklin. Before that, it was downtown.
The location is ideal, says Rampp. Referring to neighboring businesses, she says, “We try to help each other out. We all seem to support each other.”
Source: Emily Rampp, office manager and co-owner, Defiant Tattoo
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
The Minneapolis Convention Center, in partnership with the city, recently issued a “Creative City Challenge,” calling for proposals for a temporary creative placemaking installation on the center’s plaza.
The installation should provide a portal into the local landscape, in harmony with the "City by Nature" brand that Minneapolis adopted last year, according to Jeff Johnson, the convention center’s executive director.
Proposals can be for any type of temporary structure. That being said, structures are required to be site-specific, interactive, and eco-minded. “It’s hard to describe what could come out of this,” Johnson says. “People might come up with something we never even though of.”
The competition, which is meant to become an annual event, is open to local architects, designers, urban planners, engineers, artists, and others. It has a December 3 deadline.
Later in December, the public will vote on proposals, which will be posted on the convention center’s website.
From there, the top five project teams will go on to draft full proposals that will be evaluated by a jury.
The winning proposal will get $50,000 to create the structure, which will grace the plaza next summer, according to convention center information.
Johnson says the contest was inspired by the fact that the convention center has a “great, beautiful green space in an urban setting yet we didn’t see people using it,” he says. “We knew we needed to do something to activate that space.”
It’s also a creative way to showcase local talent. “I think it’s exciting to see what happens, what people can dream up and how the community reacts,” he says.
This speaks to the idea that the convention center is “all about building relationships,” he adds. “It ties into why we’re here and what we want to do.”
Source: Jeff Johnson, executive director, Minneapolis Convention Center
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
After undergoing an extensive renovation, earlier this month a hotel near the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus rebranded itself as The Commons Hotel.
Rockbridge Partners in Ohio took over the 304-room hotel that was once a Radisson, last March, according to the Star Tribune.
Although she didn’t have an exact figure, Christa Hudson, a spokesperson for the project, says millions of dollars went into converting the place into a boutique hotel.
To do so, Noble House Hotels & Resorts, the hotel’s management company, drew inspiration from the locale, she says.
Noble House wanted to “translate more of the area and reflect Minneapolis,” she says.
The result is a kind of industrial schoolhouse look, or “geek chic,” that relates to the backdrop of the nearby University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Campus. “The whole aesthetic is about learning and discovering,” she says.
Design aspects like an argyle pattern that runs throughout the building, leather-upholstered furniture, a library lounge, and a fire pit create a studious yet comfortable feel, she says.
Also, the hotel will be offering special events like "alchemist mixology" lessons, “Words with Friends”-themed happy hours, and promotional packages with area cultural institutions.
These include a “geek to chic makeover at the Aveda Institute headquarters, Science Buzz meeting at the Science Museum of Minnesota, personal story and book creation at Loft Literary Center and tour of the world’s largest Sherlock Holmes exhibit at the University of Minnesota,” a prepared statement reads.
The idea is to encourage people to explore the area, Hudson says.
Additionally, the hotel’s restaurant, the Beacon Public House, which will open in November, will be a gastropub with a locally sourced drink and food menu. Besides serving hotel guests, it’ll be a draw for people who live in the area, she says.
All in all, “The idea is that it’s not just me staying at The Commons,” she says. “It’s me in Minneapolis.”
Source: Christa Hudson, spokesperson from the Zimmerman Agency for The Commons Hotel
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Marie Philippi, a self-taught baker who co-owns the Taste of Love Bakery, had been working out of a commercial kitchen in New Hope for nearly a year when she decided to find a permanent home for the business.
The custom bakery plans to open in the next few weeks at 870 Dodd Rd. in West St. Paul, where it straddles several St. Paul neighborhoods.
Often, she passed by the corner building at the intersection of Annapolis, Dodd, and Chariton streets, which had long been a revolving door for various businesses.
Even before she was looking for retail space, Philippi, who lives nearby, wondered what could be done at that corner to turn it around. At one point, the building faced condemnation. “The corner is busy and it had potential,” she says. “I know there’s a lot of people out walking all the time.”
However, getting the space up to par was an ambitious undertaking.
For starters, the building’s façade needed a facelift, while inside, everything had to be gutted — a $25,000 project, she says.
Previously, the building’s exterior had cracked stucco, while rotten wood and overgrown trees also caused problems.
Inside, floors had been in disrepair, walls were filled with graffiti and the windows were painted green, “So nobody could see in,” she says.
New electrical systems and plumbing had to be installed. Furthermore, the bakers are joining two separate spaces in the building. “We’re cramming a lot into a small building,” which is 2,400 square feet, including the basement, she says.
To keep costs down, “We bought a lot of things used,” she says. “We’ve refurbished those things.”
Also, she was able to raise $8,000 for equipment through an Indiegogo online campaign.
Ultimately, she sees the bakery as a destination for area families, which she says is a huge need in this part of town.
As such, the bakery includes a play area for children, along with child-sized furniture and kid-friendly menu items in addition to the retail area and lounge. “I wanted a kid-friendly space and an area where you could come to relax or work,” she says.
Source: Marie Philippi, co-owner, Taste of Love Bakery
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The Broadway, named for its location at 945 Broadway in Northeast Minneapolis, had a groundbreaking celebration last week.
Local developer Peter Remes and his company, First & First, LLC, are behind the $4 million renovation of the former Twin City Paper building, according to the Star Tribune.
It’s a classic warehouse with large windows, hardwood and polished cement floors, brick walls, high ceilings, old-growth timber beams and more, according to the related Java Properties website.
So far, building tenants include 612Brew and Sevnthsin, a digital creative company, which will be joined by other to-be-determined firms and a café and fitness center, according to the Star Tribune.
The Broadway will also have special features such as a vertical glass gallery showcasing artwork, an outdoor greenspace with an amphitheater and water fountain that includes stones salvaged from the old Metropolitan Building, which once stood in downtown Minneapolis, the story states.
City Councilman Kevin Reich says the project “fits in well with the redevelopment efforts in the area around some older brick and timber manufacturing buildings.”
He’s glad to see this type of project on a prominent corner that serves as a gateway into the neighborhood. “The developer is doing a polished job,” with a generous courtyard and commons area, he says, adding, “It shows real insight from the developer to create a sense of place.”
The mixed-use project brings together light industrial uses with creative ventures, a move that complements the Northeast Arts District, he says.
It’s part of an emerging brew district that includes the Dangerous Man Brewing Co., Indeed Brewing Company, 612Brew and Northgate Brewing. “It’s the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” Reich says.
The project is planned to wrap up in 2013.
Source: Kevin Reich, city council member, Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
On Oct. 11, MidModMen + friends, which previously had an online-only presence, opened at 2401 University Avenue West in St. Paul.
MidModMen offers vintage and modern home décor, including furniture, lighting, and decorative items, its Facebook page reads. The shop is open on weekends and for special events.
Over the past year, the space had been used as a pop-up shop, as a part of a collaboration of the Starling Project and Saint Anthony Park Community Council.
The Starling Project brings together entrepreneurs, artists, and small organizations with building owners for “meanwhile uses” of vacant storefronts and spaces along University Avenue during Central Corridor light rail construction, its website reads.
Neal Kielar, who co-owns MidModMen with Jon Mehus, found the space with the Starling Project’s help.
The 1,200-square-foot space seemed like the right fit, and it helps that it’s part of the neighborhood's in-progress Creative Enterprise Zone.
Several other similar stores, including Succotash, are nearby. “We’re part of this concentration of retailers that deal in vintage furniture, décor, art, ephemera and kitsch,” he says. “Synergy seems to be there.”
The store plans to stay in the space through the end of the year, though it could stick around longer if all goes well, according to Kielar.
“We’re finding ourselves part of the revitalization of an important commercial corridor,” he says. “It feels like how Northeast [Minneapolis] felt 15 years ago.”
He was pleasantly surprised by the amount of foot traffic in the area. Already, the store has had strong sales. “We’re happy with the way it’s working out,” he says.
The store is going for a friendly, personable vibe, where “You can hang out and talk and learn new things,” he says, adding, “Shopping doesn’t always have to be about purchasing.”
“We have a certain aesthetic or design point of view and we love when people share an interest or passion in that,” he says.
Source: Neal Kielar, co-owner, MidModMen + Friends
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
St. Paul Parks and Recreation is looking for ideas for redeveloping a long-vacant warehouse building at the entrance of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary.
It’s asking for “requests for interest” or creative proposals from development teams, to be filed by Oct. 30, according to parks information.
In the future, the building could be an interpretive center for the sanctuary, with classrooms and possibly even a performance space, says Brad Meyer, a spokesperson for the parks.
“We’re going through this process to determine what kind of interest might be out there in redeveloping the current building,” he says.
This is part of the process of due diligence “in assessing what market may exist for reuse, and what the next steps will be for the site,” he adds.
Part of what makes the vintage building attractive is the fact that it’s “structurally sound.” It includes features such as a first-floor “walkout” to the nature sanctuary, masonry walls, and concrete floors with supporting beams and columns, according to parks information.
The building also “offers excellent views of the Mississippi River corridor and downtown Saint Paul skyline,” while contaminated soils on the property have already been cleaned up, according to the same information.
On the downside, however, the building, an empty “shell,” lacks heating and cooling systems and windows.
Meyer says the building is a unique asset to the park system, with plenty of potential, thanks in part to its proximity to other big projects in the area, including the renovated Union Depot, the planned Lafayette Bridge crossing, and the future Lowertown ballpark.
Source: Brad Meyer, spokesperson, St. Paul Parks and Recreation
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Just over a week ago, the Butter Bakery Café relocated blocks away from 36th and Grand Avenue in Southwest Minneapolis, to 37th and Nicollet Avenue.
The bakery is planning a grand opening for Oct. 23 in collaboration with the Nicollet Square building, for which it’s a partner, according to owner Dan Swenson-Klatt.
Butter is housed within the three-story Nicollet Square, which provides supportive housing for young people who are at risk for homelessness, along with a chiropractor and the nonprofit organization, Twin Cities RISE!, which deals with job training.
As a part of that partnership, the bakery has taken on a couple of apprentices who live in the building, and it plans to bring on two more young people in the near future, he says.
“I’ve always thought of this as more than a little coffee shop,” he says. “This gives me more of that feel, that it’s part of something bigger.”
However, the bakery is still getting settled into the space. It’s a bit like moving into a new home, “where you live out of boxes for awhile,” he says.
So far, the change has been good. He’s hearing from regulars that “It’s so big and so bright,” in comparison to the old space, but “It still looks like Butter.”
Before, the bakery was too cramped, both in terms of seating and space for running the bakery and grill at the same time.
Now, people can opt for the more informal café area of the bakery or they can go for the dining space. “No one has to feel like they’re being pushed out,” he says.
The space, which started off as an empty shell, was designed specifically for Butter, with room for growth.
One custom touch that he hopes personalizes the space includes two murals that line the restroom walls.
The murals picture the countryside surrounding the creamery where the bakery gets its butter and the scene outside of Butter’s door. “It’s a way of connecting with the Butter community,” Swenson-Klatt says, adding, “We were always meant to be a neighborhood spot.”
In the future, he hopes some sort of garden might spring up on the empty lot behind the building.
Source: Dan Swenson-Klatt, owner, Butter Bakery Café
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Last weekend, the Minnesota Museum of American Art temporarily opened up its in-progress “Project Space” as a part of the Saint Paul Art Crawl.
MMAA Executive Director Kristin Makholm says it was an opportunity to “start letting people know where we’re going to be, and to do some creative placemaking."
The museum’s grand opening is planned for Nov. 16, with a show of landscape paintings called “Painting the Place Between.”
Right now, the 3,700-square-foot space in the vintage Pioneer-Endicott building, which will also offer high-end housing, is still under construction, she says.
Previously, the museum, which rented space from the Ramsey County Government Center, relied mainly on traveling exhibits.
Although MMAA still plans to do traditional exhibits, “We’re expanding on what an exhibit is,” she says. “It’s about events and programming,” which encourages participation and incubation.
The museum’s “Project Space” will feature experimental works.
Part of the idea of opening up the “Project Space” during the art crawl was to get feedback on “how we can engage people in different ways,” she says.
Curator Christina Chang is “coming up with intriguing ways to get feedback, to have people respond to things in the gallery,” she says.
Many people have said they want to see local artists showing at the MMAA, and they want to meet them, too. This seems to align with ‘eat local,’ ‘shop local’ trends. “People want to see more work that’s being created in the community,” she says. “It’s the power of local art.”
It’s a niche that MMAA hopes to respond to in creative ways. “We’re excited to start this new period of our resurgence back into the cultural life of St. Paul,” she says.
Source: Kristin Makholm, director, Minnesota Museum of American Art
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Driftwood Community Arts, a unique blend of art gallery, studio, and learning center, had its grand opening in St. Anthony Park in St. Paul on Oct. 6.
In the recent past, the space housed the Sacred Paths Center.
Driftwood’s seven founders came together because they wanted to expand on their experience in a master’s program at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus, according to Carina Eugenio, a manager and founder of the place.
“It was a really great collaboration,” she says, adding, “We worked well together.”
Reflecting that back-and-forth, the studio is open, with no partitions. The idea is that “We can talk together when we need to, and feed off each other,” she says.
Before the art center opened, the space was built to suit. As such, some walls were taken down to “fit the collaborative setting that we wanted,” she says. “There were many discrete spaces that we knew didn’t work for what we wanted to do.”
Right now, the place is offering mainly one- or two-day workshops, but it’ll evolve based on the community’s interests. “We want to see what the community is interested in learning about and what we can learn from them as well,” Eugenio says, adding that many classes will be team-taught.
“Art for everyone,” which was the theme of Driftwood’s opening, is a mission statement. “It’s not just a current goal of ours, but a continuous goal in terms of how the gallery and studio work together to create affordable and accessible art,” she says.
This extends all the way down to how the group is presenting artwork, with no differentiation between pieces that are more or less expensive. “We want to have it all work together and be appreciated on the same level,” she says.
While the group worked on the space, including the garden on the lot, “There was a lot of interest,” she says. “A lot of people were saying they’ve been waiting for something like this to come around.”
Source: Carina Eugenio, operational manager/partner, Driftwood Community Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The Coffee Shop Northeast, named for its Minneapolis neighborhood, recently wrapped up an expansion project that more than doubled its square footage.
Rich Horton, an owner of the coffee shop, says the expansion was much needed. “We were getting so busy, we were packed and there’d be no place to sit,” he says.
That, along with the idea of growing the business, prompted the owners to take over the space that opened up when the neighboring tenant, EMI Audio, moved to Robbinsdale. The additional room, which gives the coffee shop over 2,000 square feet compared with the 800 square feet it had before, allows for occasional events, such as poetry readings and live music.
A physical separation between the old and new space gives people the flexibility to take part in events or to choose a quieter nook.
In addition to new tables and chairs and couches, a 12-seat community table has already turned out to be popular among large groups.
The coffee shop was able to expand its kitchen and add storage space as well. Horton says that food items have been more in demand than he would’ve guessed when they were added to the offerings at the coffee shop, which the owners took over from Audubon Coffee two years ago.
The shop also added a decorative brick wall, which gives it a more finished look, he says.
The newer area is yellow and a light shade of brown, creating a subtle change in mood from the storefront area, which is green and brown, according to Horton.
Although he couldn’t give an exact figure, the project, it totaled more than $50,000, he says.
“We’re really happy with how it turned out,” he says, adding that feedback from the community has been positive.
Source: Rich Horton, co-owner, Coffee Shop Northeast
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
This summer, a group of students from Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) transformed an empty lot downtown into an urban farm.
A number of students who were interested in gardening started up the MCTC Urban Farm Collective, which is extracurricular, according to Katherine Kragtorp, the group’s advisor.
Although it’s tough to find a spot to garden downtown, the student group, which has 11 core members, connected with Brian Short, a private landowner. He let them use a vacant lot alongside Gethsemane Episcopal Church for the urban farm.
The students began working the land earlier in the summer, putting in long hours and even expanding Gethsemane’s small garden nearby. “It really was mind-boggling what these students did, coming together, wanting to make this work,” she says.
Today, the greenspace is divided into a community garden and a separate area for six-foot-by-six-foot individual plots. It also has a butterfly-shaped sensory garden that’s filled with herbs and a children’s section.
In the community garden, which has all kinds of fruits and vegetables, including squash, carrots, beets, pumpkins, raspberries, tomatoes, beans, and more, “The goal is to raise food and get fresh produce to those experiencing food insecurity,” she says. “They want to make it part of the community.”
The students are working with the church to provide fresh produce to its weekly food shelf. Already, the group has donated more than 500 pounds of food to the food shelf.
Even passersby have gotten involved. “What’s neat about this is that it’s a point where the community can come together and make connections with [people from] all different backgrounds,” she says.
Soon, the urban farm collective hopes to set up “hoop houses,” or miniature greenhouses, in the garden, to extend the growing season, she adds.
Source: Katherine Kragtorp, MCTC’s Urban Farm Collective
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
In the past, a busy railroad underpass in Minneapolis’s Como neighborhood was dimly lit. Often its shadowy retaining walls were vandalized.
Today, the underpass is an attraction, with a colorful mural that conveys the neighborhood's vibe.
A group led by representatives of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus's student and community relations office created the "gateway mural." It welcomes people to and from Como and campus, explains Ryan Pusch, who works for the university’s student and community relations office.
The mural’s design was inspired largely by feedback from the neighborhood, he says. It includes bright colors, bicyclists, joggers, a train and local landmarks such as the Stone Arch Bridge and Bunge Tower. Children’s illustrations are also incorporated onto one wall.
For example, one child’s work shows the earth, with a pair of hands around it. “It symbolizes caring about the world and the larger community,” Pusch says.
Local artists Sara Udvig and Carly Schmitt, who came up with the design, have also worked with dozens of volunteers who’ve shown up for community painting days in recent weeks. “I’m glad we got to work with them and that they’ve stuck with it,” he says.
Although the final touches are still being added, “It feels good to see it on the walls,” he says, adding that the creation of the mural has been a lengthy process. That has to do with the fact that the nearly $12,000 in grant money trickled in sporadically.
The Southeast Como Improvement Association (SECIA), the fiscal sponsor of the mural, and the Student's Coop have helped bring in funding for the project and volunteers.
“I’m proud of what we were able to cobble together over the past year,” Pusch says.
It's already a success, according to Pusch. “A lot of people are drawn to it,” he says, adding, “All of the responses we’re getting to it are ecstatically positive.”
Source: Ryan Pusch, student and community relations, University of Minnesota
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
A group called Cash Mob St. Paul emerged earlier this summer as a creative way to support local businesses.
Although a cash mob is similar to a flash mob, it’s not about breaking into dance in an unexpected venue, but bringing businesses an influx of paying customers. In some ways, it builds on the "shop local" trend, explains the group's founder, a blogger who uses the name Ima B. Musing.
“The Cash Mob is about being conscientious about where the dollar goes,” she says. “We want to spend it on local entrepreneurs.” Those mom-and-pop businesses, with smaller profit margins, deeply appreciate the edge, she says. “One nice thing is that you can literally see the impact you’re having,” she says, adding that it cycles back through the community.
In starting up the group, Musing was inspired by Cash Mob Minneapolis, which she used as a model. She wanted to expand its reach into the east metro area, she explains. So far, the 172-member St. Paul group has “mobbed” Homi Mexican restaurant, Something New in the Park gift shop, Midway Book Store and On’s Kitchen Thai Cuisine.
“I checked and each of the businesses have reported an uptick in business,” she says.
Mob events have specific meeting times, but people can visit a business according to their own schedules, too. Musing spreads the word through various social media networks, including Facebook, Twitter, and Meetup.
For those who have shown up at the event time, “I’ve found that people seem to enjoy the social aspect,” she says.
The rules are pretty open-ended, but participants are encouraged to spend around $20 during each mob.
The group’s next event is planned for Oct. 23, though the details are still being worked out.
In general, the group wants to spread the wealth. “We want to move it around,” Musing says, adding, “There are so many wonderful businesses all over the place.”
Similar groups have popped up elsewhere, including ones that focus on vegetarian fare and Minnesota-made products. “I think the more the merrier,” she says, adding, “I’m just doing this as a volunteer, as kind of a civic duty,” she says.
Source: Ima B. Musing, blogger, St. Paul Cash Mob
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
If a proposal to renovate the vintage Hollywood Theater in Northeast Minneapolis “pencils out,” financially, local developer Andrew Volna could make an offer on it within the coming weeks.
For the moment, the theater’s future is still up in the air.
Volna, of Noisland Industries and Apiary Workspaces, is working with Meghan Elliott, an engineer whose company is Preservation Design Works, to come up with a plan to buy the city-owned building.
They sought feedback from community members at a Sept. 10 public meeting with the Audubon Neighborhood Association at the Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church.
Right now, they’re still doing their due diligence to figure out whether a rehab project is doable, he says.
However, they wanted to gauge the neighborhood’s response before moving forward.
“It will be an extremely expensive project to do,” Volna says. This has partly to do with the fact that it’s an historic building that comes along with preservation requirements.
At the same time, “There’s significant damage to the inside of the building,” he says, adding, “It’s a theater on the outside only.”
Although it’s unclear what kind of tenant would go into the building, “I’ve always thought of something in the creative industry that would benefit from the unique features"--features that include a large open space and Art Deco design elements.
At the meeting, people were receptive to the idea. “It would be a huge net gain for 29th and Johnson," he says. "The commercial node is stuck until the south end of the block gets dealt with.” In his view, “It could bring business to the area, and bring the south end back to life.”
However, because of the unknowns, he's proceeding with caution, Volna says.
Source: Andrew Volna, Noiseland Industries
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
A vacant industrial complex in Northeast Minneapolis could soon become a hub for locally-produced artisan quality meats, whiskey, and more.
Mike Phillips of Three Sons Meat Co. is collaborating with Kieran Folliard of 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey on the project.
The concept begins with a USDA-certified dry-cured pork product processing plant, while an office and retail area would complement that.
Also, “There’s some talk of a micro-distillery down the road,” Phillips says.
The idea is to put businesses in there that can’t be found elsewhere in Minnesota, he says. “There’s no other salumi plant in the state.”
“A big part is to have a Willy Wonka aspect to it,” with pathways throughout the place so that “people can see how things are made.”
The pair hopes to buy the building, but that’s on hold until an environmental study comes through. “It’s a slow process,” he says. “It depends on a whole lot of variables.”
If it works out, they’ll move on to a “clarification of the vision, including what needs to be there and who needs to be there, how it will be laid out,” and more.
This is the second time the pair have considered this particular building.
If they do move forward on the building, it’ll mean stripping it down to its shell, replacing the roof, landscaping, and building out the plant.
Early on, Phillips and Folliard identified Northeast Minneapolis as the ideal location. “We wanted to be somewhere where we could be a part of the community,” he says, adding that the neighborhood has been supportive of the plan.
They hope to have the place in production by next spring.
Source: Mike Phillips, Three Sons Meat Co.
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Earlier this month, the Gateway Food Coop received a $10,000 matching grant from the Food Coop Initiative (FCI), a national nonprofit organization that promotes the cooperative economy.
Gateway was one of 10 coops across the country to get the seed funding, according to Gateway information.
The coop, which began organizing last year, wants to bring a sustainable, natural foods coop to St. Paul’s diverse East Side.
Elizabeth Butterfield, who co-chairs the coop’s steering committee, explains the way the grant works: “For every dollar we spend of the Seed Grant money, we are expected to spend a dollar of our own money.” The money will go toward community outreach and member-owner recruitment efforts, including hiring a part-time community organizer.
Additionally, FCI will provide expertise to the coop, “noting if there are techniques that can be repeated in other similar areas throughout the country,” she says.
This kind of relationship building is important for meeting its goals, according to Butterfield. For example, shortly after finding out about the FCI award, "We were approached by Mississippi Market to compete for a $14,000 gift,” which will be given out in October, she says. “Their members will vote to award the money to three out of five nonprofits that are competing for the funds.”
Separately, Phalen Ovenworks is hosting a wood-fired pizza party to benefit the coop on October 6.
The place also raises money for the coop through bread sales on Sunday nights.
So far, the coop has 84 members, a number it hopes to grow through events this fall. But at this point, it’s too early to say where on the East Side the coop might be go. The coop has yet to do a thorough market study, Butterfield says.
Source: Elizabeth Butterfield, organizer, Gateway Food Coop
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
As if living up to its name, Yeti Records, a mom-and-pop vinyl record shop that was previously located at 35th and Nicollet in Minneapolis, is on the move.
Soon, it will operate out of truck, making stops at local festivals and other outdoor events.
Jake Luck, who owns the shop with his wife, Lisa, explains that the development was prompted by the rising cost of rent and a new baby.
This way, the couple can keep the shop they opened in 2010 going, with much less overhead. The idea of the truck came up because “We wanted to find our own way to make it work, something that nobody else in town was doing,” he says. “This seemed like a way we could do it that would make it fun.”
In June they raised over $2,000 through an online campaign with Indiegogo.com to buy the truck--a vintage RV from the 1970s.
Now, the couple is in the process of remodeling the inside of the RV to “look like an actual record store,” he says.
Like its old bricks-and-mortar shop, “We want to make it as warm as possible,” he says, adding, “It’ll be different because it’s a different type of space.”
Luck is building carrying cases for the records that double as racks, to make them easy to take in and out of the truck.
The advantage of a truck is being able to go to areas of the city that don’t have a record shop, he says.
But the challenge is that only a handful of people can come into the shop at once, which means they’ll have to come up with a system for handling foot traffic, he says. “We’re trying to come up with something organic.”
He expects the truck’s first public appearance to take place in October.
“Whenever I tell people about the record truck idea, it seems to excite people,” he says. “It’s pretty novel.”
Source: Jake Luck, co-owner, Yeti Records
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
ArtsHub, a coworking space at Intermedia Arts that’s geared to creative types, has become a “full and thriving space” since it started last fall.
Maggie McKenna, who hosts ArtsHub, says that between its brightly-colored mezzanine, gallery meeting spaces, weekly table tennis matches, and a newly furnished ArtsHub West in the adjacent building, “The facility has been inspiring,” resulting in unlikely collaborations.
It has achieved near capacity with a diverse group of artists, community organizers, nonprofit organizations, and businesses that are permanent members.
“Every day I come in and strike up a conversation with someone and it seems like a new project lands on my desk, or I’m helping solve a problem, or I just get to hear about a lot of different things happening,” she says.
The place is filled with “the kind of creative people who are willing to talk to strangers and share ideas.”
That has led to new developments at ArtsHub, including an urban farm, with vegetables and herbs, on its grounds.
It serves as a demonstration garden for the Permaculture Research Institute Cold Climate, one of the ArtsHub members. The garden is also accessible to coworkers, she says.
Volunteers helped to “construct a growing space out of nothing,” this spring, along with picnic areas, she says. “We worked this summer to create outdoor spaces as well as indoor spaces.”
The greenery helps to soften the boxy concrete building. “It’s exciting to watch that grow,” she says.
Separately, this fall ArtsHub is launching several new programs, including workshops for artists and creative entrepreneurs, free health clinics, and more.
That’s part of the benefit of this type of environment. “There are a lot of ways the community members can learn from each other,” she says, adding, “I can’t imagine being in a traditional office space again.”
Source: Maggie McKenna, ArtsHub at Intermedia Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Sunrise Cyclery bike shop in Southwest Minneapolis will be moving to a new location along the Midtown Greenway in the coming months.
The bike shop will take over a one-story warehouse space that has long served exclusively as storage, according to Sunrise owner Jamie McDonald.
Its move was prompted by the sale of its longtime home at Bryant and Lake. In many ways, it's an upgrade for the bike shop, which caters to local commuters and recreational riders, with new and used bike parts, he says.
For starters, at its new digs, the bike shop will be able to spread out more, with 5,000 square feet as opposed to its existing 3,000, he says.
McDonald also has a vision for an open public area, where people can work on their own bikes with the shop’s tools.
In general, the bike shop will be able to offer more programming, and even dedicate some space to the Wellstone Bike Club, an organization it has partnered with through the years. The club helps youth start bicycling.
“The number of bikes we’ll be able to turn through here will be better, too,” he adds.
Sunrise will carry on the look and feel of a “friendly neighborhood bike shop.” To achieve that, it’ll take about $25,000 to build out the industrial building, he says. The project involves everything from installing utilities to getting a new door.
A new roof for the building, plus landscaping for the site, are also in the works. “To get an underused facility and bring it back to some function is a good thing,” he says.
All in all, the new location will be convenient for bicyclists on the trail. Plus, “More eyes on the Greenway can’t hurt,” McDonald adds. He expects the bike shop to have a positive impact on the area, just as it has at its old location.
“It gives people a meeting place other than the local coffee shop, to do something healthy, fun, and safe,” he says. “They can come and meet with a bunch of other like-minded people and ride their bikes.”
The bike shop tentatively plans to get its new location up and running in mid-November.
Source: Jamie McDonald, owner, Sunrise Cyclery
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Mead Hall Games & Comics, whose name is a nod to the European mead-drinking and feasting halls of centuries ago, is bringing new life to a basement-level space in Loring Park.
The shop will offer comic books with a special emphasis on local, independent work, along with music records, games and more, according to owner Ian Anderson.
It falls under the umbrella of The Afternoon Company, which Anderson started a decade ago.
Mead Hall will occupy about 400 square feet of a 1,200-square-foot space that it shares with Afternoon Printing, which also belongs to the parent company.
This was an area of the shop that the printing company didn’t need. As such, “We decided to make it spectacular,” he says, adding, “That’s what evolved into the comic book store.”
In the past, the space housed an Italian restaurant, but it’s long been vacant. “It was in rough shape, but we put a lot of work into it,” he says, adding that it gets plenty of natural light.
He and his partner Alex Bowes did the renovation work themselves, including the woodwork, plumbing, and electrical systems. “It’s been a great learning experience,” he says. “The space really needed some love. We’re really proud of it.”
Reflecting the heritage of its originators, it has a Nordic feel to it. “We’re trying to bring in a lot of design from the classic Nordic vibe we all know and love,” he says.
Much of the wood in the place has been reclaimed from an old school gymnasium that was in a flood. Although some pieces were ruined, “We cleaned it piece by piece,” he says, adding, “We were able to pull out the Dream Team pieces.”
By contrast, the print shop area, which is behind the comic store, has a more modern, industrial aesthetic, with plenty of metal.
“We hope we can embrace the nerds of the neighborhood,” and vice versa. “I think it’s an awesome spot to be in. We’re excited.”
The shop is slated to open later this month, or as soon as the proper licensing comes through, Anderson says.
Source: Ian Anderson, The Afternoon Company
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
An upcoming forum from Envision Minnesota, a sustainable land use nonprofit organization, will highlight cutting-edge public art initiatives underway in St. Paul.
The event, called, "Spotlight on Saint Paul: A Creative Placemaking Forum," is happening on Sept. 18 at the Wilder Foundation in St. Paul.
For example, the city has an artist-in-residence program, something that Public Art Saint Paul funds, according to Jill Mazullo, communications director for Envision Minnesota.
Through the program, an artist, in this case, Marcus Young, works alongside city officials. One project he's leading brings poetry to city sidewalks. (See The Line story
here.)
"It's a unique public-private partnership," she says.
Also, a city ordinance calls for artists to be members of planning teams related to development, while one percent of capital building budgets are to go to public art, she explains.
Separately, through a partnership with Springboard for the Arts and Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (TC LISC, a sponsor of
The Line), Irrigate Arts sets in motion short-term artist-led projects about “humanizing the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit construction.”
“I’m struck by the insight of the Irrigate project,” she says. “I’m glad the corridor is becoming more connected, but this placemaking initiative is all about the full of the community.”
The programs bring together the “whimsy of art and bricks and mortar of construction,” she says.
The event’s speakers include Regina Flanagan from Public Art Saint Paul and Jun-Li Wang of Springboard for the Arts. They’ll talk about the city’s ongoing public art programs and offer how-tos for replicating them elsewhere. “Hopefully people go away with good ideas to take back to their own communities.”
Envision Minnesota’s new executive director, Lee Helgen, who helped author the city arts ordinance when he was a City Council member, will moderate the discussion.
Source: Jill Mazullo, communications director, Envision Minnesota
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
“Constellation,” an art crawl that first took place last year, will once again wind around various off-the-beaten-path places throughtout South Minneapolis on Sept. 8 and 9.
This year the art crawl features mobile karaoke, film screenings, theater, a cakewalk, quilt making, fermentation skill-shares, music, and other types of visual and interactive art, according to its website.
The eclectic show builds on an experiment that took place last year around the same time.
Lacey Prpic Hedtke, an organizer of the event who lives in the Powderhorn neighborhood, explains that it was triggered in part by a visit to Minneapolis by the New York artist group Non Solo. At the time, the group was on a coast-to-coast art tour, and they collaborated with Hedtke and local artist Kevin Loecke in setting up the event.
“We wanted to see what we could do here,” Hedtke says.
In thinking about alternative exhibition spaces, they ended up pulling together a bunch of local artists who creatively turned their porches, backyards, garages, bedrooms and other personal spaces into public venues.
It was such a success that “We thought it was worth doing it again,” she says.
Once more, “People will be able to bike around and see some things that people are doing in different neighborhoods,” Hedtke says.
It’s about building community. “We hope that people come out and talk to people in the neighborhood, not just those who are into art, and that maybe they venture into neighborhoods they've never been to before,” she says. “A lot of projects welcome that."
All in all, the two-day event “highlights the integral role that art and cultural production play in our daily lives, neighborhoods and communities,” by opening up domestic spaces for public cultural events, the Constellation website reads.
Source: Lacey Prpic Hedtke, “Constellation” organizer
?Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
After a couple of weeks of beta testing, this Thursday, the ZAP Twin Cities program will be up and running in downtown Minneapolis.
ZAP workers will be on hand at the Nicollet Mall farmers market to share information about the high-tech program, which rewards people for riding their bikes to work or school.
The program, which began operating at the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus in January, will expand into downtown St. Paul in the coming weeks as well.
Its objective is to “change how people in the Twin Cities choose to get around, helping reduce congestion and improve air quality in the region," a prepared statement about the program reads.
To take part, people get a ZAP tag, which gets fixed on a bicycle. “Bicycle trips are automatically logged when a cyclist rides past one of several ZAP readers,” the statement says.
The readers, which are solar-powered, beep when a tagged bicyclist passes by, transmitting the data wirelessly to the website.
Steve Sanders, alternative transportation manager at the university, says it has many advantages over self-reporting bicycle trips. Besides eliminating any extra steps, it makes the trips verifiable. “Once you put the tag on [and register it online], you don’t have to do anything” except ride past the sensors, he says.
Along the way, bike commuters pick up various rewards, such as bike accessories, gift cards, and more.
As an added perk, the university offers health benefits for program participation. For example, “If you ride 40 times a year, you can earn points that create a discount for health insurance,” Sanders says.
On the ZAP website, participants can check out their trip data, which includes figures such as calories burned and gallons of gas saved.
Since the program started at the university, over 1,200 people have signed up, a figure which is already well over the program's goal of 500 people in the first year.
“It’s been very gratifying,” he says. “People were hungry for a way to have their bike commuting count. Tying it to health has also been important.”
ZAP is a collaboration of the Commuter Connection in downtown Minneapolis, St. Paul Smart Trips, the university, and Dero Bike Rack Company.
Source: Steve Sanders
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
A former grocery store on 25th and Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis, which was damaged in a fire last year, is being transformed to make way for a new restaurant called the Nightingale.
The Nightingale, which plans to offer a full late-night menu, will be defined by a classic design with a modern twist, according to the Southwest Journal.
Exposed brick walls, hardwood floors, and a mix of half-moon and single booths will characterize the 75-seat dining room and bar, according to the story. Neighborhood residents Carrie McCabe-Johnston and her husband, Jasha Johnston, co-own the place.
The couple is going for something that’s “a bit more upscale than what the corner is currently offering,” McCabe-Johnston told the Southwest Journal, adding, “this is what we wished was in our neighborhood."
Local designer Rachel Kate, who recently competed on HGTV’s “Design Star” show, is leading the overhauling of the space. Kate, who’s long known the couple, says, “We’ve been talking about doing a restaurant for as long as I can remember."
The place has been completely gutted, which revealed the exposed brick walls behind the old drywall, Kate says. While a lot of things had to go, “The exposed brick is staying,” she says. “It was a fantastic find."
The restaurant will be sophisticated yet friendly, she says. Its ambiance should attract nocturnal types. “It’ll have a dark nighttime feel,” she says.
A lot of metals, woods and brick will set the tone for the place, which has an open floor plan for the most part, she says. “The hard materials and the lighting will drive the design.”
“There are some cool features in there,” she says, adding that it’s rewarding to bring new life to the space.
The trio aims to open the restaurant this fall.
Source: Rachel Kate, designer
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Josh Collins, the public art administrator for the historic Union Depot in St. Paul, which is undergoing a $243 million renovation project, often fields the question, 'Why does such an iconic building need public art?'
About $1.25 million of the depot's construction costs will go to that end, according to information from the Ramsey County Regional Authority (RCRRA).
For Collins, it comes down to making the building more accessible. “It’s a way we can engage travelers and customers and anyone who comes through," he says, adding, "It makes it special."
Recently the Railroad Authority announced the results of a call for artists for four commissioned projects.
Projects may teach about the building’s history or be simply aesthetically-pleasing or interactive. “We hope it’ll blend with the existing architecture and make it a place that people have civic pride in,” he says.
The Railroad Authority chose the artists from a pool of 156 applicants from across the country, including the internationally known to the emerging artist.
For starters, local artists Amy Baur and Brian Boldon of Plain Sight Art Studio in Minneapolis will fill the carriageway with a 170-foot mural made out of tile on glass. The mural will be comprised of multi-layered digital images that speak to the depot’s history, he explains.
Philadelphia artist Ray King will create an elegant suspended sculpture for the Great Hall Atrium while Tim Prentice of West Cornwall, Conn., will craft a suspended kinetic sculpture in the new Kellogg Entry, according to rail information.
King typically “uses lightweight metals to form individual elements that when linked together glide on gentle air currents,” he says. “It reflects light in unpredictable ways.”
Steve Dietz, from the Twin Cities-based Northern Lights.mn will lead an interactive multimedia project that could involve using a cell phone or an app. “Hopefully it’ll give people a playful experience with the building," he says.
All in all, the public art will be a draw on its own, he says.
Source: Josh Collins, Union Depot public art program administrator
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
An empty storefront space on University Avenue in St. Paul, along the coming Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line, will soon be transformed into a contemplative writing room, temporarily.
The installation, from artist Rebecca Krinke, is part of a collaborative project with the Starling Project and the St. Anthony Pop-Up Shop, which has filled the storefront with all kinds of creative activities this summer.
Krinke’s writing room, titled “What Needs to Be Said,” will occupy the space from August 15 to 19.
She’s trying to provide a public yet private forum for what often goes unsaid, she explains.
Krinke invites visitors to jot down whatever is on their minds, which they can display or hide away in the room. At the end of the run, the writings will be burned.
In some ways, the room is a retreat from the daily grind. It has a smoky cedar smell, while the doors are made out of charred wood, crumpled paper, and Mylar.
This lends “an atmospheric feeling to the room--of secrets, pain, joy,” and more, she says.
Although the room has a see-through quality, outside observers can only see the movement of shadow and light, while “inside has a very different feeling.”
The idea is that speaking up can be cathartic, especially in person--and in a meditative spot--as opposed to online, via blogs or message boards. “This is more random, physical, and visceral,” she says.
Beyond that, Krinke hopes that the project helps draw people to the area, which is known for its creative community.
“I want to show and support the potential for used storefronts in the area,” she says, adding that it demonstrates what artists can do to help revitalize spaces and cities.
University of Minnesota graduate students Michael Richardson and Emily Lowery are assisting Krinke with the installation, especially by exploring the possibilities for an audio component in a future installation, she adds.
Source: Rebecca Krinke, artist
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
This fall, the Bedlam Theatre will start a new chapter in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood.
Bedlam is a nonprofit organization whose "mission is to create radical works of theater with an emphasis on collaboration and a unique blend of professional and community art," according to theater materials.
It’s planning to open a “theater nightclub” in the 6,000-square-foot ground-floor space that the Rumors and Innuendo nightspot left almost two years ago.
In some ways, the vintage five-story brick building is similar to the Bedlam’s old venue in Minneapolis’s Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, with high ceilings and bright colors, according to Bedlam’s executive artistic director, John Bueche.
Bedlam was displaced a couple of years ago when the building’s landlord offered the lease to a neighborhood mosque.
In the interim, Bedlam has been staging “mobile operations,” with various projects taking place at a South Minneapolis warehouse, something that it plans to continue, he says.
Separately, the theater will also keep looking for a Minneapolis home base, he adds.
Besides being a performance space, the Lowertown location will be a social hub, with a restaurant and bar, much like its old setup, he says.
It’s fitting that Bedlam move into Lowertown, which has “long been sort of famous and revered as an artist neighborhood.”
In many ways, the theater ties in to the momentum there, he says.
At this point, changes to the space will be minimal. The theater does have "draft renovation" plans, which will be mounted on the walls inside the space, so that visitors can offer feedback.
Those renovations “could be as simple as a fixed stage arrangement or a flexible pattern, or it could have to do with how we interact with the outdoors,” or it could mean gutting the place.
“We’ve always been about making the audience feel a part of the action,” he says.
But for now, the theater is focused on the basic steps to get the place up and running this fall, including lining up the proper businesses.
“There’ll be a lot of fun theater events and a fluid mix of products and process,” he says, adding, “It’ll be low pressure. You can come in for a drink and see what’s going on in the theater club.”
A $150,000 Cultural Star Grant from the city, which will be allocated over two years, along with other pending grants, will help the theater start up, MPR reports.
Source: John Bueche, Bedlam Theatre
Writer: Anna Pratt
?
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
To motivate people to get out of their cars and to explore the area surrounding the Central Corridor by bike or on foot, the St. Anthony Park neighborhood in St. Paul is getting nearly a dozen "wayfinding bikes."
As a part of the project, the artfully decorated bikes/public art pieces will be strategically placed here and there, with signage that conveys travel times and distances to certain local destinations, according to council materials.
The St. Anthony Park Community Council (SAPCC) set the project in motion, which local artist and environmental designer Carrie Christensen took on. Her focus is on sparking “awareness of place and to create more ecologically, socially, and economically functional spaces,” according to council materials.
Irrigate Arts helped make it possible with $1,000 in funding for the collaborative project.
SAPCC, which held a bike painting party in mid-July, is hosting another one today from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Hampden Park.
Amy Sparks, who leads the council, says that besides promoting more physical activity, the place-making project helps to mark the neighborhood’s in-progress Creative Enterprise Zone. “This also meets some of our goals in terms of increasing foot traffic and bringing vibrancy to the zone,” which is about cultivating creativity in the area, she says.
She's impressed with how Christensen took the concept and made it her own. Each of the bikes, which were donated, is getting a makeover.
One bike looks like it could be from the 1930s or 40s, with fin-like lines that resemble an old Cadillac car, she says.
Bikes will be adorned according to various themes, creating a mermaid, garden, rainbow and yarn bombing, among others.
Also, the bikes will be chained to a signpost, so they’ll be fixed in place. Each of the bikes will be on view through Nov. 1, to avoid snowplows, she says.
Source: Amy Sparks, St. Anthony Park Community Council
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Mosaic on a Stick, an art studio in St. Paul that centers on mosaic making, has outgrown its longtime home on Snelling Avenue.
As such, the studio is planning to expand operations this fall within the nearby Hamline Park Playground building.
It’s a big upgrade for the studio, informally known as "the Stick," which will go from 2,000 square feet to 3,500, according to owner and artist Lori Greene.
Securing more space means that the studio will be able to offer additional classes, have more open workspace, and host formal gallery shows and other community events. “The benefits are huge for both the Stick and the community,” she says.
Greene also needs more room for a new nonprofit organization that she’s starting, called the Urban Mosaic Collaborative, which is about introducing youth to art and community work.
Often, the Stick collaborates with local teens on mosaic-style murals. Recently, Greene led a group of teens from the COMPAS program in the creation of a mural for Canvas at the Hancock Recreation Center.
Separately, soon her handiwork will be visible at the in-progress Café 180 and Holistic Health Farms, according to a St. Paul Monitor story.
Since it opened in 2004, the Stick has become a neighborhood hub and something of a local recycling center. “People bring me their old plates and dishes and old tiles and plastic containers for reuse,” she says, adding that the items pour in weekly. “Most people tell me they would rather give it to me than throw it away.”
In the move, the place will retain its colorful, bright, and welcoming aesthetic, with mosaics everywhere, she says.
At the same time, the Stick will work with the city to preserve the building’s historic character.
“We’ve already made a difference and want to continue to be in the Midway Hamline Park Neighborhood so we can do more of what we’ve been doing,” she wrote in her application for the new space.
Source: Lori Greene, Mosaic on a Stick
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
A twofold event dubbed “exp-Air-iment” offers participants the opportunity to see the neighborhood from a new perspective--literally.
The St. Anthony Park Community Council Pop-Up Shop is hosting an aerial photography “open lab” and separately, a workshop, from Aug. 1 to 5.
The pop-up shop, which temporarily fills an empty storefront space on University Avenue, is among the numerous creative initiatives to come out of Irrigate Arts. The initiative is funding all kinds of place-making projects along the Central Corridor light rail transit line.
Kristen Murray, a co-founder of the Starling Project, which is helping to program the pop-up shop, is leading “exp-Air-iment.”
In the “open lab,” visitors will get a chance to try the special aerial photography rig in the shop and see the images that come from a custom-built 3D printer, which was designed by Will Janicke, a local maker.
The workshop takes it a step further; people will learn the basics to get started with aerial photography, which involves sending digital cameras into the air with balloons, she says.
Also over the coming week, Murray is doing aerial photography with the Teen Tech Crew at the Science Museum of Minnesota, where she previously led hands-on technology-based programs.
Recently, she worked with teens from the nearby Skyline Tower housing complex. “We took a couple of cameras, rigs, and a bunch of balloons over to Dunning Field and captured some great shots,” she says, adding that they also suspended cameras from kites.
The playing field’s wide-open spaces worked well for the balloons, which hovered overhead about 50 feet high. The group also got views of Marshall Avenue, Central High School, the St. Anthony Park community garden along with other local landmarks--and the photographers themselves.
“I enjoy seeing broad views where you can recognize the place easily, as well as more accidental angles and perspectives that catch interesting patterns,” she says.
The images show that “The railyard is just an impressive site--amazing that so much activity happens in a place that is smack-dab in the middle of the city but yet mostly out-of-mind and out-of-sight,” the website reads.
The images can be seen on the website and hanging in the pop-up shop this week.
Source: Kristen Murray, Co-founder, Starling Project
Writer: Anna Pratt
Many neighborhoods throughout the Twin Cities have become increasingly diverse in recent years, yet the back-stories of different groups’ arrival so often are unknown.
The current show at the Third Place Gallery in Minneapolis, which is the studio and exhibit space of photographer Wing Young Houie, focuses on representatives of various immigrant communities, including some political refugees, whose stories vary greatly.
Called (re)locate: A Place to Call Home, the show brings together images from Houie and another local photographer, Selma Fernandez. It'll be on view through Aug. 16.
The 22 images from both photographers are intermingled on the walls, as opposed to being separated, visually, Houie says. It includes a mix of color and black-and-white shots.
Adults and children are shown in their natural habits, such as home, school and work, in and around the Twin Cities.
One young boy is pictured up close wearing a bright red superhero outfit. Alongside that is a black-and-white print of a young boy holding a sign that states, “I want to be a doctor.”
In another picture, a couple wearing traditional dress stands out amid a festive-looking crowd at the 2002 Hmong new year celebration in St. Paul in 2002.
In some ways, each of the subjects is in costume, he says.
Together, the poignant images pose questions such as “What is home? Do you ever leave home? What does relocate mean?” The answers are especially complicated for immigrants, Houie says.
It’s a familiar topic for Houie, who is the only child in his Chinese family to be born in U.S. Often he gets asked where he’s from, even though he’s a native Minnesotan.
Throughout his work, he tries to “normalize iconography,” showing everyday examples of the reality, which is a lot more colorful than is shown in the mainstream media, he says.
Source: Wing Young Houie
Writer: Anna Pratt
To step into a new era, the James J. Hill Reference Library in St. Paul, which specializes in business materials, is inviting patrons to use it in new ways.
Greg Heinemann, a representative of the library, says that it’s trying to adapt to the drastic technological changes that have hit libraries over the past decade.
Gone are the days of going to the library solely to conduct research or find information in books and periodicals or on microfiche. “Reinventing libraries has become necessary to make them relevant,” he says.
It doesn’t mean that buildings, like the ornate James J. Hill, which dates back to 1921, are obsolete or that the library's resources should be scrapped. But it has shifted its focus. For example, Heinemann is thinking about how the building can be a “platform to create content, promote discourse, entertain, and gather communities while still making information and help available when it is needed,” he says.
To carry this out, the library has recently embraced everything from weddings to retail events. It hosts a roots music show, which has become a "wonderful, live event that promotes gathering, entertainment, [and] culture and gets people to the library,” he says.
Come December, the James J. Hill will have a pop-up store called Holiday Grade, which it’s creating with partners Katherine and Mac MacMillan, who founded the Pierrepont-Hicks clothing company. The store will bring American-made fashion pieces “to a very hip and cultured audience,” he says.
It's also working to bring entrepreneurs together to share information and insights. Right now it's exploring ways to help veterans find new careers or grow their businesses.
At the same time, the library is renovating parts of the building. Soon, the conference rooms and reading room will be updated, as will the electrical, sound, and lighting systems. New bathrooms will be added as well.
All in all, the idea is to “keep our building in great shape, our services top-notch and our future intact,” Heinemann says.
Source: Greg Heinemann, James J. Hill Library
Writer: Anna Pratt
Too often, people pass by the businesses on Snelling Avenue, near University in St. Paul, without stopping.
As one way to change that, the African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS) group is leading an effort to brand the district that spans Snelling Avenue between University and Minnehaha avenues as “Little Africa.”
Soon, the Central Corridor light rail transit line will run through the area, but in the meantime, the construction has decreased foot traffic in the district and beyond.
Bruce Corrie, who is a business professor at Concordia University in Saint Paul, explains that the branding campaign comes out of the broader, nonprofit-driven World Cultural Heritage District. This emerged as a way to help businesses stay afloat during the light rail construction on University.
The idea is to make the area a destination for ethnic tourism. Here, “there’s a growing presence of African Americans,” he says, adding that it includes about 20 immigrant businesses.
Further, “African immigrant groups are very dynamic and entrepreneurial,” he says. “We want to capture that.”
It follows other similar branding efforts along different segments of University, including “Little Mekong” (see
The Line story
here) and the African American Cultural Corridor.
The districts would also relate to similar areas in Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park. As it is, “There’s not a strong cultural infrastructure in Minnesota,” he says, adding that it’s an opportunity. “We’re trying to tap into the global market.”
While encouraging more people to come to the district, another goal is to “develop the cultural capacity,” he says.
Eventually signage will come to indicate the district visually.
“One challenge is to get the attention of policymakers,” to help bring more resources to the area, he says.
Recently the district rolled out a voucher program, offering $5 coupons to district shoppers. Also, the Snelling Café will host a free book exchange through its new Little Free Library, which it’s celebrating with a July 27 luncheon.
Source: Dr. Bruce Corrie, Professor of Business in the College of Business and Organizational Leadership, Concordia University
Writer: Anna Pratt
The historic Minneapolis Club’s restaurant, which hasn’t changed since 1974, will soon get a facelift.
As a part of the $900,000 project, the club, which has long been a gathering place for city leaders and businesspeople, is adding a new bar and patio, while the first-floor grill’s hours will expand to include dinner.
This part of the building hasn’t seen any renovations since 1974, according to the club’s general manager, Frank DiLapo. “Everyone loved it and they were reluctant to do anything in there,” he says.
However, it finally got to the point where it was tired enough that “We needed to do something to spruce it up" and give it a contemporary atmosphere. The changes will help make it a better gathering place, says DiLapo. “We looked at the clubhouse and the ways members want to use it now,” he says. “The hallmark of a great club is that it transitions for its members.”
Although the place will be updated, it’ll still have an old-fashioned look. Design-wise, the club looked to a London hotel called The Connaught. “It resembles the clubhouse in a lot of ways, with dark wood in the lobby area,” DiLapo says.
In the 110-seat restaurant, the club preserved the woodwork without painting over it. To inject some color into the space, colorful furniture and white tablecloths were brought in. “The whole room is a brighter, lighter spot,” he says.
The 40-seat bar will be something of a throwback to what the space looked like in the past, with familiar yet refurbished chairs. A mural referencing the skyline will grace the walls.
An area alongside the building, which had been a lawn, has been turned into a 50-seat patio. The patio, which will have its grand opening today, is going for a modernized speakeasy feel with stone, black wrought-iron furniture, and a white-flower garden.
Altogether, “Now we’ll have this whole little dining complex,” DiLapo says.
The restaurant and bar changes will wrap up in September. “Some of the most important decisions about the city have been made here at the club, he says, adding, “We want to make sure we’re around for another 130 years.”
Source: Frank DiLapo, general manager, Minneapolis Club
Writer: Anna Pratt
Until last year's Southside Sprint Bicycle Race, the area surrounding 48th and Chicago in South Minneapolis hadn't seen an elite bicycle race since the 1980s.
More than 200 racers, plus at least 500 spectators, showed up for the event last year.
This week, the race is returning the neighborhood. The July 22 event includes eight races that invite riders of all ages and abilities, including the region's top bicyclists, along with a family fun festival and a separate, free children's race and a movie screening.
The South Chicago Avenue Business Alliance and Nomad Marketing have teamed up to put on the event, according to Jason Lardy, one of the event’s organizers.
Lardy and his business partner, Andrew Dahl, also help plan another annual event: the high-profile Nature Valley Bicycle Festival.
When it comes to the Southside Sprint, “Certainly one of our goals is to put on a fantastic race for racers and spectators,” he says. “We’re also trying to draw attention to this fantastic neighborhood in South Minneapolis.”
Lardy also lives in the neighborhood. “It’s gone from a sleepy, not-so-exciting part of town to a vibrant, diverse retail environment,” he says.
“We’re making the race really accessible for new riders,” he says, adding that a beginner race clinic will help people work on skills.
He and Dahl hope to repeat the race every year. “We’ve gotten good feedback from riders and the neighborhood,” he says. “It’s one of the biggest events in the neighborhood all year long.” It’s also a good opportunity to expose new people to the area, he says.
Too often, bike races happen in areas “where it’s not very spectator-friendly,” which is why the pair sought a festival atmosphere. “We’re in this for the love of racing as a culture and community,” he says.
Source: Jason Lardy, organizer, Southside Sprint Bicycle Race
Writer: Anna Pratt
Mona, a new small-plate restaurant on South Seventh Street in downtown Minneapolis, takes its name from the famous Mona Lisa painting, which depicts a “woman with a mysterious smile.”
Restaurant owner Lisa Hanson, who is also its head chef, says that like the painting, she thought the place might pique people’s curiosity: “Since I haven’t been cooking long in this town, I thought there might be a sense of mystery about how I became the 100-percent owner of this restaurant and built it from scratch,” she says.
Hanson revamped the place earlier this year. Previously it had housed an Asian restaurant called Black Bamboo. “There was a lot of work to do,” she says, adding, that only the floor stayed intact. “We gutted the whole thing.”
Today, the 3,000-square-foot space includes an open kitchen, counter seating, and booths, which can accommodate up to 102 people, along with a 75-seat patio.
A 20-foot island-style bar, chandeliers, tiled kitchen, dark wood, gilded mirrors and plenty of white and stainless steel define the space. “The media has said it looks like surgery,” she says. “The dining room is much softer and snazzy-looking.”
Further, the patio is recessed from the street, so it has a more private feel.
Even though the restaurant has only been open for a few months, already it has seen an uptick in foot traffic. “A lot of people have said this is an area that’s underserved,” in terms of the cuisine, she says. “We bring an opportunity for a lovely dining experience” as opposed to the more casual service at a bar.
The restaurant also supports a number of local purveyors and farms and has a seasonal menu--something that she says is also lacking in this part of town. “We bring a lot of those factors to the area,” she says.
In a neighborhood that has many condos and apartment buildings, Mona seems to meet a need. “People come in and are so excited to have a real restaurant in their neighborhood,” she says. “We already have regulars.”
Source: Lisa Hanson, owner and head chef, Mona
Writer: Anna Pratt
After several years of traveling exhibits, the Minnesota Museum of American Art will have a regular gallery in St. Paul this fall.
The museum is moving into a ground-level space in the vintage Pioneer-Endicott building, which developer Rich Pakonen plans to turn into a high-end housing complex. (See
The Line story
here.)
In 2009, the museum moved out of the space it rented at the Ramsey County Government Center. It hasn't had a home base since then.
The 3,700-square-foot space at the Pioneer will enable the museum to do local programming, according to its director, Kristin Makholm.
“We haven’t had any kind of regular space in St. Paul to do any kind of on-the-ground programming for over two years, so this will allow us to intersect and create a vibrant space,” and to reconnect with local artists and community members. “It’ll be populated with events and conversations.”
At the same time, “We don’t consider this the final museum,” she says.
But the MMAA will be investigating the building as a permanent home. “That’s one of the reasons we chose this space for the gallery. It’s a testing ground,” she says.
The museum will continue to do shows in other locations in the short term, she says.
If the museum does decide to expand in Pioneer, it’ll bring in additional exhibits, classrooms, offices, and storage areas and fill up to 45,000 square feet, according to the Star Tribune.
Besides the visibility that the space will give the museum, the building will be close to the coming Central Corridor light rail line.
“It’s really going to help invigorate that part of St. Paul that traditionally lies between Lowertown and the Rice Park districts and connect the city,” she says.
Source: Kristin Makholm, director, Minnesota Museum of American Art
Writer: Anna Pratt
The recognizable blue tubes that once graced Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis, along the building’s exterior, are getting a new life.
The 16 tubes, which are 10 and 20 feet tall, had epitomized the building's style, which dates back to 1974, according to orchestra information. The tubes also helped with the lobby's ventilation system.
Right now, Orchestra Hall, which is home to the Minnesota Orchestra, is undergoing a $40 million expansion project for which construction will wrap up next summer. Its new look didn’t include the retro blue tubes, according to orchestra spokesperson Gwen Pappas.
This got orchestra staffers thinking about what to do with them. Since the tubes are so well known, “We thought it would be neat to find life for them outside of Orchestra Hall,” she says.
So the orchestra turned to fans on Facebook, asking for their suggestions for how to go about repurposing them. “It was a whimsical thing,” she says. “There were lots of clever answers and it started to gather steam.”
Based on that feedback, the orchestra sent out a request for proposals on possible new uses for the tubes. The orchestra planned to donate the tubes. “We were hoping to find people with creative ideas, possibly musically related,” but that wasn’t a requirement, she says. “We also wanted to see a public component and have them be spread out geographically.”
Out of a dozen submissions, the orchestra went with five that met the criteria and had practical implementation plans, she says.
The tubes, for which Mortenson Construction covered delivery costs, landed at the Anderson Center at Tower View, a sculpture park in Red Wing; a private home in St. Paul, where they’ll be used for a sound installation and bat house (yes, a house for bats), and Big Stone Mini Golf and Sculpture Garden in Minnetrista.
Separately, sculptor Peter Morales, who is affiliated with Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer, plans to fashion a three- or four-legged blue beast with some of the tubes. Franconia received another 10 of the tubes.
“It was a real connection that people felt for the tubes,” she says. “We feel really good about it.”
Source: Gwen Pappas, spokesperson, Minnesota Orchestra
Writer: Anna Pratt
As a part of the “Arts on Chicago” initiative, 20 creative placemaking projects will happen in the coming year along the Chicago Avenue corridor in South Minneapolis, to help brand the arts district.
Pillsbury House + Theatre, where professional theater and social services have been integrated in recent years, received $250,000 for the project from ArtPlace, a national funding group. Pillsbury is working with a handful of local partners on the project.
Nearly $1 million in ArtPlace grants is going to a handful of projects along these lines in Minneapolis, according to project information.
Alan Berks, a spokesperson for Pillsbury, says, “For us, it’s very much what we’ve been doing for years, using creativity and the artists within the neighborhoods to inspire and instigate connections and change."
At the same time, the area has seen a lot of momentum around the arts in recent years. "Chicago Avenue runs through one of the poorest neighborhoods in the Minneapolis metro area, and has seen new investment in the past year by a handful of arts groups," a prepared statement about the project reads.
Soon, Pillsbury will be sending out its first call for artists to take on these placemaking projects, which ultimately will unfold over the course of a year.
Individual projects will likely take many forms. “We’re asking artists to be creative. We’re not saying we want 20 murals,” he says.
For example, it could mean wrapping area utility boxes with decorative coverings, projecting images onto exterior walls of local buildings, or hosting a performances at nontraditional yet “natural amphitheaters,” or other outdoor gathering places.
Projects should be sustainable, high-quality, and continue branding the area as an arts district, Berks says.
“It’s an opportunity to ask artists to contribute their knowledge and skills to improve the neighborhood they live in,” he says, adding that artists are good at bringing people together.
They have “so much knowledge about communities and social networks,” he says.
In a diverse area, “This is a great way of strengthening connections between people,” he adds.
Pillsbury is also working on a similar project, called Curb Culture, which will place artistic sandwich boards curbside in front of businesses throughout the neighborhood.
Although the Powderhorn area has long been an arts hub, “It’s not always reflected in our corridor,” he says, adding that this project is an effort to “to knit together these creative aspects” in a more intentional way.
Source: Alan Berks, spokesperson, Pillsbury House + Theatre
Writer: Anna Pratt
Soon, the well-known Fitger’s Brewhouse in Duluth may have a sister location in Minneapolis.
The nearly 20-year-old brewhouse’s co-owners, Rod Raymond and Tim Nelson, plan to bring the business to the space that the Trocaderos night club previously occupied in the downtown North Loop neighborhood, according to the Star Tribune.
The partners hope to make it a neighborhood hangout, according to the story.
“Raymond said to expect to see a 'warehouse/industrial' look replace the blandly suburban remnants of Trocaderos,” including outdoor and rooftop seating, the story states.
However, the place will take advantage of at least one prominent Trocaderos leftover: The brewery will be built around the stage, which is still intact, and live music will be scheduled at the venue, which will be re-imagined as a beer hall, the story explains.
Also, the 1892 building’s historic ties to macaroni and the Creamette company name will be factored into the menu.
Joanne Kaufman, who leads the Warehouse District Business Association, says that the reaction from the area’s business community to the brewhouse’s plans has been largely positive.
For one thing, “The Trocaderos space has been empty for quite some time,” she says. “We’re thrilled to see something go in there.”
It helps that “We all know Fitger’s,” she says. “It’ll be fun to have a local outpost in the area.”
The brewhouse is a destination in Duluth, a traditon she says that she expects to carry on in the Warehouse District.
It’ll bring more foot traffic to the area, which helps other businesses, too. “I think it’ll be a great addition to the neighborhood.”
Source: Joanne Kaufman, Warehouse District Business Association
Writer: Anna Pratt
While scoping out possible sites for a new French-style café and bistro, co-owners Peter Ireland and Jay Peterson sought a place with a strong neighborhood feel.
They settled on a space in the complex shared by the Patina gift shop and the George and the Dragon neighborhood pub at 50th and Bryant in Southwest Minneapolis.
Construction for The Lynn on Bryant, whose name references its home in the Lynnhurst neighborhood, starts this week, according to Peterson.
The restaurateurs are drawing from the fact that “Lynnhurst is beginning to identify itself strongly,” says Peterson.
To take it a step further, he hopes that businesses here, including the restaurant, can turn the corner “into a nexus of sorts for residents.”
Already, the pair’s concept has been well received by neighbors, he says. “There’s support for independent restaurants and businesses in the neighborhood.”
He knows, he says, that making it work is about “lots of community-building and being out in public.”
The 1,600-square-foot restaurant will be divided into two rooms, each with 28 seats. The front room will have a casual feel, with a large communal table, while the back room will be a more formal dining room.
Since the building is new, The Lynn has the flexibility to build it out with the help of an architect. “We can lay out the kitchen and service area exactly as we like.”
As a nod to his and Ireland’s farm backgrounds, reclaimed barn wood will figure into the place. Other reclaimed materials will also be used throughout.
He describes the aesthetic as "warm Scandinavian modern," with plenty of natural light coming in. “Overall it’s going to be a light space, with a lot of white, soft grays, and a little red,” he says. “It’ll be elegant but playful.”
The restaurant is set to open by early October.
Source: Jay Peterson, manager, The Lynn on Bryant
Writer: Anna Pratt
It's hard to imagine a bookstore
not being in the basement space of the historic Blair Arcade building in St. Paul--at least that's how building owner June Berkowitz feels.
So, when Common Good Books, which writer and radio personality Garrison Keillor owns, relocated to the Macalester College campus, she got to work finding a new bookstore tenant. (See
The Line story
here.)
Today, Berkowitz is a partner in the venture; Sue Zumberge owns the shop. Berkowitz, who also owns Nina’s Coffee Café, which is above the basement-level bookstore, is helping by offsetting the cost of rent and utilities. She went that route because “I decided it was important to do what I could do," she says.
Although the place’s redesign is still in progress, it has already taken on a different atmosphere from the former Keillor bookstore, with plenty of soft seating and a red-tufted bar that dates back to the 1940s. They're going for sort of a parlor feel, Berkowitz says. The bar had once been in a building on Summit Avenue, she adds. “It’s very cozy. It’s supposed to be an extension of Nina’s as a community gathering place.”
The built-in bookshelves, which will be a design centerpiece, are getting a facelift, too.
Already, the space is starting to live up to the community vision that she and Zumberge share, she says.
Besides author readings and other kinds of art-related events, including a teen program, the space is a good spot for meetings or quiet readings. The idea is to “fill it up with people. It’s not just [for] browsing for books, but people are able to hang out,” she says.
The bookstore plans to have its grand opening in September.
Source: June Berkowitz, Nina’s Coffee Café and building landlord for Subtext
Writer: Anna Pratt
Creative Citymaking, which is a collaboration of the city of Minneapolis and Intermedia Arts, recently received $325,000 from the national ArtPlace consortium for a project that gets artists involved in city planning.
It’s one of four local art projects for which ArtPlace is granting $1.3 million, according to city information.
Separately, ArtPlace also backed Irrigate Arts, which is an artistic place-making project that’s underway along the coming Central Corridor light rail transit line.
As a part of Creative Citymaking, four artists will be “embedded” in the city’s planning division next year. Over the course of a yearlong timeframe, they’ll work with the city’s planners on certain transportation, economic, environmental and social issues, according to Theresa Sweetland, who leads Intermedia.
Although the project’s details are still being fleshed out, the resulting work will get exposure throughout the year at various community events, including a final exhibit and forum at Intermedia.
The project builds on Intermedia’s work on cross-sector leadership training and its co-working space for artists, organizations and community organizers, she says.
It dovetails with the city’s Plan for Arts and Culture, which the arts commission put together a handful of years ago. The idea is for the city and artists to come together to “explore creative ideas for addressing city problems.”
It helps that right now, “Many artists are initiating discussions with community members around key civic issues,” she says.
Thinkers like Ann Markusen, Charles Landry and public artist Candy Chang have led the way with their philosophies “centering on the impact of people-oriented planning and the role of the arts and the creative process on developing vibrant urban places.”
One of the project’s goals is to bring more diverse communities into the fold.
Gulgun Kayim, who works on the city’s side of the project, says that both artists and city planners will get training on this process. It’s not about making public art, but bringing more social capital to the planning process, she says, adding, “It needs to be done in an intentional way.”
‘We think it brings creative assets to the table,” she says. “The process of planning and art-making is similar,” she says. “Hopefully we get that crossover intelligence, and it makes us smarter.
Source: Theresa Sweetland, Intermedia Arts, Gulgun Kayim, city of Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt
The New York-based Carticulate, which two Twin Cities natives co-founded, has recently come up with a colorful map that lays out future transit lines in the Twin Cities.
Carticulate has also created a Minneapolis skyway map, which The Line covered
here.
Matt Forrest, who is one of the principals of Carticulate, wanted to synthesize the light rail and bus rapid transit projects that are in the works for the Twin Cities, while also showing how they’re interconnected with existing lines.
Other maps that are out there right now "don't give a good idea of what areas are being served, where the stops would be and how it looks to get around that system," he says.
To create a new map, he and his business partner, Kate Chanba, compiled data from various project websites and Wikipedia.
Then they put together a simplified travel diagram. Done in a subway map-style, it’s “distorted, but cleaner and easier to see,” he says.
It shows that “It’ll be a pretty robust system,” he says, adding that he hopes it opens up alternative transit opportunities for people who might want to rely less on their cars.
The map also showcases Carticulate’s design theory around transit, about which it’s also put out a white paper, he says.
Further down the road, signage for the color-coded map could appear at every bus or train stop, he says. “You could also scan your bus ID and it could tell you when the next bus is coming,” he says. “We’re thinking about how it integrates across the whole system.”
The idea is to make it accessible and easy to scan with a smartphone, he says.
Source: Matt Forrest, Carticulate Maps
Writer: Anna Pratt
When he helped start the Experience Southwest marketing campaign to promote Southwest Minneapolis businesses, Matt Perry hoped it would lead to even more hyper-local branding efforts.
This has started happening at 50th and Bryant, says Perry, who is the president of the Nicollet East Harriet Business Association (NEHBA), which is behind the Experience Southwest initiative. Besides a website that features local businesses, Experience Southwest encouraged people to shop locally during the holidays, for example.
This Saturday, an event called “Experience 50th and Bryant,” which goes from noon to 5 p.m., will celebrate the business node's movers and shakers. Each participating business is hosting mini-events, with special discounts, prizes, face painting, and more. (For a full list of participating businesses, check out the Facebook page).
It’s “a great example of a business district branding itself under the larger umbrella of "Experience Southwest,”” which Perry hopes will happen elsewhere.
As an example of the activity at this intersection, he says, in April, the George and the Dragon Pub opened up. Patina, which had closed temporarily after a fire, has reopened.
Nearby, a new restaurant is coming to the intersection this fall, called The Lynn on Bryant, he says.
Zinnia Folk Arts recently took over a separate space. Kasia Organic Salon and The Malt Shop helped lead the charge on the event.
Between the old and new businesses, “There’s a nice mix of eateries and retail, which is the perfect recipe for an attractive business node,” in which people can go from one place to another, he says.
Through the event, “This is a chance for people to say, ‘Wow, things are happening again at 50th and Bryant,’” he says. “It’s again becoming a destination spot.”
It demonstrates “how new and long established businesses, working together, can fuel renewed interest in a business node,” he says.
Source: Matt Perry, president, NEHBA Business Association
Writer: Anna Pratt
The Minneapolis bakery Cupcake is making progress toward a second location in St. Paul, in the former Wonderment toy store on Grand Avenue.
The locally based Shea architecture firm, which is designing the layout for a number of local restaurants that are going into rehabbed buildings, is leading the new space’s transformation, according to Shea information.
It was a struggle to get to this point, considering the parking woes that the bakery faced earlier on, but the city wound up approving a variance that enabled the business to move forward, according to Minnesota Public Radio.
Cupcake’s sister bakery will be similar to its existing location, but in addition to coffee, cupcakes, and other foods, it’ll feature a wine bar, according to owner Kevin VanDeraa.
Because of the wine bar aspect of the bakery/restaurant, Cupcake had been required to have 10 parking spaces. It was only able to come up with eight, a situation the city is working with, the story explains.
To get the new space ready, it needs a top-to-bottom renovation, VanDeraa says.
For starters, the place had never been equipped as a restaurant, so it needs new plumbing. Although remodeling has begun, some things are on hold until other parts of the process have been wrapped up. At this point, “We’re not doing anything until we get a business license,” he says.
Already, VanDeraa has invested $100,000 in the project, the MPR story states.
Recently, VanDeraa won the top prize of $50,000 in the Food Network’s TV show "Cupcake Champions,” a sum he plans to invest in the new restaurant, he told CBS. In the future, he may also expand the University Avenue location.
The win also helps build a buzz to keep people coming to the Minneapolis location, despite the headaches that come with Central Corridor light rail construction.
Source: Kevin VanDeraa, owner, Cupcake
Writer: Anna Pratt
An old industrial complex in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood could become a hub for creative workers under a multimillion redevelopment plan from First and First principal Peter Remes.
The 5.6-acre site near the Central Corridor light rail transit line consists of nine buildings, along with a watertower, hence the project’s name, “Watertower Place," according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
Amy Sparks, executive director of the nearby Saint Anthony Park Community Council, says that although the group hasn’t officially weighed in on the project, it’s generally supportive of the plan at this early stage.
In many ways, it’s in keeping with the neighborhood group’s efforts to formalize the area’s brand as a Creative Enterprise Zone. The neighborhood has long been home to artists and other creative types.
“Some of the folks involved in the Creative Enterprise Zone heard about it and are excited about the potential,” and the same goes for the group’s land use committee, she says.
The plan includes installing working elevators, exposing boarded-up windows, and bringing light into the hallways, among other upgrades, she says. Her understanding is that Remes wants to introduce nonindustrial uses, such as a theater, into the place.
Besides the usual development hurdles, the city is evaluating some of its zoning ordinances related to industry, which could have an impact on the development's direction, she says.
“The question is, do we want this to be the Creative Enterprise Zone or to be more of a traditional industrial zone? Hopefully it’ll be a melding of the two,” she says. “The two uses, art and industry, have coexisted pretty comfortably in the area for the past 30 years and we hope to see that continue.”
Right now, the building has 60 tenants, and whether they’ll be able to stay is up in the air. “We want to make sure everything is done to keep some of the remaining tenants and to keep the building in the spirit of the Creative Enterprise Zone,” she says. “We want creative uses in the area.”
Source: Amy Sparks, executive director, Saint Anthony Park Community Council
Writer: Anna Pratt
Close to midnight on June 9, up to 1,000 bicyclists will be outfitted with special LED lights that will create a synchronized spectacle across the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis.
This experiment/public art display, which is part of the arts-geared Northern Spark Festival that will go all night in Minneapolis and St. Paul, is called, “The Kuramoto Model (1000 Fireflies).”
The artist/techie behind it, David Rueter, an MFA candidate in art and technology studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, explains that whenever the lights blink, they broadcast a radio signal. As the lights "hear" each other, they begin to blink in synchronized patterns. By themselves, they look like regular LED cycling safety lights, “but in groups, they exhibit an immediately noticeable and striking phenomenon,” a statement about the project reads. Reuter explains that the lights “can adjust or form a consensus” visually. “These lights are always listening.”
The project takes its name from Yoshiki Kuramoto, who pioneered research along these lines, Rueter says. He hopes that the bike ride/public art display will reveal the connections between individuals “and what amounts to a system of urban cycling, and connections that exist, whether or not they’re intentional.” He’s interested in seeing how that “transforms the way people perceive cycling,” and how it “changes the flow of cyclists.” For starters, it “alters the social rules of proximity. Different ways that people form in groups will be unveiled. It’ll change the way people approach interacting on bikes,” he says.
Well after the festival, people may continue to use them, and have chance encounters with each other.
It’s encouraging having the support of those who contributed to his $1,000 Kickstarter campaign, he says. “Everyone seems to latch onto the idea,” he adds. “Their imaginations run wild.”
Source: David Reuter, Kuramoto Model Project
Writer: Anna Pratt
In a unique partnership with the Starling Project, the St. Anthony Park Community Council (SAPCC) is temporarily reimagining a vacant storefront space on University Avenue in St. Paul.
The Starling Project facilitates such “meanwhile uses” of empty spaces along the avenue’s portion of the Central Corridor light rail transit line, according to project materials.
Even though the bulk of the construction here has wrapped up, shoppers are still avoiding the area, according to Amy Sparks, who heads SAPCC.
To take advantage of the space, SAPCC and Starling are on the lookout for entrepreneurs, artists, and other creative types to fill the place.
Tenants will fill the 1,200-square-foot pop-up shop for anywhere from one to four weeks.
Renters should engage the public in some way, such as through a one-time event, open studio hours, or an interesting window display, according to a prepared statement about the project.
So far, the space has a few takers, including Irrigate Arts, which is leading the charge on numerous artist-led placemaking projects along the light rail line. Irrigate will have an exhibit in the space that documents these efforts.
Sky View, which is an aerial photo workshop and gallery, will also have a presence there.
Last month, an art show called Art du Nord occupied the former frame shop.
Ultimately, the neighborhood group sees the rotating uses as a way to bring life to the avenue, according to Sparks. “We want to see University Avenue thrive and help keep businesses going.”
It’s also a creative way to find a permanent tenant for the space.
More broadly, the project calls attention to the neighborhood’s Creative Enterprise Zone, which is an in-progress arts district-like designation. It's all about strengthening the local creative community, she explains.
Sparks hopes these types of events will “build up awareness of the area, so people start to recognize it as a creative area and want to locate here and do business here.”
As such, the group is trying “to get the right developments in,” and keep office space affordable. “It makes the Creative Enterprise Zone more real and tangible,” she says.
Source: Amy Sparks, executive director, SAPCC
Writer: Anna Pratt
The Minnesota African American Museum and Cultural Center, which has been in the works for a handful of years, had its grand opening in Minneapolis’s Stevens Square neighborhood on June 2.
The museum, which is housed in the historic Coe Mansion, is about “celebrating and presenting African American history for all populations,” its website states.
Roxanne Givens, one of the museum's founders, credits the local community for coming up with the idea. Many people "felt not having a record of the many contributions African Americans made to Minnesota history and beyond, was a major impediment to community engagement, self-esteem and achievement,” the website states.
The concept was there, and a place was needed to “fulfill our mission of a sustainable History and Cultural museum of Local, National and International importance.”
In answer to that, one day Givens and another founder, Harry Davis, wound up near the 1880s Queen Anne-style mansion by chance. It struck them both as the perfect venue for the museum they'd been talking about, according to its website.
To make it a reality, Givens spearheaded a $6 million capital campaign for building renovations. This included improvements that would accommodate exhibits in the space, while also allowing for accessibility. At the same time, the building's historic designation meant that its defining characteristics had to be left intact, the website explains.
Currently, exhibits in the space cover black baseball, the state's African-American pioneers, and African folktales.
The children’s space, which takes up an entire floor, includes an interactive learning and play space, reading lounge, library, high-tech touch-screen exhibits, and artifacts.
Yet to come is an adjoining cultural and educational center that will have state-of-the-art technology, learning labs, a genealogy center, community gallery, oral history center and more, it states.
City Council member Robert Lilligren, who represents Ward 6, which includes the museum, says he's been supportive of the project since the get-go. Further, the Stevens Square community has "welcomed it with open arms as a cultural asset," he says. "They think it's a very positive addition to the neighborhood."
On a broader level, it enhances "a whole string of cultural assets along Third Avenue," which also includes several other museums.
Also, from a historical perspective, "The center swath of South Minneapolis was the first part of the city to integrate racially," so it's appropriate that the museum go there, he says.
Source: Minnesota African American Museum and Cultural Center; Robert Lilligren, Minneapolis City Council
Writer: Anna Pratt
Ice House Plaza, which opened last month in Minneapolis, brings greenspace to a newly redeveloped commercial complex in the Whittier neighborhood.
“Busk until Dawn,” which features all kinds of acoustic music, spoken word, comedians and buskers, will take over the plaza on June 9, from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m.
The event is a closing party to the six-week Artists in Storefronts Project, which put artist-created displays in vacant storefronts throughout the Whittier neighborhood, according to Joan Vorderbruggen, who lead the pilot. (See
The Line story
here.)
Vorderbruggen will also be giving “light saber”-lit guided walking tours of the storefronts that evening.
The event is also a part of the Northern Spark Festival, which features all kinds of overnight creative events across Minneapolis and St. Paul.
“Busk until Dawn” sponsors include the Whittier Alliance, Eat Street Social, Dunn Bros. and The Lost and Found thrift store, according to Vorderbruggen.
A much-needed greenspace
Vorderbruggen hopes that the cultural event is the first of many in the Ice House Plaza.
Calling it “a great addition to the neighborhood,” she says that the plaza is an upgrade from the previous “tired retail space,” which had “multiple failed businesses.”
It’s ideal for concerts and picnics or just taking a lunch break, she says.
The plaza is also a benefit for the many neighborhood residents, such as her self, who live in apartments, and don’t have yards. Too often, greenspace is neglected, especially in a commercial corridor, she says.
In the plaza, there are tables and chairs, benches and other areas to congregate.
Among its design elements are sizable stones came from the Great Metropolitan Building, which was demolished in the 1960s, according to the TC Daily Planet.
Stones are also the prominent element in a stone sculpture in the plaza titled, “White Angel,” from local artist Zoran Mojsilov, the story states.
All in all, “I think it’ll draw people out and be a place where people want to spend time,” she says, adding that it builds community and benefits local businesses.
Source: Joan Vorderbruggen, Artists in Storefronts Project
Writer: Anna Pratt
Japanese sakura cherry blossom trees will soon be blooming in St. Paul in recognition of a longstanding relationship with the faraway country.
St. Paul is one of 20 U.S. cities to get 20 cherry trees apiece as a gift from Japan. It marks 100 years since Japan sent 3,000 sakura trees to Washington, D.C., according to city information. The National Cherry Blossom Festival in the capital city, which happens each spring, celebrates the 1912 gift as well.
“The gift and annual celebration honor the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and the continued close relationship between the two countries,” the festival’s website reads.
Bill Pesek, who is a landscape architect for St. Paul, says that the number ‘20’ is significant in Japan as a coming-of-age reference. As such, it’ll play a symbolic role in the June 9 ceremony that the city is planning to celebrate the gift.
That day, volunteers will help plant the trees in Como Regional Park. The planting of the 20th tree will be ceremonious, he explains.
In the park, the cherry trees will have a prominent place near the lily pond.
Usually cherry trees don’t appear in Japanese gardens because they’re only in bloom for a short period, he says. “Sakura refers to this blossoming period,” he adds. However, in this case it makes sense to plant in that spot because of the Japanese gardens already in place nearby. Going forward, the city is also hoping to create a “blossoming corridor,” where the cherry trees will be highlighted, he says.
St. Paul, which is one of two Minnesota cities that were chosen for the gift--Winona is the other--has long had a sister-city cultural exchange with Nagasaki, Japan, he says.
In fact, in 1955, St. Paul was the first U.S. city to join the Sister Cities International program. “There’s a rich history of sharing,” and of “people-to-people relationships,” through its longstanding ties to Japan, he says.
At the dedication event, representatives of Japan and local politicians who were instrumental in setting up the St. Paul-Nagasaki relationship will give speeches in English and Japanese. Traditional Japanese music and dance are also part of the celebration.
“We hope this is one of many years that we’ll continue to celebrate this event of the sakura festival,” Pesek says.
Source: Bill Pesek, St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt
If all goes as planned, the bygone Caribe Caribbean Bistro could come back in a new form in Northeast Minneapolis.
The former St. Paul restaurant closed last year during Central Corridor Light Rail Transit construction.
Co-owner Heidi Panelli and her husband, Tony, want to reopen the restaurant in the former Amici Bistro space.
To do so, the couple is trying to raise $50,000 in donations through Kickstarter. Their web-based campaign, which started May 14, goes through June 13.
Funds will go to “the bare bones of getting the place turned into a big art project,” including signage, décor, furniture, equipment, and promotional materials, explains Panelli.
She’s encouraged by the fact that Kickstarter has helped get a couple of other local eateries up and running.
The new space will allow for a bigger kitchen, which means the restaurant will be able to expand its menu, she explains.
Like the old place, the restaurant would sport bright colors. Panelli plans to paint a mural on one wall that will picture the sun over water, with mirror pieces creating a reflective effect. Another mural would include the names of backers who contribute $100 or more, she says.
The couple has been getting ideas from thrift-store finds. They want the restaurant to resemble an island food stand, but without being too gimmicky, she says.
She hopes it becomes a “destination location nestled in a neighborhood.” This particular neighborhood alcove “fits our vision perfectly,” she says.
The couple will be on hand at the June 2 Johnstock annual festival on Johnson St. to share their plans with the public and to give out food samples. They’ll also be showing up on June 7 at the Chowgirls Parlor as a part of the Northrup King building's "first Thursdays" open- studio event.
Source: Heidi Panelli, Caribe
Writer: Anna Pratt
One day on a whim a couple of years ago, Jesse Jamison, who’d reluctantly joined Facebook, decided to start a group page that’s dedicated to Old Minneapolis.
Jamison, a history buff, saw it as a fun outlet “for me to go back in time in the city I love,” he says.
At the time, he had no idea the page would take off the way it has, with thousands of “likes,” especially since he didn’t advertise it anywhere.
Right away people started sharing all kinds of anecdotes and details about the city’s past. “I don’t even know how it happened, but very quickly there were thousands of people there, and everyone was contributing great stuff,” says Jamison. “The photos are great but the stories people tell are priceless.”
Jamison, whose family is from the North Side, remembers his father's colorful tales of the city, going as far back as the 1930s.
He also has stories of his own. At the age of 13, he and a friend took a bus to downtown Minneapolis, not realizing it would end up there, he says.
Afterward, they returned to downtown on the weekends. They liked to walk around “looking at everything,” he says, adding, “The city was so alive and exciting. I never wanted to leave.”
Years later he got a downtown apartment, which he describes as a “cockroach-filled dump right behind the Basilica. It was horrible but it was downtown and I loved it.”
Besides reminiscences, the Old Minneapolis group has also been valuable for crowdsourcing historical information. Whenever there’s a question about the date of a photo or the address of a shuttered business, the page’s supporters “get together like a pack of history detectives, and in most cases, solve the mystery,” he says. “I’ve learned so much more about this great city from the contributors of this page.”
On the page, he tries to keep a mix of locations and time periods so that nobody gets bored, he says.
Going forward, Jamison hopes that the page keeps growing and reaching more people, including “the older, nostalgic ones, and the younger ones who are just discovering Minneapolis' history,” he says.
Source: Jesse Jamison, Old Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt
Two years after its closure, the old Burch Pharmacy space in Minneapolis’s Lowry Hill neighborhood will be resurrected in the form of a steakhouse called Burch.
The pharmacy occupied the three-story building for 80 years before closing in 2010, according to a Star Tribune story.
Leading the charge is well-known local restaurateur and James Beard Award winner Isaac Becker along with his wife, Nancy St. Pierre, and their business partner, Ryan Burnet, according to the Star Tribune.
Burch will take up most of the building’s ground level; it’ll have a 100-seat dining room and bar along with an open kitchen, according to the story.
A separate neighborhood-style café area with a 50-seat bar and dining room is planned for the basement.
Also as a part of its redevelopment, office and retail space will fill other parts of the building, according to Maureen Sheehan, who serves as the vice president of the Lowry Hill Neighborhood Association board.
Some building features, such as exposed brick walls and tiles, will be left intact, according to the Southwest Journal.
Sheehan says that the neighborhood is excited for the project, especially since it'll be a sensitive rehabilitation “to respect the structure that’s already there.”
Plus, the Burch Pharmacy was “such a cool institution in the city,” with great sentimental value. “To have it back in play is fantastic.”
On a broader level, “We’re looking for that piece of Hennepin to be alive again,” she says.
The restaurant could open in late 2012 or early 2013.
Further, the Isaac Becker restaurants (112 Eatery, Bar La Grassa) have a good reputation. “We’re excited about the quality of the restaurant going in,” Sheehan says. “It will be a great addition to the neighborhood.”
Source: Maureen Sheehan, LHNA
Writer: Anna Pratt
The first-ever Northeast Ride, which is coming up on June 2, is a chance to see Northeast Minneapolis up close and personal, on bikes.
It'll show off everything from the area's bustling arts district to its up-and-coming beer breweries.
The family-friendly event is geared for cyclists of all ages and experience levels, according to information from the Northeast Community Development Corporation (CDC), which set it up.
The bike ride’s co-presenters include Bicycle Theory, MPLS Bike Love, and Altered Esthetics, along with a number of community sponsors.
Jamie Schumacher, who leads the Northeast CDC, says via email that the nearly 12-mile bike ride came about as a creative way to highlight the Northeast area. “You always see a neighborhood differently on a bike, and we'll be touring throughout all of awesome Northeast,” she says. "We hope people take away from it a good introduction to Northeast, and a fun and creative experience."
The ride also takes advantage of new bike trails and bikeways, according to Northeast CDC materials.
Participants will travel the route in small groups, starting out at the Northeast Minneapolis Armory, and exploring each of the neighborhood parks. Related activities will be happening at the parks along the way, including a post-ride expo, according to Northeast CDC information.
Throughout nine stops, cyclists will get a taste of old and new developments in Northeast. They’ll visit such neighborhood landmarks as the historic Casket Arts building, the longstanding Grain Belt Brewery, and the brand-new Indeed Brewing.
Neighborhoods such as Logan Park and local businesses such as Community Bees on Bikes, which delivers honey via bike, are among other highlights of the ride.
The ride will wrap up with a party at Altered Esthetics, which will have bike-themed art on view.
Source: Jamie Schumacher, executive director, Northeast CDC
Writer: Anna Pratt
This month, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation is working to raise funds to plant 400 trees throughout four neighborhoods of North Minneapolis, trees that were lost when a tornado hit last year.
The tornado took out a huge portion of urban forest when it “tore across several miles of Minneapolis, tearing roofs off homes, tumbling cars down the streets, and ripping 40-foot trees from the earth like weeds from a flowerbed,” foundation materials read.
Mary deLaittre, who leads the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, explains that the urban forest is important for many reasons. “Not only is it beautiful, but it does things like lower blood pressure, clean the air and water, provide shade in the summer,” she says, adding, “It’s critical that we replace the urban forest as quickly as possible so we can get these wonderful workhorses back to doing their job.”
Most of the trees the foundation funds will probably go into the city’s Jordan neighborhood, she says.
The foundation’s effort is part of the larger “Northside Treecovery Program,” which the city’s park and recreation board is spearheading along with several other partners.
The park system also has a forestry department that pays attention to the urban forest on an ongoing basis, she explains.
So far, the foundation has raised money to plant 100 trees. Each one costs $120. “We’d like to raise money for the others between now and the one-year anniversary of the tornado near the end of May,” she says.
The effort coincides with the state’s Arbor Month activities, as well, according to foundation information.
All in all, “We’re really looking at this program as creating the next generation of urban forest, deLaittre says.
Source: Mary deLaittre, Minneapolis Parks Foundation executive director
Writer: Anna Pratt
The Lake Street Council hopes to spruce up Minneapolis's Lake Street by turning its utility boxes into objets d'art.
ZoeAna Martinez, who is the council’s outreach and services manager, explains that the project will help deter graffiti while also making “ugly boxes look better," as she puts it, adding, “We want to help our street look better."
The initiative is similar to ones in the Kingfield and Corcoran neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods used different methods to cover up the utility boxes; one way was to paint right on the surface of the structures. The boxes can also be covered with colorful shrink-wrap that has designs on it, Martinez explains.
To set the project in motion on Lake Street, Martinez is reaching out to local businesses. “We’re just trying to get feedback from businesses,” she says, adding that the council is hoping that the stakeholders will pitch in by sponsoring local boxes.
The more utility boxes it can cover up, the better, she says, adding that sponsorship means a price break for the council as well.
Right now, the project's budget is still being determined. It’ll be based on how many boxes the council decides to do. “We’re still at the beginning of the process,” she says.
The council is also working with the city on a project that’s titled Minneapolis Art Wrap, whose purpose is to make the process smoother for others who want to decorate their local utility boxes.
“In the last two years, the City of Minneapolis has seen increased interest by community groups in wrapping City-owned utility boxes with artistic designs,” council materials state.
Soon the city will be sending out a request for proposals to artists to design 12 pre-approved wrap covers to go on utility boxes all over the city.
It'll help streamline the city process, in that applicants won’t have to go through the art-related city committee to get designs approved. They can simply choose from one of the pre-approved designs, she says. “It makes it easier for groups to get city-owned utility boxes wrapped."
Although the details are still up in the air at this point, the council hopes to complete it this year, Martinez says.
Source: ZoeAna Martinez, outreach and services manager, Lake Street Council
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Soon, the Dangerous Man Brewing Company will be a destination brewery and tap house in Northeast Minneapolis.
It recently found a home in a warehouse-style brick building that dates back to 1927, according to owner Rob Miller. “We love the area,” he says. “This was the dream, to be in this neighborhood.”
Dangerous Man will fill the ground floor of the two-story building that Spinario Design and Gallery previously used for storage purposes.
Right now, the place is an empty shell, which has its advantages. “It’s nice to start fresh and clean,” Miller says, adding, “We can build it the way we want it.”
Wide ceilings, open spaces, and big columns characterize the space. Inside, the mechanical and electrical systems will be updated, while plumbing needs to be installed as well.
Basement floors will be reinforced to withstand the load and the walls will get a fresh coat of paint.
The idea is to make it a comfortable hangout, with a fireplace, farm-style tables, couches and chairs, a pool table and darts, TV, and more, he says.
The brewery will have a custom-built bar that features the work of a local artist, while the concrete floor will be polished, with the brewery's logo stained into it.
Further, the brewing tanks and other equipment will be visible from the bar. “We want to make it feel like the building was meant to house a brewery,” he says.
He says the business won’t compete with others in the area. “I hope it brings more traffic to them and is a unique meeting place.”
Dangerous Man will probably be ready to open its doors in October.
All in all, “It’s an exciting time for the beer movement in Minneapolis and Northeast,” he says.
Source: Rob Miller, owner, Dangerous Man Brewing Co.
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
In recognition of the unique Asian businesses and other cultural institutions along University Avenue in St. Paul from Galtier to Mackubin streets, the area is being branded as Little Mekong.
It’s an initiative that the local Asian Economic Development Association (AEDA) launched on Feb. 25.
The name references the Mekong River, which is a major river in Southeast Asia, according to Va-Megn Thoj, who heads the AEDA. “Most businesses in the area have a connection to the river,” he explains.
In his view, “By giving a name to a destination which has existed for a long time, we can draw more people into the area.” This is especially needed during Central Corridor light rail construction, he says.
Already, as a result of construction obstacles, many of the businesses are seeing less foot traffic, he says.
With the Little Mekong branding, “We want to build on what we have,” which he describes as “an attractive destination for people to get introduced to Asian cultures and cuisine.” Although the district has been around informally for a long time, not too many people are familiar with it, he says.
Besides improving the streetscape and putting up district-related signage, Little Mekong will host a number of events, including family-friendly festivals.
AEDA is also working with businesses to create incentive programs to bring in more customers, including coupons and other deals, and to handle increased traffic. “We’re working with businesses to strengthen their operations and customer service,” he says.
The coming Central Corridor represents “a tremendous opportunity to create something of benefit to the neighborhoods and city and region," he adds.
Source: Va-Megn Thoj
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
After reading about the idea, St. Paul-ite Paul Rogne was inspired to build a little free library in his yard.
The lending libraries, which resemble a cross between a mailbox and a birdhouse, offer books for passersby to exchange.
All over the globe, the Little Free Library movement, which started off as a two-person project, is taking off.
When they introduced the first little free library a couple of years ago, the movement’s originators, Todd Bol and Rick Brooks, who are based in Madison, Wis., probably had no idea it would spread as it has.
It turned out to be a relatively easy, grassroots way to encourage reading and community. Today, they have a goal of establishing at least 2,510 little free library boxes worldwide. To register or find the lending libraries, people can search a map on their website.
In St. Paul, Rogne put the finishing touches on the literary lawn ornament this week.
The little free libraries have a slogan, “Take a book, leave a book,” which appealed to Rogne, and his wife, Barb, both of whom are avid readers.
“We love to share good books,” he says via email, adding, “Used bookstores pay so little that we would rather just give them away to others who want to read them.”
The little free library is also a fun way to connect with neighbors, he says. Plus, his neighborhood gets plenty of foot traffic. A couple others are close to his house, too. “We think having this little library along our sidewalk will get good use.”
Also nearby, a group of students and educators constructed a number of the little free libraries in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood as a part of the 23rd annual National Service-Learning Conference and youthrive PeaceJam Leadership Conference that took place on April 14, according to a recent Pioneer Press story.
The libraries that they decorated have been planted in the neighborhood's various community garden spaces.
“Maybe this will catch on and spread,” Rogne says. “Wouldn’t that be terrific?"
Source: Paul Rogne
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Finnegans beer, which donates its profits to charity, recently relocated from the historic Hinkle-Murphy House in Minneapolis’s Elliot Park neighborhood to a new office space just down the street.
The nonprofit brewer had to look for a new home base after the Hinkle-Murphy changed ownership, according to Finnegans staffer Tricia Nelson.
The 1,600-square-foot first-floor office space in the building at 609 S. 10th St., which also houses the Segue Cafe, among other tenants, had been vacant for some time. “We were lucky to find this space,” she says, adding, “We wanted to stay in Elliot Park. There are so many other great businesses and nonprofits nearby.”
As another plus, the space has room for expansion further down the line, she says.
Although the set-up is still a work in progress, the space has seen some minor alterations, including a new paint job. The walls, which have been painted two shades of green, match its logo.
To keep the budget down, most of the furniture in the offices, kitchen and meeting and reception areas, has been donated.
Nelson says she hopes to create a friendly, relaxed atmosphere in the office. “None of us are cubicle people," she adds.
Because it’s not able to host brewery tours, the organization wants to visually show its “Charitably Delicious Tour,”or history, in the brightly colored entryway.
With pictures and words, along with such curios as old beer tap handles, it'll tell about its efforts to fight hunger in the state and beyond. “We want this to be a well-branded storefront area,” that “shows off the brand and shares the mission and story.”
The entryway will also be a “nice space for happy hours,” and other gatherings, she says.
Source: Tricia Nelson, Finnegans
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
This past winter, over 200 artists trained to do collaborative public art projects as a part of Irrigate.
It's a creative placemaking initiative for the coming Central Corridor light rail transit line.
The workshops have seen more than double the level of participation that was anticipated for their first year by Springboard for the Arts, which is administering the initiative, according to Laura Zabel, who leads the organization.
“It’s a demonstration of the demand and interest in artists engaging the community,” she says, adding that emerging and established artists from a wide variety of disciplines have gotten involved.
Once artists go through the training, they can apply for grant money to do collaborative projects along the Central Corridor. Already, a number of mural projects have come out of the project, along with a concert series and more. “We’re really starting to feel the momentum,” she says.
For example, Leonardo’s Basement in Minneapolis is working with the Avalon School in St. Paul to create something it’s calling “sculptural mobile units,” which will travel to various events.
A new business at Frogtown Square in St. Paul, which isn’t ready to go public yet, worked with Irrigate to organize a workshop called, “Make it Mysterious.” Artists designed temporary murals for the space. It led to “really cool visual pieces that animate that corner,” and the business is building on it, says Zabel.
The various art events draw people to the corridor, which is especially important as construction is ramping up again, she says.
Irrigate is open to suggestions; on its website, it has a map where people can identify spots where art is needed. “I’ve seen people saying, here’s this ugly wall or huge dead tree, or available green space,” she says. “People know that artists think of all those things as opportunities.”
Source: Laura Zabel, Executive Director, Springboard for the Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
This year, Harvest Moon Backyard Farmers is expanding on its mission to set up sustainable “mini-farms,” and to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to those in need.
Recently, Harvest Moon’s urban farming experts, Krista Leraas and Dina Kountoupes, raised $9,000 through a Kickstarter campaign, to further the cause.
It's helped to connect the pair to Habitat for Humanity, which “finds homeowners who are interested in gardening, who don’t have the resources or knowledge,” Leraas says.
Leraas and Kountoupes provide expertise and labor to the homeowners, helping them grow fresh organic produce. They may also lend a hand, depending on a homeowner's needs, for the remainder of the growing season.
As a part of another initiative that Harvest Moon has in the works, it's teaming up with the Shir Tikvah synagogue to bring items from its food-shelf gardens to the Aliveness Project.
It’s a natural partnership, considering that the Aliveness Project, which is a community center for people living with HIV/AIDS, is “very keen to getting a lot of good nutrition to people," she says.
Since the farmers started Harvest Moon a couple of years ago, they’ve worked with various homeowners, renters, businesses, and communities to establish “productive spaces.”
“Our whole philosophy is based on sustainability and sharing the surplus,” Leraas says.
“Many of us have forgotten what it’s like to have fresh sustenance coming from our work,” she says. “We view our yards as just kind of there.”
Harvest Moon is trying to reverse that trend. It’s about supporting “permaculture,” which is a combination of permanence and culture, meaning sustainability, she explains. “The idea is to be in harmony with natural law.”
Source: Krista Leraas, Harvest Moon Backyard Farmers
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
The landscape is filled with the written word--but usually for the purposes of advertising or regulation.
Marcus Young, The city of St. Paul's artist in residence, says it's common to come across signage everyday that says things like “Buy one, get one free” or “No guns allowed.” He asks, why not poetry?
That reflection inspired him to start the Everyday Poems for City Sidewalk project, which is now in its fifth year in St. Paul. The idea is to bring beautiful text into the public realm, he says.
Considering that the city repairs up to 10 miles of sidewalk every year, “What better than to transform something mundane, that we take for granted, like the sidewalk system?”
Through the project, which is based on one of his earlier endeavors, poets compete to have their verses chosen to be stamped in wet concrete. The sidewalk becomes a medium for reading and writing, and thus “a walk becomes an experience of reading and imagining.”
The contest, which has an April 13 deadline, prompts people to “think about what they would like to write in this big book” that is the city.
The city is looking for short, high-quality poems “that say something about everyday life and maybe even capture the moment of reading, looking down [on the sidewalk] and reflecting.” (Read the guidelines here.)
A handful of winners will be chosen in May, and the poems will be stamped onto various residential sidewalks around the city. Winners will also be awarded a cash prize of $150 apiece.
Young hopes that the poems take some people by surprise, and make their walk more enjoyable.
Also, winning poets get to be a part of the process of stamping the concrete slabs with their verses. “We all have the desire to stick our finger into wet concrete,” Young says. “This is that impulse glorified and sanctioned.”
One of his favorite poems to go into “circulation” reads: “A dog on a walk is like a person in love. You can’t tell them it’s the same old world.”
He expects that by the end of the year, 42 poems will be appear in and around the city, many repeatedly.
Source: Marcus Young, artist in residence, St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
The Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, which was established to recognize a vibrant local arts scene, took on formal boundaries in 2002 after various community leaders combined forces with the city and the McKnight Foundation.
Since then, the district has taken off, especially in the last couple of years, and many community members want to build on that, according to Susan Wagner Ginter, who chairs the board for the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA).
To do so, it’s taking part in the first-ever “State of the Arts District” forum on April 12 at Chowgirls Parlor, organized by the Northeast Community Development Corporation, the Northeast Chamber of Commerce, and the participating speakers.
The event capitalizes on the fact that, “NEMAA is stronger and the arts district is a reality,” Ginter says.
For example, its annual arts crawl, titled “Art-a-Whirl,” brings 50,000 people to the area, she says, adding that the event's business impact is huge.
The question is, “How do we keep the momentum going and keep a stream of people coming into Northeast and discovering the amazing resource that we have?”
Hopefully the forum will help the community plan its next steps. “It’s about how to integrate the arts into the community and keep it vibrant,” she says.
At the forum, Josh Blanc, who co-owns Clay Squared to Infinity with his wife, Layl McDill, will talk about their experience with a downtown pop-up art store, which they ran in a vacant space over the winter.
“They took a risk and they did really well selling their artwork,” Wagner says.
Further, it’s a good example of artists getting out of their studios and into the community, a move that has a lot of potential, she says.
She hopes that the forum will bring together community leaders who’ve been instrumental in setting up the district, along with others who want to get involved.
Source: Susan Wagner Ginter, president, NEMAA board
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The third annual “30 Days of Biking” event encourages community members to bike somewhere every day during the month of April.
It’s hosting a number of “group rides” and other events to keep the momentum up and introduce participants to each other, according to information posted on its website.
So far, 1,900 people have signed up for the local challenge, according to the site. Patrick Stephenson, a spokesperson for the group, expects that figure to increase to 4,000.
Over the past several years, the event has gotten bigger and bigger, which is a trend that he’d like to see continue.
In 2010, 600 people joined in the first 30 Days. “It’s a city that’s really excited about bikes,” and the infrastructure is there to support this type of program, he says. There are a number of bike paths in place, “which is probably the reason why Minneapolis has taken hold of it.”
This time around, 30 Days of Biking is hosting a story contest. It’s asking for brief essays about a moment that stands out during the biking month. “Any life-changing epiphanies? Spiritual awakenings? Fun times with friends and family?” the project asks on its website.
It’s also asking people to share their stories via social media. “I really like the grassroots flavor,” Stephenson says. “We’re trying to make it as fun and popular as we can.”
Looking ahead, he’d like to see the event “get more legitimate,” and that “we get better at doing it” and put more time into it. Hopefully it’ll have “more things that people can share.”
Source: Patrick Stephenson, 30 Days of Biking
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Anne Damon has long considered opening a Mexican folk-arts shop, so when a Southwest Minneapolis space became available earlier this year, she jumped at it.
She plans to open Zinnia Folks Arts at the end of April, and the grand opening is scheduled for May.
Zinnia Folk Arts will be a cross between a gallery, gift shop, and folk art store, she says.
Kurimay Upholstery had occupied the space at the corner of 46th and Bryant Avenue South for 40 years, according to Damon.
Damon spruced up the space, making only slight changes, swapping out the lighting, painting, and doing minor repairs, she says.
To show off the brightly colored items, the walls will be painted in neutral shades. The place will have a “clean, contemporary aesthetic."
In the past, Damon, who has collected Mexican folk art since she was in high school, had pop-up sales in her house and later, an interior design studio. For a while, she also shared a space with seven other shop owners who are part of the Guild Collective in St. Louis Park. At the same time, “I always wanted my own space," she says.
At Zinnia, she plans to feature “beautiful items you don’t often see in the Midwest,” including home goods, jewelry, ceramics, textiles, gifts, and more.
The idea is to give people a taste of Mexican folk culture.
Too often, these kinds of objects get put in storage in museum collections, she says. “I hope to not only show people these incredible handmade pieces, but also educate people about the artist and process.” She adds that she buys objects directly from artisans working in non-tourist-y areas.
Source: Anne Damon, owner, Zinnia Folk Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The eight-minute documentary “A Fistful of Public Art,” plays off of the title of the 1964 spaghetti western A Fistful of Dollars but celebrates creativity rather than crime.
Deacon Warner, youth program coordinator at IFP Center for Media Arts, a St. Paul-based nonprofit, worked with a seven-member group of students from Avalon High School to create the film.
The opportunity came from Forecast Public Art, “which was interested in doing something with IFP and youth to promote public art, to raise awareness,” says Warner. It made sense because Warner was already doing a residency with the nearby school.
The students, with Warner’s help, shot the film over the winter, for $2,000.
They focused on five works in Minneapolis and St. Paul, including a large-scale piece titled "P.S.--Wish You Were Here," by Stanton Gray Sears, and Lisa Elias’s stylized bus bench “Forged Roots."
Students interviewed the artists behind the artworks. Afterwards, they used the works as a backdrop for surveying people in the street--with a catch: the filmmakers concealed the works with tarps, then grilled passersby about what they thought was under wraps. Many people couldn’t recall that a piece of public art had been covered up, but for the most part, interviewees were positive about public art, once the point of the exercise was explained to them.
Warner hopes that viewers will take away an appreciation for public art, which “helps create an identity as a community, creating something of meaning that’s lasting.” It's a function, he says, that can be overlooked at times.
The filming seemed to create meaning for the young crew as well. "What’s most exciting about the project and working with the youth is seeing their voice emerge and the project develop,” Warner says.
The movie started out with talking heads-- “something staid, but then they introduced the idea of ‘Men in Black’ kind of raids on art,” which “made it much more engaging,” he says, adding that even a pigeon plays a an amusing role in the movie.
Source: Deacon Warner, IFP Media Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis recently updated its self-guided audio tour of the building, which allows people to learn more about the theater at their own pace.
It’s accessible via smartphone, iPod, or other listening device, and devices can be checked out from the theater, according to Guthrie spokesperson Quinton Skinner.
The 40-minute tour takes people through various levels of the building, starting with the main lobby. Users can get behind-the-scenes details about the structure's architecture and history, including its auditoriums, artwork, lobbies, cafes, and meeting spaces.
A highlight is the cantilevered “endless bridge” that reaches toward the Mississippi River.
From level nine, people get a chance to take in “one of the best views of the city,” Skinner says.
The tour goes on to describe the building’s shiny blue facade, which is decorated with images of playwrights who have special ties to the theater, he explains.
One benefit of the tour is that it's self-guided, so that “if someone is really entranced by a view, they can pause and reflect.”
When starting out, listeners get to choose between six different narrators: St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, WCCO-TV news anchor Angela Davis, performer and writer Kevin Kling, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Cities 97 radio personality Brian (B.T.) Turner, and actor Sally Wingert, according to Guthrie information.
The idea behind the tour is to “remind people that the Guthrie is...[a] community treasure that’s open to the public everyday,” even when shows aren’t happening, Skinner says.
He admits that “it was a lot of hard work, working on the script and recording it and editing it and making it user-friendly,” but he hopes that the result is something that appeals to both out-of-towners and locals who are curious about the theater.
Source: Quinton Skinner
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
A former carpenters' union office on East Lake Street in Minneapolis is being re-imagined as the Forage Modern Workshop.
Brownsmith Restoration is redeveloping the building, which will house its offices along with a furniture store and a brand/idea workshop, according to Brownsmith partner James Brown.
It’ll take nearly $200,000 to turn it around, he says. (Check out its progress here.)
Forage will feature local furniture makers who specialize in modern and vintage designs, he says, adding, “It’ll be kind of like Design Within Reach but on more of a local scale.”
Small manufacturers and designers will sell new and existing lines in the store. Certain home goods, such as specialty wallpaper, will also be available. “It’ll be a curated store, with stuff that we think is really cool,” he says.
Inside, there will also be a café, which will be furnished with tables and chairs from the shop.
The redesign of the 1951 building will reflect its roots with a mid-century modern aesthetic. Reclaimed oak paneling is just one way that Brownsmith will create that, he says.
Forage’s store will launch online first, within the coming weeks, while the café will be ready within six months, according to Brown.
Already, Brown is thinking about ways to make the place, which sat vacant for a year, a destination.
In the future, the building could also be a drop-off location for community-supported agriculture (CSA). It's already hosted various performance art activities. “We’re trying to make ourselves culturally significant,” he says.
East Lake Street is “an important commercial part of the city,” he says. “We want to help redevelop it,” and that, he adds, will “help the surrounding properties a ton.”
Source: James Brown, Brownsmith Restoration
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Soon, a memorial honoring veterans will have a spot on the south end of Sheridan Memorial Park in Northeast Minneapolis, which has views of the Mississippi River.
The $400,000 public art installation has been in the works for five years, according to Deborah Bartels, a project manager from the Park Board.
Local veterans collaborated with the Sheridan Neighborhood Organization (SNO) to enhance the new park, which eventually will hook up with the regional trail system along the river, with various amenities, including picnic areas, playgrounds, and more, she says.
University of Minnesota designers came up with a concept for the site. The plan for the memorial was presented at a Feb. 21 open house at Park Board headquarters. Soon, the board will select an artist for the sculpture through a competitive application process.
A sculpture that speaks to “memorial and sacrifice” will go into the middle of a circular plaza, the Park Board’s website states.
Surrounding the sculpture will be vertical markers that speak to the nine conflicts that Minnesotans have fought in. They’ll give some background on the wars, including personal anecdotes.
An “empty” marker will “represent the precarious nature of peace,” according to Park Board information.
All along the way will be paths, benches, and green space; trees will ring the outer edge.
As for the sculpture, “We’d like to see what people come up with,” says Bartels. “We don’t want it to be representational.” The idea is to do something that’s “contemplative in nature,” she says.
Site work will wrap up by Veterans Day this year, while the main sculpture will be finished in time for Memorial Day in 2013.
Source: Deborah Bartels, project manager, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
A project launched last week, entitled "We are Sabathani," will document the impact of the longstanding Sabathani Community Center in South Minneapolis through words and art.
The Council on Black Minnesotans and the Minnesota Humanities Center have partnered in the project, with funding from the state Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Sabathani, which brings together everything from a food shelf to after-school youth programs, has long been a community gathering place, according to Anika Robbins, who is leading the project along with retired Judge LaJune Thomas Lange.
Already Robbins and Lange have started collecting oral histories and artifacts, such as newspaper clippings and other writings related to Sabathani, all of which will end up in a traveling exhibit. They're also cataloging the center's extensive art collection.
In the 1960s, Sabathani originated as a church. Back then, churches were often a “pivotal point for bringing communities together,” Robbins says. Before present-day types of nonprofit organizations and community centers were created, "Churches were activism-involved and they helped push social change,” she adds.
Later Sabathani evolved into a community center at its current location, which was formerly a junior high school. It became “an avenue for children, to keep them engaged,” Robbins says, adding that she has fond youthful memories of the place herself.
These days, it’s also a hangout for seniors, and some of its original founders participate in events; this, she says, “is a story in and of itself.”
Robbins is excited about the opportunity to capture these stories, which she hopes will help people to “understand the fabric of the community they come from.” The place has hosted “so many people from different walks of life, who grew up in the area or came through the doors for various reasons,” she says, adding, “It continues to be a beacon in the city.”
Source: Anika Robbins, "We are Sabathani"
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Videotect 2, the second annual video competition from Architecture Minnesota magazine, got people thinking in many different directions about sustainable transportation.
The 39 submissions included everything from an old-timey PSA about the benefits of walking to a Super Bowl-commercial-inspired video about getting around in the future.
The grand prizewinner, "SaddleBag," which won a $2,000 prize, was announced at the competition’s March 1 screening at the Walker Art Center. (Watch it below.)
Gaardhouse and Shelter Architecture teamed up on the video, which was tongue-in-cheek yet informative. “I hope more outfits take a cue from it,” Hudson says. “It had a great story line with lots of facts and it was easy to read and understand the diagrams.”
The most popular video among viewers, which also received a $2,000 check, was “Twin Cities Trails,” by Steven Gamache, Matt Herzog, Ben Lindau, Chris Lyner, and Mike Oertel. It showed a 1980s hair band that sang about the Twin Cities’ unmatched trail system. “It spoofed Queen amazingly,” he says, adding, “It was inventive and funny.”
The $500 honorable mention awards went to the “Church of Automobility,” by Michael Heller and Ryan O’Malley, “A Fistful of Asphalt,” by John Akre, “Over/Under,” by Daniel Green, and “Sustainable Transportation,” by Ryan Yang.
In general, guidelines for the 30- to 120-second videos were pretty open-ended. The pieces just had to “present a point of view on transportation choices, their impact on the environment and human health, and the role that design can play in enhancing them,” according to a statement about the competition.
Why is the magazine doing it? “The crux of it is, trying to bring more voices and creativity into urban design debates. It can be dry stuff, but it’s so important to the quality of our lives and how we design cities,” Hudson says. Videotect is a “great way to have fun with it, to make it entertaining to get at some of these issues that we keep debating as citizens.”
That's evident in the fact that the contest drew more submissions this year, and online voting spiked by 250 percent, he says.
Source: Chris Hudson, editor, Architecture Minnesota
Writer: Anna Pratt
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Videotect 2: SaddleBag from Architecture Minnesota on Vimeo.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
A new concert venue called The Brick is preparing to open next month in downtown Minneapolis’s Warehouse District.
The band Jane’s Addiction created a buzz about the club when it announced its March 19 show would be held at The Brick, according to a City Pages story.
The club is going into the space that once housed Club 3 Degrees, a Christian, youth-oriented rock club that continues to host occasional shows elsewhere.
The Brick's developer and owner, AEG Live, which is the live entertainment division of the Los Angeles-based AEG, is renovating the building that dates back to the early 1900s, according to its website.
The place will have a section for reserved and cabaret-style seating while its “multi-level floor plan allows for incredible sight lines,” according to the site. Also, the club will have a capacity of 2,000 people, along with a basement-level bar that will be able to accommodate a crowd of up to 400.
Although the venue's interior will be similar to the former club, it'll get a new paint job, carpeting, and signage, according to Joe Litvag, senior vice president of AEG Live.
"Obviously a big difference will be the 'vibe' of the space, which will be based on the staff we’re hiring and the artists performing on stage," he says via email. "The previous tenant really did a good job of building a first-class, flexible space, so much of the look will be the same."
"Our goal is to grow the 'live entertainment pie' in the Twin Cities," he says. "Another venue ideally means more shows in downtown Minneapolis, and more shows means more foot traffic for local businesses downtown."
In a blog posting from The Current, The Brick's general manager Jeff Kahr, adds that the club’s offerings will be diverse: “The venue itself will lend itself well to all types of touring artists, from rock, country and pop to R&B, jazz, comedy and more."
Source: Joe Litvag, Senior Vice President, AEG Live; Brick information; The Current
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Fulton Beer is adding a taproom to its brewery in downtown Minneapolis's Warehouse District.
Ryan Petz, president and co-founder of Fulton Beer, explains that although the taproom will be similar to a bar, it'll be more of an extension of the brewery.
For starters, its menu will be limited to the varieties of beer that are made on the premises. “It’s not a brewpub,” he says. “The purpose is to get people to try and buy locally-brewed beers.”
Referencing the company’s humble beginnings in a garage in Southwest Minneapolis, the taproom will have an industrial, “garage-esque” look, he says.
The space will be characterized by sealed concrete floors, an exposed ceiling, vintage lighting, and a dark-stained oak bar with a concrete top. Shades of gray, black, white, and green will run throughout, which will also help set it apart from the building's production-related functions.
From the taproom, visitors will also get a view into the brewery. “That’s the fun thing. You get to see what’s going on in there,” he says.
It connects with a growing local food movement in which “A lot of people are really interested in being closer to food or beverages and where they come from," says Petz.
Although he couldn’t disclose an exact dollar amount, Petz says that the taproom's build-out ranges in the six figures. “We really transformed 40 percent of the building into a gathering space," he adds.
The taproom is slated to open in March.
Source: Ryan Petz, president and co-founder, Fulton Beer
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
RiverFIRST, a plan that would re-imagine a 5.5-mile stretch of the Mississippi riverfront in Minneapolis with new parks and trails, is entering into an early design phase.
The proposal, which will go before the full park board for approval in March, includes a riverfront trail system and a number of neighborhood-accessible parks that are being referred to as the Farview Park extension, Scherer Park District, North Side Wetlands Park, and Downtown Gateway Park, according to project spokesperson Janette Law.
(To see a description of each of these parks, go here.)
The plan, which has a $174 million price tag, spaces out the projects over the next five years, with construction starting in 2013.
It also lays out a broader 20-year vision for the area along with a number of guiding principles, she says.
The planning committee is “asking for authorization of the completion of next steps,” which center mainly on the Scherer Park site and the 26th and 28th avenues North greenways, Law says. “The major news is that the park board is moving ahead on getting schematic designs."
RiverFIRST may also help lay the groundwork for the city’s Above the Falls master plan, which includes a "rich mix of land uses," including recreation along the Mississippi's east and west banks above St. Anthony Falls, according to park information.
RiverFIRST originated as the winning proposal from the design team Tom Leader Studio and Kennedy & Violich Architecture (TLS/KVA) as a part of the international Minneapolis Riverfront Design Competition, which the park board and the Minneapolis Parks Foundation jointly held in late 2010.
The proposal stood out for the way it speaks to such contemporary challenges as dealing with water, the “green economy,” community health, and mobility, according to a prepared statement about the project.
After the contest wrapped up, the effort became known as the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative.
“It’s an exciting vision for the Upper Riverfront, with the potential to bring the same water amenities to North and Northeast that South currently enjoys,” says Law, adding, “that area is significant locally and nationally. It presents the prospect of creating the most new park land in the city since the parks were founded over 100 years ago.”
Source: Janette Law, RiverFIRST spokesperson
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
The Mill is a kind of coworking space for "makers" in the industrial arts.
It includes a woodworking and metal shop, classroom, laser cutting and three-dimensional printing equipment, and a gallery space in its Northeast Minneapolis building, according to its website.
Previously, the 6,000-square-foot warehouse space was occupied by the Land O’Lakes company and later, a company called Hillcrest Development, according to The Mill’s founder, Brian Boyle.
Most recently, the warehouse had been used to manufacture washers and dryers before it sat vacant for some time, he adds.
When Boyle started to build out The Mill, which officially opened on Jan. 21, the space had an open floor plan, “with no walls or phone. It was just a big box,” he says.
That being said, “It’s a great location with great light,” he says, adding, “One wall is all windows.”
Right now, Boyle is still in the process of dividing the space to accommodate different kinds of maker-related activities, including an area for large assembly projects.
“Making” is a new term that literally describes making things, "something that has been going on forever," he says. Boyle, who took inspiration from similar places in San Francisco, wants to “add the capabilities that this equipment affords for whoever wants to do it.”
In this setting, “Anyone who wants to fabricate something can collaborate with others.”
“One of the great benefits is the idea of shared resources,” he says. “It’s hard to justify the purchase of this equipment for individuals.” It’s also a way to train people to use the equipment safely and responsibly.
Further, with people who have different areas of expertise to turn to, “It expands people’s creativity and what they can do.”
Source: Brian Boyle, The Mill
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
In St. Paul’s Como Park neighborhood, some neighbors are putting their heads together to identify the ideal spot for a new community garden.
Como Park already has a number of community flower gardens, but over the past year, some residents have expressed interest in planting vegetables somewhere, too, according to Jessie Bronk, the administrator and coordinator for the District 10 Como Community Council.
Recently, the neighborhood group formed a planning committee to help nail down the details. The eight-member committee, which had its first meeting earlier this month, involves both renters and homeowners in the neighborhood. “All are avid gardeners,” she says, adding, “It’s helpful to have all of that experience.”
Since it’s so early in the process, the project’s budget and scope, along with the garden's location, have yet to be determined. “We’re aiming for a space that can accommodate at least 15 plots,” she says.
At this point, the group has narrowed its list to seven possible locations, which it plans to look into over the next month. For starters, in the case of each piece of land, “We need to find out who owns the land and whether there’s a water source nearby,” she says.
It's a lot of work, but community gardens have plenty of benefits.
“[They're] a great way to connect neighbors, build community and beautify the neighborhood,” Bronk says, adding that they can help reduce crime as well.
She also sees community gardening as a good opportunity to reach out to diverse groups in the neighborhood. “It’s a way to make our district stronger,” she says.
Additionally, community gardens encourage local food production, healthy eating, and physical fitness.
The group hopes to begin gardening this spring. The fact that it's been such a mild winter has made it “fun to dream and plan for spring,” Bronk says.
Source: Jessie Bronk, administrator and coordinator, District 10 Como Community Council
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Soon, a portion of the commercial corridor in Minneapolis’s Whittier neighborhood will become a temporary outdoor gallery space.
Original artwork from local artists will dress up a number of vacant storefront windows on Eat Street (Nicollet Avenue) in April, and will stay up for about six weeks.
It’s a creative way to showcase art and to advertise spaces that need to be leased, according to Joan Vorderbruggen, who is coordinating the project through the Whittier Business Association.
Vorderbruggen, who is a Whittier resident, says that local photographer Wing Young Huie, whose community-minded work has graced various storefronts in Minneapolis and St. Paul, inspired her.
After doing some digging, Vorderbruggen, who designs window displays for businesses professionally, stumbled upon similar programs in other cities across the country that had been successful. “The spaces have been leased a lot faster when they’ve participated in this,” she says.
Seeing that, she approached the Whittier Business Association, which was supportive.
Right now, the Business Association is applying for grant money to help offset the pilot program's costs, but it'll mainly be a do-it-yourself-kind of thing, she says.
Separately, the Longfellow neighborhood has a similar project underway, which
The Line covered
here.
This week, the group is putting out a call for artists; artists who live, work, or go to school in the neighborhood can apply to submit work to the project. It can include paintings, sculpture, fashion, yarn bombing, and murals, or just about anything else that’s doable as a window display, she says.
The neighborhood group will also be lining up a number of business and property owners who are willing to participate, with a goal of getting at least 6 to 10 storefronts in the mix.
Besides giving artists a venue to show their work, it’s about revitalizing and beautifying the corridor. “It’s kind of a free staging service to property owners,” she says. “It brings foot traffic to the space.”
When the exhibit opens up in April, the group will host walking tours of the storefront displays. “The hope is that you’ll be walking down Eat Street and there’ll be art everywhere,” Vorderbruggen says.
Source: Joan Vorderbruggen, artist, Whittier
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Soon, a building in Minneapolis's Northeast Arts District that sat vacant for a year will become a hub for beer, art, and solar power.
It's been dubbed the Solar Arts Building, according to Nathan Berndt, a cofounder of Indeed Brewing Company, which will be its anchor tenant on the first floor.
In the past, the 1914 building had various uses, including housing a Sears Roebuck distribution center and more recently, an electrical transformer company, before it went through foreclosure stages, according to Indeed Brewing information.
Besides the brewery, artist-geared spaces, some of which have already been snatched up, will fill the building's remaining two floors.
It’s an ideal location for the new brewing company, which recently signed a lease for the space with building owner Duane Arens, Berndt says. “We’re involved in the community and we support being in a place for people to come together,” especially artists, he says. “We like being around creative people.”
Another dimension of the brewing company will be a public taproom, for which the design is still being developed.
A strong visual feature will be the building’s original wood columns, which lend a turn-of-the-last-century warehouse feel, he says.
Sustainability is also an important aspect of the building’s overall rehab. On the building’s rooftop a sizable solar array will be installed. It’s also getting new energy-efficient windows and mechanical systems, Berndt says.
The effort to go green is something that’s important to the brewing company, as well, he adds.
“This sleepy dead-end adjacent to the Northstar Commuter Rail tracks will be a bustling intersection of art, craft beer, solar power, and urban revitalization,” the brewing company’s website states.
Indeed plans to open this summer.
Source: Nathan Berndt, cofounder, Indeed Brewing Company
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and nearby Cowles Conservatory, popular attractions at the Walker Art Center, are due for a facelift, according to Phillip Bahar, the museum’s chief of operations and administration.
It’s been almost 25 years since the sculpture garden was inaugurated, he says.
Back then, the garden, which is run by the museum on city parkland, was the “first major urban sculpture garden in America,” and it became a model for many others.
The University of Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum ran the conservatory in the beginning, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation constructed the colorful bridge that connects Loring Park and the sculpture garden.
“It was an amazing example of what can happen when the community comes together around one idea,” Bahar says.
Since then, over 8 million people from all over the world have visited the sculpture garden, which is also the most tagged photo subject on the photo-sharing site, flickr, he says. “It carries the message of Minnesota and the arts.”
However, over the years the garden’s soil has become so compacted that water doesn’t drain properly anymore. It needs to be refreshed to “loosen up the topsoil.” Granite pavers that have settled into the land also need to be reset. “Those are some of the things that are hit the hardest by water,” he says.
A new drainage system that’s been designed for the garden would capture rainwater to irrigate the land, a process that's especially useful for the famous Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture, which has a water feature.
Beyond that, the conservatory’s mechanical systems have become outdated, and its greenhouse use is also nearing an end. The conservatory will probably be turned into an exhibition space of some sort, he explains.
Altogether, it’s an $8.5 million project, which the state legislature is considering in its current bonding bill. To be clear, he says, the park board is making the funding request. As such, “None of this money goes to the art. It goes to infrastructure and landscape,” the sculpture garden’s “hard parts.”
Depending on how the legislative session goes, work on the garden could begin as soon as the fall.
“We have this beloved state asset,” Bahar says, and, just like any other major infrastructure project, the garden needs work to “replenish it to its glory when it was new.”
Source: Phillip Bahar, chief of operations and administration, Walker Art Center
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
The historic Uptown Theatre, a well-known fixture in Minneapolis’s Uptown area, closed on Jan. 31 for renovations.
Its operator, Landmark Theatres, which is based in Los Angeles, plans to reopen the place this spring, according to a prepared statement from the company.
The 900-seat theater is a destination for foreign, art and cult films, including the long-running "Rocky Horror Picture Show."
As a part of the renovation, Landmark plans to turn the concession stand into a full bar, according to a prepared statement from the company. The theater will also get a giant new screen, luxury seats, and a digital projector. Its distinctive neon sign will remain intact, and and so will its balcony, which is one of the few of its era in use locally.
The existing Uptown Theatre was constructed in 1939 after the 1913 building on the site burned down. Originally it was known as the Lagoon Theater.
It’s defined by a classic Streamline Moderne style employed by its designers, architecture firm Liebenberg and Kaplan, which also did the Suburban World Theatre down the street, according to the Star Tribune.
The Uptown Theater last underwent a major remodeling in the late 1960s, the Star Tribune story states.
Alicia Garatoni, who works at Keller Williams Realty and serves as the vice president of the Uptown Association, welcomes the changes. “I’m thrilled, both as someone who loves independent and foreign films and has a business in the Uptown area.”
“It’s in keeping with the forward movement of Uptown,” including the remodel of Calhoun Square and a number of other area renovations and development projects. “I’m glad it’s getting attention and will drive traffic into the Uptown area.”
She says it’ll help the area be a well-rounded destination center. “So much is going on in Uptown,” she says. “There’s a lot of reasons to come to Uptown and this is just one more.”
“I love [the theater] because it has an old-time feeling to it. It’s so charming,” she adds.
Source: Alicia Garatoni, realtor, Keller Williams and vice president, Uptown Association
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
A vibrant mural at 12th Street and Hennepin Avenue South uniquely calls attention to the coming Butcher and the Boar restaurant while also sprucing up a previously nondescript corner.
Local artist Adam Turner, whose work also adorns Creative Lighting in St. Paul and the Surly Brewery in Minneapolis, says, "All the work the company is doing is really upping the beauty of that area. That building was kind of rundown. It’s bringing new life to it.”
The 20-foot by 20-foot mural, which could be enlarged later, pictures a blond-haired woman who is poised with a vintage-looking bicycle. A silhouette of the Minneapolis skyline is behind her while oversized stalks of wheat frames the figure.
It's characterized by fall colors.
On the whole, the image speaks to the clientele the restaurant is planning to attract along with the area’s bike and beer culture, he says. "The mural is about the vibe [the restaurateurs] want to have."
As if to demonstrate that, a woman who resembled the figure in the mural, who had a similar bike, posed in front of the scene one night for a photo.
The mural came together over the summer and fall months.
During that time, the parking lot that the mural faces was being redone, so he worked in the mud. Nevertheless, he’s enjoyed being in the elements.
Already attracted a lot of comments from passersby who spotted him working. “Hopefully a lot of people will see it and like it.”
He hopes it paves the way for other businesses to do more work like this and “not be afraid to come up with a proposal that’s a little fun and expressive of its views.”
Source: Adam Turman, mural artist, Butcher and the Boar
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Local photographer Wing Young Huie, who is well known for his public art installations that explore everyday life in the city, is trying to line up funding for a new project, called, “We Are the Other."
It centers on strangers who cross paths within the four-neighborhood area surrounding his gallery, The Third Place, at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis. He also lives in the neighborhood.
“The Other” refers to people who “know each other slightly, but for whatever reason or perceived difference there is a barrier in getting to know them well,” he states in project materials.
“We Are the Other” builds on “The University Avenue Project,” which also forged connections between near-strangers, he says.
As a part of the recent project, which turned the St. Paul avenue into a six-mile public gallery, Huie used a series of questions to prompt conversations between residents.
He asked students in a school, for example, to go outside of their social circle, and to pose questions to one another such as, "What's your favorite word?" or "How do you think others see you?"
He documented them in black-and-white photos that feature their chalkboard scribbles.
Similarly, for his current project,Huie is bringing random people together, either on the street or at a business or a community organization, with the chalkboard.
The photographer will also host related workshops to encourage others to do the same.
Eventually, the project, which will incorporate photos from the workshops, will take the form of a “mobile community art center,” changing locations every week or so.
Altogether, it advances the idea behind The Third Place, which is also a sociological term that describes informal places where people congregate outside of home and work.
“Making connections, getting outside of our bubble, is where the idea of 'The Other' came from,” he says.
“In the times we live in, everyone wants to be connected but it’s so difficult to be connected. This is an era that’s made face-to-face interaction difficult.”
Source: Wing Young Huie
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
To gauge interest in a couple of its redevelopment projects, Plymouth-based Dominium Development and Acquisition hosted a community meeting on Jan. 9 at the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis.
Dominium plans to convert two historic sites--the old Jacob Schmidt Brewery in St. Paul and Pillsbury ‘A’ Mill in Minneapolis--into artist live/work spaces. (See
The Line’s stories
here and
here.)
With the help of PLACE, a nonprofit agency that specializes in this kind of housing, Dominium has created an online survey to get additional input.
The survey asks people to weigh in on everything from possible rent prices to amenities, to help shape the common spaces and individual units in both developments.
Owen Metz, a senior development associate at Dominium, says that the company wants to “assess the market, to see what interest there is from the arts community,” adding, “We want to find out what their motivations are for living there.”
Dominium is hoping to hear from 10,000 area artists. “We’ll use the feedback to guide and drive some of the decisions moving forward, as we design units and common spaces,” which will allow for flexibility in the design, he says.
He adds that the company is reaching out to artists working in many different media.
Depending on the survey’s results, a photography studio, for example, could be incorporated into one or both of the housing projects.
Whatever the reaction is, “We’ll take it to heart and try to accommodate it as much as we can,” he says.
Source: Owen Metz, senior development associate, Dominium Development
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Last winter, when Matt Forrester worked in downtown Minneapolis, he often took the skyways to get around, but, at first it was challenging to find his way.
Forrester, who then worked at Thrivent Financial, frequently used the indoor walkways to get to the Minneapolis Convention Center. It took about five tries to master his route.
“It’s a terribly confusing system if you’re not there day-to-day, or if you’re not in your own office," he says.
That's where his cartography skills came in handy. Around the same time, he and his business partner, Kate Chanba, started a map-making company, Carticulate.
The existing skyway map, which the city has been using for a long time, is “really bad. There are a few things wrong,” for starters, and it’s difficult for those who are color-blind to read.
Forrester and Chanba put together an alternative skyway map to address those issues. When they published it online, it led to a huge spike on their website, he says.
Subway maps like Harry Beck’s 1933 London Underground inspired them.
Their map shows multiple ways to get from point A to point B. Each building acts as a subway “stop” with seven different “lines,” which are color-coded.
They eliminated the background geography, such as cross streets, which helped simplify things. “Most people aren’t leaving the skyways,” he says.
Their goal is to get the map into the skyways, with some corresponding signage. “It definitely trumps any other map that’s out there,” he says, since other maps don’t clearly show connecting routes that go through multiple buildings.
The challenge is that there’s no one entity governing the skyways.
Even though the pair moved their company to New York this month, they're staying the course. “We’d love to help out the area and benefit the city. We want to do what we can to make it better.”
Source: Matt Forrester, Carticulate
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
A new brewpub that takes its cues from old England, George and the Dragon, is coming to Southwest Minneapolis.
Fred Navarro, who co-owns the business with his wife, Stacy, says that the first hurdle was to get neighborhood approval. From there, the pair got to work on the financial side of things. “That’s been the long part of the process,” he says.
George and the Dragon will have about 1,850 square feet in a newly-constructed building that replaces one that burned down a couple of years ago. It's a one-story structure with a brick facade and a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood feel, he says.
The retail shop Patina will join the pub in the building, along with a to-be-announced tenant.
George and the Dragon is starting from scratch, in terms of the build-out and equipment, he says.
Navarro and his wife worked closely with architect John Abbott to recreate the feel of a traditional English bar or “public house,” one that “feels like it’s been there a long time.”
“Ultimately a public house is a place for the community and for neighbors to gather,” he says. “That was kind of a driving factor for what we wanted the design to look like.”
The Atwater-based company TimeWorn is creating a wood-paneled interior in the pub, using reclaimed wood. In the basement will be a kitchen, offices and storage, and cooler space.
Altogether, the project totals nearly $500,000, Navarro says. The couple hope to open the pub by April 1.
Source: Fred Navarro, co-owner, George and the Dragon
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Mary McGreevy and Susan Bernstein, the filmmakers behind Seven and Sixty Productions, briefly documented the pluses of Twin Cities living in a short film that went viral last year, called
“Why We’re Here.”
This year, the pair is building on that idea with a new film in progress that will pay homage to Minnesota winters. They were inspired in part by filmmaker Andrew Clancy’s movie titled “A Year in New York,” according to McGreevy.
“Winter is such a defining theme for us,” McGreevy says via email, adding, “We love it. We hate it. We get through it. We celebrate it. We’re both interested in the idea that we’re surrounded by beauty in our everyday lives,” a fact which, she says, often goes unnoticed.
They like the idea of putting together “small pieces of art that reach out and grab hold of people.”
They’re asking for three-to-four-minute video submissions that speak to the winter theme. Submissions are due on Feb. 13.
Skiers, ice fishing, texting with gloves on, and the iconic Winter Carnival are some examples of the kinds of things that people could shoot, the submission guidelines explain. “We're looking for work that captures the emotion and beauty of people, nature, and our surroundings in the context of winter,” the guidelines state.
The filmmakers will stitch together the most compelling images and set the whole thing to the music of a local artist. They want to “develop a collective picture of how we see it, feel about it, and live through it, to show ourselves, and to show others who don’t live here,” the guidelines say.
Metro Magazine is sponsoring the project.
The pair is also working on a Web series that profiles colorful, quirky local personalities.
Source: Mary McGreevy, filmmaker, Seven and Sixty Productions
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
This year, a lot of local development projects got creative.
They innovated in community engagement, replacing the typical “request for proposals” with contests. Social media tools helped to keep the conversation going beyond the traditional town hall meeting. Artists and art-making were brought into the development process in fresh ways. And technology contributed to community-building via smartphones and QR codes.
For example, early in the year, the Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition attracted 55 proposals from around the globe.
In re-imagining a portion of the riverfront in Minneapolis, the idea was to emphasize parks as an “engine for sustainable recreational, cultural, and economic development along the riverfront,” according to project materials.
Today, the effort has evolved into the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative (MRDI).
On Dec. 15, MRDI held a well-attended public meeting at the Mill City Museum to discuss the possibilities for a nearby ‘Water Works’ park along the river. In the past it was the site of the city’s first water supply and fire-fighting pumping stations.
Partners in Preservation
Partners in Preservation (PIP) from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation had a contest to award $1 million to 13 local preservation projects. The public got to help determine where the money went by voting on Facebook for their favorite projects.
Chris Morris from the National Trust for Historic Preservation said that the contest raised the profile of a number of local preservation projects. He celebrated “the impact it can have on sites that are meaningful to people in their neighborhoods.” Additionally, through creative open-house events, people “tried to involve the community and do good work.”
The Weisman Art Museum held a contest that for the redesign of the bike and pedestrian plaza outside its door, hosting public meetings with interdisciplinary design teams and exhibiting preliminary sketches and models.
Similarly, Architecture Minnesota magazine, which the American Institute of Architects Minnesota publishes, is undergoing its second annual round of Videotect, a video competition that asks participants to contemplate the built environment. The theme this time is sustainable transportation and its enhancement through design. It’ll wrap up with a screening of the videos, giving the audience a chance to weigh in.
Irrigate
Also on the transportation theme, Irrigate is a three-year place-making initiative that aims to connect artists to community development that will accompany the coming Central Corridor light rail transit line. Springboard for the Arts, TC LISC and the city of St. Paul received $750,000 from the national funding group ArtPlace, to set it in motion.
Laura Zabel, who heads Springboard, said, “We really see the Central Corridor and construction as an opportunity to engage artists in a really deep way."
Similarly, technology tools are helping to create a sense of community. Some recently released smartphone tours feature audio segments about local landmarks, like Ranger on Call, which touches on various aspects of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
Others, such as Saint Paul: Code Green put people on a kind of scavenger hunt in which they scan strategically placed QR codes to learn more or advance in the “game.”
Experience Southwest’s "shop local" marketing campaign in Southwest Minneapolis also takes advantage of QR codes to direct community members to area retailers.
Going forward, I expect to see more experimentation of this kind in other areas--look for it in connection with locally trending topics like bicycling, solar power and urban farming.
Anna Pratt, Development Editor
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
A light spectacle set to music, called Aurora Digitalis, is transforming a plaza at the University of Minnesota’s civil engineering building on certain nights through Dec. 23.
Mike Hepler, who is the vice president of the student-driven Nikola Tesla Patent Producers (NTP^2), which put it together, says its name “captures the spirit of these flashing lights and what it’s like to be up north.”
The display includes more than 75,000 blue, green, white and red LED lights that are strewn about the trees, railings and other props in the plaza.
As a part of the show, lights blink to the beat of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra song “Wizards in Winter” and the theme music to “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
“It lights up more for more intense parts of the music,” speeding up or slowing down accordingly, he explains, adding, “It’s an immersive experience.”
Hepler says that the idea for the project came from a student who is new to the group, Taylor Trimble. He'd seen footage of other light shows elsewhere and he wanted to try it out at the university.
NTP^2 did a little historical digging, and the group believes this to be the university's first light show, he says.
The U's College of Science and Engineering (CSE), Parsons Electric, and 3M backed the project, according to the Minnesota Daily.
NTP^2 designed the circuits and soldered them together. “It was a lot of work,” Hepler says. “We designed and built it and put up all the lights,” except for those at the treetops.
To pull it off under a tight deadline, “It took the full crew and all the people coming in between classes. It was inspirational to see that and be a part of it.”
All in all, “It brings something unique to the campus,” Hepler says. “It’s something that represents the student presence and capabilities, especially within CSE.”
Beyond that, it’s a way to “bring everyone together to create a vibrant communal base.”
The group hopes to do a larger-scale light show next time, he says.
Source: Michael Hepler, vice president, Nikola Tesla Patent Producers
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
A winter bicyclist, sledders, a roofline, bare trees, and snowflakes all appear in the 150-plus-square-foot mosaic that was unveiled on Nov. 19 at Bryant Avenue Market in Southwest Minneapolis.
The nearby Volunteers of America Southwest Senior Center, which does a lot of arts-related work, secured $11,900 earlier on from the city and the Calhoun Area Residents Action Group (CARAG) to pursue the mosaic, according to Mary Ann Schoenberger, who heads the center.
Such projects are "a really great way to get people working inter-generationally," she says, adding that by making certain building improvements, "We're also giving back to the community."
The center worked closely with CARAG to pick out the site. Bryant Avenue Market is on a prominent corner, and it had been tagged numerous times, she says. "The neighborhood association was interested in doing building improvements [on the corner]," she says.
To come up with the design, the center held a couple of brainstorming sessions with community members while also getting feedback from an online survey.
"A lot of people wanted a winter scene," she says. "There are a lot of things that celebrate summer. People thought, 'wouldn't it be neat to celebrate winter?'"
Another theme was the city's bike-friendliness. It helped that "Bryant Avenue has a major bike path," she says.
With the guidance of artist Sharra Frank, the center hosted numerous workshops with community members over six weeks to put together the mosaic.
The 185 all-ages volunteers came from the senior center, Clara Barton Open School, Walker Place, Bryant Square Park, Optum Health, and elsewhere.
Many of them worked on the 43 snowflakes that can be individually identified.
In a piece about the mosaic she wrote for Southwest Patch, Schoenberger states that each snowflake "is a work of art in itself and we were amazed at how seven patterns could result in such diverse creations."
She has high praise for the artist, who"remained calm and the final result is amazingly professional considering how many hands were involved in the project."
Source: Mary Ann Schoenberger, executive director, Southwest Senior Center
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Prominent radio show personality Garrison Keillor is relocating his bookstore, Common Good Books, from Western Avenue North in St. Paul to a larger storefront space at nearby Macalester College.
To make way for the bookstore, this month Macalester began a $1.2 million renovation project at the 1923 Lampert Building, which will take about four months, according to Macalester’s newspaper, The Mac Weekly.
The bookstore will fill the first floor, while the college will sell textbooks on the second floor, according to David O’Neill, marketing director for the bookstore.
Previously, the building housed the Macalester Summit-Hill Seniors Living at Home Program, the Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth, and living space for retired faculty, The Mac Weekly reports.
At the existing space, “We’ve had a wonderful patronage; people come into the store and know the staff by name, and it’s a great neighborhood,” O'Neill says.
That being said, “We were landlocked as far as space. We needed a larger space.”
The bookstore will nearly double its space with 3,000 square feet. “It’ll allow us to have more titles and books,” with more shelf space.
Although the design is still coming together, the new bookstore will have a similar feel to the current space, with author quotes appearing here and there, and many of the current bookshelves making the move.
“We’ll look at the floor plan and figure out how to lay it out, with places to read and hang out,” says O'Neill.
In contrast to Common Good's current basement-level location, the new place will have more natural light. The windows will also give passersby the opportunity to get a taste for what’s inside. “We encourage people to come in and spend some time there,” he says.
Additionally, the bookstore will be able to host literary events in partnership with the school, which has lacked a trade bookstore since Ruminator Books closed in 2004, according to a prepared statement.
Keillor adds in the prepared statement, “It’s a good neighborhood, and with all those college students around, there’s a sense of high spirits in the air, and you need to inhale that if you’re in the book business.”
Source: David O’Neill, marketing director, Common Good Books
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Ever since she read the book, “Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure,” local librarian and writer Emily Lloyd has been enthralled with the idea of bringing the concept of miniature memoirs closer to home.
After trying it out at the library where she works, the idea of “6 Words Minneapolis” came to her.
It’s a public art project that gets Minneapolitans of all ages and walks of life “to tell their life stories–or something essential about who they are right now–in 6-word memoir form,” the website reads.
People can contribute to the project virtually or in person at a handful of places.
Right now, a mural of submissions is on exhibit at the Midtown Global Market, while the Blue Moon Coffee Café, 2nd Moon Coffee Café, Anodyne, and Seward Café are also featuring pieces of the project that invites audience interaction.
Meanwhile, Lloyd is still looking for other neighborhood establishments, such as bookstores, salons, and hospitals, to “host” the project, either in mural form, or in a digital slideshow.
So far, over 500 people, including some area middle- and high-school students, have contributed writings that run the gamut from the funny to the poetic.
Their scribblings are posted on Flickr, where they’re tagged by neighborhood and age.
“Knowing these are the memoirs of the people we pass on the Greenway or bump into at the library or while grocery shopping gives it a greater depth and resonance,” she says.
She plans to accept submissions through the spring and is considering compiling the work into a free e-book.
“I hope people stop, pause, think, and walk away filled with a deepened love and compassion for (or at least curiosity about) those they share space with, a neighborhood with, a city with.”
Source: Emily Lloyd, 6 Words Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
A new audio tour created jointly by Minnesota Public Radio and the city of Minneapolis, called Sound Points, allows listeners to go behind the scenes of 14 recently commissioned public artworks.
Anyone who happens upon the sites, which are indicated with signs, can access the tour around the clock, either by making a phone call or by scanning a QR code with their smartphone.
The Line recently featured a similar audio tour of the Mississippi River, called Ranger on Call,
here.
While the cell phone tour is modeled after similar museum tours, it takes advantage of readily available technology, MPR producer Jeff Jones explains.
There's no need to check out equipment or stick to visiting hours and the artworks can be enjoyed in any order.
“You can just stumble upon these things now,” he says. “That’s what’s taking the tour outside the walls [of the museum]. It lets people find them on their own.”
And, unlike a video or a brochure, it doesn’t substitute for the experience. “It’s meant to enhance the experience of place,” he says.
Many of the Sound Points can be found near bus stops, making it convenient for those who are already lingering.
For example, one part of the tour features the “Blossoms of Hope” bus shelter that artist Majorie Pitz created in conjunction with Catalyst Community Partners.
She turned the busy bus shelter at Penn and Broadway avenues in North Minneapolis into an oversized vase of flowers, with colorful petals that look like sails.
After the July tornado that hit North Minneapolis, Jones says, “It became a rallying point for the community,” with services, food, and other assistance being handed out there.
“It was literally a bright spot. It’s a playful piece of art that can be seen from a long way off," says Jones.
Another of his favorite Sound Points centers on an artistically designed water fountain at 21st and Lake Street, titled “3 Forms: The Lake Street Bubbler.”
Water is the fountain’s theme, embodied grotto-style, so that “there are lots of tiny hidden objects and forms throughout the piece."
It’s one of the most satisfying aspects of an audio tour--to learn something that not everyone is privy to, he says.
To take things a step further, the tour encourages people to respond, either with questions or personal anecdotes, in writing or verbally.
Other tour highlights include Wing Young Huie’s “Lake Street USA,” which is displayed at the city’s Public Service Center downtown, the 35W Bridge Remembrance Garden, by landscape architect Tom Oslund, and “Enjoyment of Nature,” on Third and Nicollet, by artist Kinji Akagawa.
Source: Jeff Jones, Sound Point Producer, MPR
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
As it approaches its 125th anniversary, the state’s oldest theater, CSPS Sokol Hall, is about to become usable year-round.
Sokol is a fitness organization that was originally founded in the Czech Republic, according to Joe Landsberger, who is a spokesperson for the hall.
He explains that the CSPS Sokol hall, which is run by the volunteer-driven Czech Slovak Sokol Minnesota, goes beyond that by offering everything from ethnic dinners to folk dancing.
The hall will soon be getting air-conditioning for its second-floor auditorium, thanks to an $80,000 grant from Partners in Preservation, a joint program of American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Partners in Preservation recently announced the results of a local competition to dole out $1 million to metro area preservation projects.
The cash infusion will be instrumental in doing more at the hall. “Our building was vacant in the summer because it got too hot,” says Landsberger. “This will enable us to expand programs into the summer months.”
The group of volunteers that runs the hall has been proactive in recent years in bringing the building up to current code standards.
It's all part of a long-range plan for the building, which has been undergoing incremental improvements for decades.
In the 1970s, the three-story commercial building was scheduled to be demolished, but the neighborhood and Sokol joined forces to get it historically designated.
Since then, Sokol has worked to raise funds for design work, heating and plumbing upgrades, a fire-protection sprinkler system, asbestos removal, floor repair, basement moisture remediation, and more, according to its website.
Because of the building’s historic status, “Everything has to fit without compromising the structure,” Landsberger says.
The work is necessary to “ensure the building has another 125 years of useful life with current standards,” he says.
Once the renovations are made, “We’ll put more energy into the programming side.”
Source: Joe Landsberger, CSPS Sokol Hall
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
When Peter Haakon Thompson stepped in as the curator and host for Intermedia Arts’ new coworking area, called ArtsHub, he focused on getting the place physically ready.
He wanted to do away with its office look to create a more welcoming workplace for artists, organizers, and others who are interested in social change. “A big part of what I did was create a 'place' out of 'space',” he says.
ArtsHub, which opened last month following a September preview, is housed both within Intermedia and in a separate building behind it, which is referred to as ArtsHub West. Both spaces have conference rooms and a kitchen, although ArtsHub West is geared more for small groups. From either location, people can copy, print, and access the Internet.
Inside Intermedia, the mezzanine-level ArtsHub has a warm, cozy feeling. With an exposed ceiling and a balcony, it feels like a boat, Thompson says. “I like the idea that it’s an enclosed space that overlooks the lobby.”
It’s furnished with vintage tables and chairs that come from the University of Minnesota’s ReUse Center. Some of the tables look like they came from a biology classroom. Each table has a desk lamp.
In setting it up, Thompson paid attention to light, and how the eclectic furniture works together. “I felt like a curator of desks and chairs,” he says, adding that he hopes people will find a favorite nook.
He also placed one table in the gallery area. How that table gets used is “going to develop as time goes on, when ArtsHub is more part of the building.”
ArtsHub West involved more construction. Thompson took down the walls to make one large open space and installed items for a kitchen. The space also got a new coat of paint--inside and out--which is accentuated by stencil work. “It has a funky artistic look,” he says.
Artist Ethan Arnold, who painted the lime-green exterior, has artwork showing inside.
Now, Thompson is focused on programming for the spaces with skill-shares, table tennis, “grant jam days,” happy hours, and more--to facilitate interaction. “We want to provide another way for people to feel like they’re part of a community of other creative types.”
Source: Peter Haakon Thompson, ArtsHub curator, Intermedia Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
To help make the city of Minneapolis stand out to tourists and convention planners, it's being rebranded as a 'City by Nature.'
Meet Minneapolis introduced the tagline at an Oct. 27 press conference in the IDS Center's Crystal Court in downtown Minneapolis.
Melvin Tennant, who is the CEO and president for Meet Minneapolis, a nonprofit organization that promotes the city (and is also a sponsor of The Line), says that the rebranding came about because “We need better positioning for the city and more consistent messaging to visitors.”
The tagline is accompanied by a broader brand position, ‘Metropolitan by Nature,’ along with a logo that depicts the city with a silhouette of skyscrapers and trees reflected on water.
Each aspect of the plan is deeply rooted in research that began in early 2011, he says.
When researchers gathered feedback about the city, they found that adjectives such as “friendly, beautiful, and down-to-earth,” often came up, he says.
Those are attributes that the marketing strategy will help the city to build on, he explains.
As it is, too few people see the city as a vacation destination, Mayor R.T. Rybak adds.
In a survey of top cities to visit, Minneapolis was under the radar for those who’d never been to the area, he says. But for people who had spent some quality time in the city, it shot near the top. “To know us is to love us,” Rybak concludes.
It’s a big deal, considering that 18 million visitors who arrive to the area every year spend $6 billion annually, he says.
The press event also kicked off a social-media-type “virtual destination tour” around town.
Using their smartphones, people can scan QR codes in and around such local landmarks as the IDS Center, Minneapolis Convention Center, Stone Arch Bridge, Guthrie Theater and Target Field, for informative videos and links, according to Meet Minneapolis information.
Source: R.T. Rybak, Minneapolis mayor, and Melvin Tennant, Meet Minneapolis president and CEO
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
The Weisman Art Museum (WAM) in Minneapolis, which recently reopened with a new addition, wrapped up a design competition last month that re-imagines the plaza outside its front entrance.
A nine-member jury chose as its winner a proposal jointly from VJAA (Jennifer Yoos and Vincent James), HouMinn Practice (Marc Swackhammer and Blair Satterfield), and artist Diane Willow, according to WAM information.
The plaza, which overlooks the Mississippi River, stands on the eastern edge of the Washington Avenue Bridge, which links the east and west banks of the University of Minnesota campus.
Over 2,000 people cross the plaza daily, and with the completion of recent construction projects, including the Weisman expansion, that number is probably going to go up, according to museum information.
WAM spokesperson Erin Lauderman explains that the design competition was a way to “re-envision our front yard,” which, she adds, is important because “We’re the figureheads for people coming onto the campus as they cross the river.”
The idea is to make the busy plaza more of a gathering space where people will want to linger. “Right now it dumps you on the campus,” she says.
To address that, WAM's Target Studio for Creative Collaboration required that submissions come from interdisciplinary teams with experience designing public spaces.
She says that the winning team’s design helps redirect the flow of traffic to make it safer, keeping pedestrians and bicyclists separate.
It also makes way for an interactive public space with digital walls where passersby “can stop and interact, sort of like a call and response.”
For example, images of people walking across the bridge could appear on the digital walls.
The next phase involves public meetings. “It needs to be vetted for what’s realistic and what the community wants it to be,” Lauderman says.
Source: Erin Lauderman, spokesperson, Weisman Art Museum
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
For a decade, a memorial to honor Latino veterans in St. Paul has been in the works, and last month, it finally became a reality.
American Veterans Memorial--Plaza de Honor recently had its ground-breaking on Harriet Island Regional Park’s Great Lawn near the river walk.
The $265,000 memorial will feature a gathering area with several flagpoles around it.
“The design and construction of the memorial will tie into the recently completed renovations of the island,” a prepared statement about the memorial reads.
Brad Meyer, a spokesperson for St. Paul parks, says it helps that Harriet Island already has a smaller- scale flagpole memorial. “A new, larger memorial could use existing materials and space,” while also improving upon the original, he says.
The park was also an ideal setting for the memorial because of its high visibility, he says. Besides the thousands of visitors who come to events on the island, it receives plenty of “passive use” year-round.
And nearby is the home of the American Veterans--Mexican American Post #5, which he says was instrumental in bringing the memorial to fruition.
With the help of the veterans' group, “We were able to secure the funds necessary to complete the project,” he says via email.
The city, along with the American Veterans--Mexican American Post #5 and U.S. Bank, contributed funds to the project, which secured both grants and private donations, according to city information.
“A lot of thought has gone into this project, and we are very pleased with the final design and are looking forward to celebrating the grand opening” next spring, Meyer says.
Source: Brad Meyer, spokesperson, St. Paul Parks
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
A new design for the aging Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis incorporates everything from a 20-foot water wall to flexible performance spaces.
Tom Oslund, who is the principal of oslund.and.associates, a local landscape architecture firm that took into consideration all kinds of public feedback in coming up with the design, says it modernizes the plaza.
The existing plaza, which notable landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg designed in 1974, doesn't meet modern accessibility requirements. Also, too much water goes down the drain--literally--and the plaza lacks an efficient stormwater management plan, Oslund says.
More broadly, the plaza has evolved into a hub for outdoor performances over the past several decades. "There's a shortage of infrastructure to hold more sophisticated performances."
Additionally, the way the plaza recesses below-grade has posed numerous safety concerns.
The new design divides the plaza into several "rooms," at different elevations, including a street-level area and garden and performance space, all of which are accessible via a ramp.
It features a couple of pools with dancing fountains, a shady pergola, a sound garden, and green spaces, according to project information.
Seating can be configured according to the use, with shallow pools that can be turned off to make room for 1,500 chairs.
A video screen that a video artist will help program will broadcast Orchestra Hall performances.
Although the $8-$10 million project depends on fundraising, the ideal timeline is to have it reopen with the $50 million reconstruction of the adjacent Orchestra Hall. At this point, the groundbreaking is planned for the spring of 2012.
He says that while change is hard for some people, the design has been well received.
"I think the new design is reflective of how 21st-century space should be articulated," he says. "There's a significant program component to it and a significant sustainable strategy," including economically.
Source: Tom Oslund, principal, oslund.and.associates
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Architecture Minnesota, which last year hosted a popular video contest that centered on skyway travel, is gearing up for another round of
Videotect.
The topic this time is sustainable transportation and "its enhancement through quality design," according to Chris Hudson, who is the editor of Architecture Minnesota magazine.
Hudson says that the video competition was successful earlier this year, with over 1,600 people casting votes for their favorite videos online, and the Walker Art Center screening filling to capacity.
However, Hudson says. it was also a learning experience: "We knew what we wanted to improve on."
For this round, videos will be shorter, between 30 and 120 seconds as opposed to two minutes. Now, people also have three months to produce a video entry, compared to five weeks the first time. "Last time it was a crunch. We didn't want to stress people out like that," he says.
He's hoping that people will take advantage of the window of time to film before winter creeps in.
Another perk is that with the help of a couple of sponsors, Architecture Minnesota is able to offer more prize money, with $6,000 to be given out.
Through the contest, "We want to spark a public dialogue," about the built environment, he says, but adds that the contest is not limited to strictly architectural topics.
Such is the case with the sustainable transportation theme, where design plays an important role. In considering possible topics, "We couldn't think of anything bigger or hotter," he says.
Right now there's all kinds of pressure to build highways "to keep things going," while light rail transit and bike amenities are also coming up a lot.
Everything from planes to bikes is fodder for the contest. "We want people to focus on what are the most sustainable forms of transportation, and conversely, to make some critiques of sustainable transportation options."
The topic is open-ended "to allow people to approach it however they want."
Entries are due by Jan. 23, with online viewing and voting happening in early February.
Source: Chris Hudson, editor, Architecture Minnesota magazine
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
This summer, the Alliance Française in Minneapolis's Warehouse District spruced up its cobalt-blue façade.
Now, it's shifting its focus to some "much-needed renovations" inside, according to Christina Selander Bouzouina, who leads the Alliance.
As it is, guests have to ring the buzzer to enter the 1880s building. Although the buzzer is a security measure, "It's not the most welcoming introduction to the organization," she says.
Once someone does get into the building, a large staircase confuses matters. "People aren't sure which way to go," she says. "It's kind of off-putting."
To address those issues, the Alliance wants to relocate the second-level reception area to the ground floor to greet people right away when they walk in, she explains.
However, this change means, "We'll lose the beautiful classroom that you can see from the sidewalk," which, she adds, is the only accessible classroom in the building.
As a result, the Alliance will need to install an elevator.
Other questions center on whether classrooms should be added to its existing 11, and, in particular, if more space should be devoted to its growing list of children's offerings.
A room that's equipped for cooking lessons is also under discussion.
The renovations are part of a long-term strategic plan that goes back to when the Alliance bought the building in 1998.
Although the details are still up in the air, Bouzina estimates that the project will run around $500,000, for which a capital campaign is in planning stages.
The idea is to aim for a "goal that's achievable, that we're excited about and that meets our purposes," she says. "We want to be sure it's meeting our needs but that there's no empty space."
Source: Christina Selander Bouzouina, executive director, Alliance Française of Minneapolis St Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis won $110,000 to restore part of its 1915 building through the Partners in Preservation (PIP) competition that wrapped up last week.
Twenty-four other local landmarks competed for grant money through the contest from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
It involved nearly 28,000 people, who weighed in on an online poll over a three-week period, according to contest information.
PIP, which started in 2006, has given out $5.5 million to 56 historic preservation projects nationwide. Another $10 million will be doled out through the program over the next handful of years, according to contest information.
At the basilica--the oldest in the country, which French architect Emmanuel Masqueray designed--the grant will help spruce up everything from decorative ceilings to paint and gold leaf throughout.
Chris Morris, a spokesperson from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, says that the basilica hopes the upgrade will lead the way for additional building improvements. “It’s nice that we can act as a catalyst, giving confidence to tackle big projects in the future," she says.
More broadly, she says, the contest successfully raised awareness about many area preservation projects and “the impact it can have on sites that are meaningful to people in their neighborhoods.”
Additionally, through creative open-house events, people “tried to involve the community and do good work.”
The Hennepin Center for the Arts, which has been renamed the Cowles Center for Dance & Performing Arts, for example, had some community members knit scarves for a performance art piece. (The scarves also related to “yarn bombing” actions around town.) Afterward, the scarves were donated to people in need. “It was a fabulous act of generosity,” Morris says.
Also, Emerge Career and Technology Center had a barbeque that got people excited about its redevelopment project in North Minneapolis. “It’s a great way to make strong connections with people in their own community,” says Morris.
Next, an advisory committee will meet in November to determine how the remaining $900,000 grant will be divvied up among the other 24 competing projects.
Source: Chris Morris, representative of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
To design a public art sculpture for the West 7th Community Center Park in St. Paul, local artist Estela De Paola de Lerma collaborated with Girl Scout Troop 52512.
The sculpture celebrates the transformation of the park, which was perceived as unsafe just a couple of years ago. Today, the park includes a jungle gym, swings, and other play areas, according to the Pioneer Press.
In a first workshop with the children, the artist went over “the basics of three-dimensional art, public art guidelines, and the purposes of public art,” she explains.
Afterward, the children came up with some ideas that they used to create cardboard models. A final model incorporated everyone’s voices.
From there, de Lerma crafted a life-sized model out of foam core, adding a base to comply with the city’s requirements.
The resulting sculpture, titled “Our World,” came together through donations, including powder-coating from the city, that covered thousands of dollars of expenses.
The process took about a year. “The girls couldn’t weld, but they did the design. The ideas are theirs,” she says of the eight-foot-tall metal sculpture.
In the piece, Girl Scouts are shown hand-in-hand embracing a yellow globe.
Each row of figures is painted to correspond with a different level of the Girl Scouts.
Their message reflects the fact that they care about the world, according to de Lerma, who has a daughter in Girl Scouts. The figures come in all shapes and sizes. “Everyone is included, that’s why it’s ‘Our World’,” she says.
The girls’ names and troop also appear on the piece.
“My generation wouldn’t believe that a child could be a sculptor,” she says.
De Lerma says she was interested in the project because it proves that public art involving children can “be more than a mural. It’s a nice way of connecting the community with the place and the art” and with self-expression.
Source: Estela De Paola de Lerma
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Venture North Bike Walk and Coffee, which had its grand opening on Oct. 8, is the first bike shop of any sort to make its home in North Minneapolis.
Its added emphases on walking and coffee make it a unique hub, with everything from bike paraphernalia to classes on healthy living, according to city information.
Additionally, Venture North's first day of business coincided with the unveiling of new bike lanes on the nearby Emerson and Fremont avenues.
The city is a partner in the shop; it provided startup money for the place through a federal grant, while, further down the line, as much as $350,000 could help sustain the shop, according to MPR.
The city also selected Redeemer Center for Life, a nonprofit community developer that’s based on the North Side, to manage the shop.
“The goal of the initiative is to improve access for affordable physical activity opportunities among north Minneapolis residents,” a prepared statement from the city reads.
Venture North will also be hosting biking, walking and running clubs, along with a jobs program for youth.
The local Dogwood Coffee Co. helped put in place the coffee and espresso bar, according to city information.
Although the shop will cater to people of all ages and athletic abilities, the store’s manager, Jacob Flinsch-Garrison says in a prepared statement that “we will be especially oriented toward serving the needs of those who are getting into bicycling or walking for the first time, or who have not done so for a while."
“Venture North is committed to making each of our store’s visitors feel welcome. Our motto is ‘gratitude, not attitude,’” he says.
Source: City of Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
To make way for the recently opened Amsterdam Bar and Hall in downtown St. Paul, the space underwent $100,000 worth of remodeling.
Within seven weeks, the space, which had sat empty for a year after Pop! restaurant closed, was converted into a bar and entertainment venue.
Jarret Oulman, a co-owner of the place, says, “It involved a lot of dismantling, ripping things apart,” which was challenging because “it was built solidly. It was a lot of work.”
Workers tore down walls, pulled out the carpet, built tabletops, and installed booths and lighting fixtures, he says.
Today, the 8,000-square-foot space has two stages and a private dining room, while a moveable wall helps close off part of the place to create a more intimate bar.
It's helpful for those nights that don’t feature big musical acts, he explains. ”We hung a wall that makes it feel tighter and more comfortable in the bar space.”
Otherwise, the room “feels like a gym by itself,” he says.
As its name suggests, the bar and hall draws inspiration from Amsterdam.
Oulman characterizes the aesthetic as Dutch bohemian, with vintage Dutch graphic art, dark-stained wood, and tapestries. “The look and the culture go hand-in-hand,” he says.
He explains that Amsterdam’s culture was something he and his co-owners wanted to replicate because it’s “interesting, sophisticated, and inclusive.”
So far, the place has been well received, he says, adding that the neighboring record store, Eclipse Records, and the design and print studio Big Table Studio, which are also new to the block, are complementary.
“It has a significant effect on the block and downtown St. Paul,” he says, adding, “It makes the creative environment that much stronger."
Source: Jarret Oulman, co-owner, Amsterdam Bar and Hall
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
An old mansion on Cathedral Hill in St. Paul, which had gone through foreclosure, will soon be converted into a Montessori school and a bed and breakfast.
Whitney Blessing, along with her husband, Andy, who is a contractor, are fixing up the place, which once belonged to Frank P. Shepard.
The Shepards were a prominent family who had four homes within a block of one another, she explains.
Through the years, the 14,000-square-foot mansion had gone through many changes, most recently serving as a boarding house for an international school, according to Whitney.
This month, the Blessings will open the Cathedral Hill Montessori School in the home’s 1950s addition.
It’s just the first part of the Blessings’ concept for turning around the place, which is also their sixth home renovation.
The couple and their two children will move into the 1884 portion of the house. But the 1881 original structure will become a four-guest bed and breakfast. Separately, large dining and living rooms will become community meeting spaces.
Altogether, they'll probably end up spending $500,000 on the renovation, she says.
“I think this house will never be the original Queen Anne Victorian that it was before the 1940s, when it turned institutional,” she says.
That being said, “We wanted to put something here that would be available to anyone in the neighborhood who should need those services.”
The 1880s areas of the home and the carriage house are considered to be contributing structures to the surrounding historic district. "We want to maintain the historic character," Blessing says.
Much of the work that they’re doing, from restoring the original hardwood floors to uncovering fireplaces, is cosmetic. Utilities also need to be upgraded, while previous mop closets will be turned into bathrooms for the bed and breakfast’s guest rooms.
The neighborhood has been supportive of the project, she says. “[The house] is part of the history and we want that to stay intact and maintain the integrity and open it up for the community to see and be a part of and enjoy.”
Source: Whitney Blessing, homeowner, Frank P. Shepard mansion
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
After a $14 million project that nearly doubled its gallery space, a renewed Weisman Art Museum on the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus has opened its doors.
Erin Lauderman, a spokesperson for the Frank Gehry-designed museum, says the Weisman added another 8,100 square feet, which it did without “any more ground to build on.”
In a Finance and Commerce story, Brett Dunlap, a project manager with JE Dunn of Kansas City, Mo., the project's general contractor, says that it "required the galleries to be built atop and cantilevered over huge concrete columns."
A fifth gallery space, which has been dubbed the Target Studio for Creative Collaboration, “had to push the walking bridge out,” according to Lauderman.
There’s also a new canopy and bridge skirt. More of the signature metal of the façade was used on one side of the building, while another part of the exterior is mainly brick. “It completed the building inside and out,” she says. “Now you walk in a loop inside.”
Another challenge was to fit the work in with the plans for the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line, which will span the Washington Avenue Bridge. “It’s a limiting site but it’s a fantastic location,” Lauderman says.
All in all, the museum has the same feel as it did before, although the recently installed skylights create an openness that literally sheds new light on the works. “That makes every space look different,” she says.
The Weisman now has more room to showcase its 20,000-piece permanent collection, which includes ceramics, American art, and works on paper. The fifth gallery area is geared to interdisciplinary collaboration.
“Now [the museum] is a better resource,” she says. “You can come back and see the same piece multiple times.”
Admission to the museum is still free and, says Lauderman, “it doesn’t take long to get through. We have a nice, thoughtful collection."
Source: Erin Lauderman, Weisman Art Museum
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The idea for the Museum in the Streets: Lake Street project came to Joyce Wisdom, who heads the Lake Street Council, when she was on a trip to Connecticut a couple of years ago.
Taking a self-guided tour down certain streets in one town, she learned all kinds of interesting tidbits about the area’s history, according to Cara Letofsky, who is a project volunteer.
A number of plaques placed here and there along the street told of the town's development through words and pictures.
Wisdom contacted the Museum in the Streets company about the possibility of bringing the same kind of displays to Lake Street in Minneapolis.
It's something that piqued the interest of many other community members, and the council got to work on the project, Letofsky says.
So far, the council has raised about one-third of the $150,000 needed for the project, which will include 20 plaques along Lake Street.
Meanwhile, a dozen volunteers are in the process of researching sites to be highlighted on the tour. “We’re looking for sites that have a good story and are good for illustrations or photos,” she says.
In the process, Letofsky is learning about such bygone places as the 1905 Wonderland Amusement Park, Minneapolis Harvester Works--a well-known farm equipment company--and the Nicollet Ballpark, where the Minneapolis Millers played from 1896 to 1955.
“We came across a photo of four members of the baseball team in new cars that were bought from a dealer on Lake Street,” she says.
Other venerable places, such as Ingebretsen’s Scandinavian gift shop and the 1928-built Midtown Exchange building, are still around.
To help passersby make the connections, a brochure will outline the walking tours. “The series of panels that makes up each tour will invite people to discover Lake Street’s unique story at their own pace, over the course of an afternoon or on return visits.”
Letofsky says that the group is interested in the project as a way to “build the vitality of Lake Street and its business community,” adding, “It’s an economic development tool.”
The council plans to mount the displays next spring.
Source: Cara Letofsky, spokesperson for Museum in the Streets: Lake Street
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
At its Sept. 21 meeting, the Minneapolis park board initiated a 45-day public comment period on the RiverFIRST proposal to revitalize some key parts of the Upper Mississippi riverfront.
It's the next step toward making the plan a reality.
The proposal lays out various design concepts and an implementation plan for “problem-solving” parks, walking trails and other amenities for the river area, mainly between North and Northeast Minneapolis, according to information from the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative (MRDI), which is leading the charge.
RiverFIRST is the product of a collaboration between MRDI project manager Mary deLaittre, the Tom Leader Studio in Berkeley, Calif., Kennedy & Violich Architecture (TLS/KVA) in Boston and New York financing consultants HR&A.
For months, the proposal has undergone an extensive editing and community engagement process, fleshing out an earlier version that won MRDI’s international design competition, according to project information.
In the proposal, five priority projects, all of which are doable over the next handful of years “exemplify ‘re-sourcing’ the river, while eliminating as many barriers as possible,” to help lay the foundation for future riverfront development, deLaittre says in a prepared statement.
For starters, a riverfront trail system that would go through Farview Park in North Minneapolis would join other existing city and regional parks and trails to form a “user-friendly network of commuter and recreational connections, most notably across the Interstate 94 trench cutting off Northsiders from the river,” a prepared statement reads.
A number of floating BioHaven Islands on the river could help improve water quality while also providing habitat for plants and animals.
The plan also calls for a new Scherer Park that would take advantage of park-owned property along the river in Northeast.
Separately, the Northside Wetlands Park “transforms significant acreage from the existing Port of Minneapolis.”
Finally, an historic park that leads into the downtown area could be restored, according to MRDI information.
Going beyond the five-year projects, “The Draft RiverFIRST Proposal has the potential to create the largest expanse of new public and green space since the Minneapolis Parks system was first created over 100 years ago,” a prepared statement about the project reads.
Source: Information from the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The Longfellow Community Council (LCC) is taking a creative approach to improving blighted areas of East Lake Street in Minneapolis.
Although much of a $25,645 city grant that the group recently received will go toward studying business opportunities on East Lake Street, about $7,000 will help fill vacant storefront windows along the corridor with artwork, according to LCC staffer Spencer Agnew.
“A lot of people are concerned with the revitalization of East Lake Street,” says Agnew. “This is geared towards that interest.”
Depending on how much participation from building owners the group can get, images will go on 6 to 15 windows on East Lake Street between 27th Avenue South and the Mississippi River.
The League of Longfellow Artists (Lola) is providing the posters.
Although the artwork will vary from storefront to storefront, it’ll have a cohesive quality so that people can recognize it as a part of one project.
There’ll also be a tour associated with the initiative. “The goal is to add aesthetic appeal to the vacant spots and publicize those opportunities in a positive way,” Agnew says. “It’s also a way to promote the local artwork that we have.”
Although the timing for the display is still up in the air, it could happen as soon as next spring, according to Agnew.
Meanwhile, a research consultant will conduct a market study and corridor assessment for East Lake Street. “It’ll provide information about what viable businesses opportunities there are and what kinds of market sectors and challenges there are implementing that,” he explains.
Source: Spencer Agnew, Longfellow Community Council
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The Central Corridor light rail line is the inspiration for an extensive, three-year creative placemaking initiative called Irrigate.
The project, which is a partnership between Springboard for the Arts, TC LISC, and the city of St. Paul, recently received a $750,000 grant from a newly formed consortium of arts funders called ArtPlace.
ArtPlace, which brings together public and private groups, is investing $11.5 million in 34 creative placemaking projects all over the country, according to Irrigate information.
As promoters of the first project of this type, ArtPlace "aims to drive revitalization across the country by putting the arts at the center of economic development," a prepared statement reads.
For Irrigate, local artists will be trained in creative placemaking, according to Springboard executive director Laura Zabel.
From there, Irrigate will be "mobilizing and activating hundreds of artist-led projects in partnership with businesses and neighborhood groups," she says.
In general, the projects should address some issue or opportunity along the corridor, she says.
Zabel says that the idea is to "embed artists in economic and community development for the benefits they can provide to the community."
Conversely, the project "increases the community's [valuation] of its artists."
She's expecting a huge variety of projects in the areas of creative marketing and mapping.
They could help people find their way during construction or speak to a neighborhood's character. "We really see the Central Corridor and construction as an opportunity to engage artists in a really deep way," she says.
"We think it's an opportunity to demonstrate that artists are well-suited to help in moments of huge infrastructure [change]. They're creative and they think in new ways. They're intuitive, they're entrepreneurs, and they understand the challenges of small business owners."
Source: Laura Zabel, executive director, Springboard for the Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
North Minneapolis resident Bill Moore has seen many ups and downs in the area that he's lived in since the 1960s, particularly along Lowry Avenue North.
The avenue, which is bordered by a handful of neighborhoods, had declined through the years. This led the city to put together a revitalization plan for the street in 2002 and more recently, a Lowry Avenue Strategic Plan to spur development and strengthen business districts.
A dozen businesses have opened, relocated, or reinvested in the area since 2008, according to a KARE11 story.
Beyond the street’s physical improvements, a few years ago, Moore and other neighbors came to understand that “We need to celebrate the North Side, to bring it together," says Moore, who leads the service-oriented Camden Lions.
That's when they came up with the idea for the Lowry Avenue Harvest Festival, which they decided to do yearly. Now, the third annual festival, which is coming up on Sept. 17, celebrates the change that’s already taken place on the street.
This year, the festival will be larger, blocking off part of Lowry Avenue North where it crosses Penn Avenue, all the way to Oliver Avenue, he explains.
Moore is expecting more than double last year’s attendance of 800 people.
There’ll be a car show, farmer’s market, food vendors, pie-baking contest, biggest-vegetable contest and various live acts, including a judo demonstration and local music groups, while a kid zone will have crop seed art, face painting, clowns, storytelling, and more.
The winning pie from the pie-baking contest will be featured on the menu for a week at the nearby Lowry Café, he says.
Places like the new Lowry Cafe have been instrumental in the process of turning around the street. “We’ve got a lot of good businesses on Lowry,” Moore says, including many that are involved with the festival.
Also, various neighborhood groups, charitable organizations, and local businesses will have table displays. Volunteers will help collect donations for the local food shelf.
All in all, “I hope that this will help people get to know people from other neighborhoods and pull everyone together as a community instead of making it about different neighborhoods,” he says.
Source: Bill Moore, neighborhood activist and president of Camden Lions
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The four elements--earth, wind, fire and water--will soon be represented in a colorful street mural in Minneapolis’s Near North neighborhood.
It’s the second street mural to come to the city as a part of a program called Paint the Pavement, which "promotes community building and 'placemaking' through creating neighborhood art," according to its website.
Recently, a Corcoran neighborhood mural was unveiled to help calm traffic at the intersection of East 34th Street and 19th Avenue South.
Since the volunteer-run Paint the Pavement started in St. Paul, about 15 street murals have been done through the program, according to Jun-Li Wang, a program volunteer.
“Not only does a mural give visual impact, it’s really the process that goes into making it that has the most value,” she says, adding, “Neighbors work together and meet one another in a way that they wouldn’t at a potluck."
Naturally, the cost depends on a mural’s size, but “a few gallons of paint can have a wonderful impact.”
And it makes the neighborhood more attractive, something that real estate agents have even noted in some home listings, she says.
Last summer, community members in Near North, inspired by similar Portland public art projects, started planning a mural for the intersection of 17th and Girard with a block club grant, according to Ariah Fine, a neighborhood activist.
Following the project's emphasis on youth, neighbors, creativity, color, and environment, people submitted illustrations through a design contest at a block party. A neighborhood youth’s portrayal of the four elements won, and a local artist helped adapt it for the street.
The mural will start small and then gradually grow into four main swirling shapes, Fine explains.
The group chose this intersection because it’s close to the North High School football field, which gets lots of traffic. Also, neighbors close to the intersection were open to it, he says.
On Sept. 24, neighbors will come together to paint the mural. “It’ll be a community event, with more people than just from the block club,” he says. “I hope it’s the first of many opportunities to bring the community together.”
Source: Jun-Li Wang, Paint the Pavement; Ariah Fine, Near North neighborhood activist
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Kelly Sharp, who owns an old-school barbershop called The Barber Sharp, recently redeveloped the Northeast Minneapolis building where the shop is located.
The building, which once housed a gallery and apartments, now has a handful of businesses. Tiger Rose Tattoos opened up on the second floor earlier this summer, while the spaces for Studio 3 massage therapy and the Tarnish & Gold art gallery are still undergoing renovation.
Sharp also plans to host various events in the building and create a community garden just beyond the parking lot.
The businesses collectively agreed to call the building The Foundry. Sharp explains that a foundry is a place where “precious metal is broken, melted down and molded to become whole again.”
It’s symbolic of what she hopes happens at The Foundry, and how it came together, she says.
She’d been running the barbershop for about a year at its original location a couple of blocks away--where it had been in business since the 1920s--when her rent increased. It was then that Sharp, who lives nearby, scouted out the building at 349 13th Ave. N.E.
It seemed like an ideal location, but the whole building had to be leased at once.
Although she’s seen other real estate ventures fail in the economic downturn, she decided to go for it. “I said, ‘build it and they will come.’ I said to the universe, 'send me the people who are supposed to be here.’”
Her vision was for a place that would “build a strong sense of community,” a kind of “third place” where neighbors can come and hang out, she says.
After she got to work on revamping the building, a process that included everything from repainting to opening up access to the courtyard, other business owners started to express interest.
She’s found that the main focus for those who want to be a part of the development is on “helping people get where they want to be in life”--not money.
She’s pleased that the community has embraced the shop.
For example, several generations are coming together at the barbershop. Some of the men who’d patronized the barbershop for decades under its previous owner had never had their hair cut by a woman before, she says.
“People can buy art or have a massage or sit in the courtyard,” she says.
Source: Kelly Sharp, The Barber Sharp
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
A colorful mural on one wall of the American Indian OIC in South Minneapolis blends together floral and geometric patterns and buffalo images, as a symbolic nod to the area's history.
In the past, the woodlands- and plains-based American Indian tribes met in this part of the region, according to community organizer Daniel Yang, who led the project on behalf of the Native American Development Institute (NACDI), which is an American Indian community development organization.
Eight American Indian youth who range from 12 to 18 years of age helped create the mural, which was unveiled on Aug. 22, with the help of local artist Bobby Wilson.
Stretching 18 feet by 200 feet, the mural, which is visible to light rail passengers and Greenway bicyclists, is one of the largest in the Twin Cities.
Previously, graffiti and overgrown plants cluttered the wall. “The before and after picture is amazing,” Yang says.
It’s the second of three similar projects that are planned for East Franklin Avenue as a part of NACDI's “Paint the Avenue” initiative.
In September 2010, another mural, which features several community leaders, went on the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Building, while a third one that’s still in planning stages is to come next month.
The paintings promote the American Indian Cultural Corridor along East Franklin Avenue.
South Minneapolis has the greatest concentration of American Indians in the country. “There’s a long history in this area. We’re trying to build on that,” Yang says.
He hopes the avenue attracts new businesses, craft stores, and galleries with the help of murals and other amenities.
“Murals go far in establishing a visual sense that we belong here, that we’ve been here, and this is our home,” he says. “At the same time, it creates community ownership and pride in the individuals who worked on these projects.”
Each mural can cost between $1,000 and $3,000. Youth also get a $250 stipend for their work. For them, it’s a process that begins with surveying local property and business owners and other community members before getting to the art part.
“It’s much more than an investment in aesthetics,” he says, adding, “It’s an investment in youth and the next generation.”
Source: Daniel Yang, community organizer, NACDI
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
When St. Paul artists Giesla Hoelscher and Karl Johnson set out to find a new gallery space, they happened upon a vintage brick building at 795 Raymond Avenue, through a friend-connection.
They were drawn to the location in part for the foot traffic, along with its thriving artist community and the fact that it was close to home, according to Hoelscher.
Since they opened Studio @ 795 in the space a year ago, however, the two artists, like many of their neighboring business owners, found it was a challenge to compete with the nearby construction for the Central Corridor light rail line.
But with her surroundings as inspiration, Giesla found a creative solution: At the St. Paul Art Crawl in April, she started offering historic walking tours of the neighborhood, which includes the University/Raymond Historic Commercial District.
She got interested in the history when work on a neighbor's building required preserving certain details. She started doing some research on the area. After she sifted through various history reports, "The research just kind of snowballed from there and I used city directories to learn what each of the spaces had been in previous lives," she says.
The West Midway area was once the city's largest industrial district, according to Studio @ 795 information. Its architecture "reflects everything from the railroad era up to the trucking industry that developed with the growth of the interstate highway system," a prepared statement about the tours reads.
She decided to continue the tours well after the art crawl.
On the tour, people get a glimpse of the district's 22-plus historic buildings, which testify to various aspects of the area's commercial and non-commercial background.
"Before, so many people were opposed to coming in because the area was so torn up," she says.
For the studio, "We thought we'd take advantage of it," she says. "We wanted to bring people in, to show that it's more than a space to avoid. There's some really interesting history here."
"I think the history is in the small architectural details and is a bit hidden unless you're on foot," she says. It's something that she hopes doesn't get lost once light rail comes.
Hoelscher and other business owners also collaborated on RaymondOntheRail.com, as another way to promote the intersection's shops, restaurants, salons, and other amenities.
It expands on the similar but larger Discover Central Corridor "buy local" initiative, says Hoelscher.
Source: Giesla Hoelscher, Studio at 795
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The Bachelor Farmer restaurant is introducing the first rooftop urban farm to Minneapolis, while also fully renovating an historic warehouse space in the North Loop neighborhood.
The Nordic-themed restaurant, which recently hosted a series of "soft openings," is part of a larger effort from brothers Andrew and Eric Dayton to turn around the 1881 brick-and-timber warehouse, according to restaurant information.
In 2008, the Daytons acquired the property, which once housed McMillan Fur and Wool, Northwestern Grease Wool Co., and Marvel Rack.
The restaurant has an 85-seat main dining room and a 15-seat bar, while the second floor has some additional dining and private space.
Throughout the renovation process, the Daytons, who are the sons of Governor Mark Dayton, were "careful to preserve as much of the original character of the building as possible," a prepared statement about the restaurant reads.
In keeping with the building's history, the restaurant dubbed one section the Marvel Bar. A men's clothing store is planned for next door, according to Heavy Table.
Cydney Wuerffel, a spokesperson for the restaurant, says that it's still a work in progress. "While they've quietly opened the doors to The Bachelor Farmer, the team is still in the process of transforming the space," she states in an email.
In a recent Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine story, Stephanie March describes the space, which has a fireplace, skylight, and lounge, as one that "celebrates the inherent beauty of the old aesthetics, while bringing in a new, cool vibe. The old floorboards will be preserved, but there might be a cutting-edge mural on the wall."
Source: Cydney Wuerffel, media contact for The Bachelor Farmer
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
A storefront space in the Longfellow neighborhood that had been vacant for some time is being re-imagined as a hub for social justice organizing, community gathering, and do-it-yourself projects.
A 12-member collective called MARS (Minneapolis Autonomous Radical Space) runs the Minnehaha Free Space, which had its grand opening on July 17.
It's open for meetings, classes, workshops, and art-making on everything from bike maintenance to knitting, according to collective member Jaime Hokanson.
The name for the space references its address on 3458 Minnehaha Avenue and an historic event called the Minnehaha Free State, which was a 16-month protest that started in 1998 against the rerouting of Highway 55. It led to the state's largest-ever police action, according to the TC Daily Planet.
The "free space" aims to fill the void that was left when Arise bookstore closed in May 2010. "There were a number of people who were involved [with the bookstore] who wanted to keep the momentum going," though some people were leaning towards doing something other than a bookstore, Hokanson says.
After various fundraising activities for a space that would run off of donations and financial support from MARS, the group began scoping out possible locations last spring.
The storefront was attractive for its proximity to a mix of commercial and residential developments. "It allows us to get to know the neighborhood, to make connections in the community," he says.
Although the space, which is characterized by bright orange, purple, and green walls, is still coming together, a main lounge, a lending library with over 1,000 books, and a clothing exchange are already set up. Computers that will provide free Internet access will soon be installed, while a kid-friendly area and a kitchen are also still in progress.
Hokanson hopes that the "free space" will help "respond to the needs of social justice in community."
Source: Jaime Hokanson, a member of the collective for the Minnehaha Free Space
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
At an August 4 community meeting at Farview Park Recreation Center in Minneapolis, people got a chance to learn more about the RiverFirst proposal for redeveloping a 5.5-mile stretch of the Mississippi River. It starts at the Stone Arch Bridge and goes north.
The meeting focused on benefits for the city's North and Northeast areas, which are largely cut off from the river, along with the idea of "problem-solving" parks that would be destinations, according to a prepared statement about the event.
It's part of a broadly based community engagement effort to gather feedback about the RiverFirst proposal--under the umbrella of the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative--for re-imagining this portion of the riverfront. The TLS/KVA team of landscape architects and designers won a design competition earlier this year to bring its proposal to fruition.
RiverFirst is a multifaceted plan for revitalizing the riverfront. It includes everything from riverfront trails to a "biohaven" that would use recycled materials to form a riparian habitat for endangered species and migratory birds, according to project information.
Right now the design team is working to refine its proposal, studying its feasibility and gathering public input, according to project manager Mary deLaittre. On Sept. 21, the team will present its recommendations and implementation plans to the city's park board.
HR&A Advisors from New York is working closely with the design team to come up with a strategic plan "that will shape the priority projects and financing approaches," she says.
Six youth ambassadors are also working to help spread the word about the project and collect feedback at various community events.
One idea that has been well received, deLaittre says, is for a green land bridge over I-94 to link Farview Park to the river. It's a creative solution for reconnecting this part of the city with the river and other parks and trails.
DeLaittre underscores the need for community input, for which people can fill out an online survey. All along the way, comments and images from people are being featured on the website under the heading, "River Is."
"This is a big civic project and it's imperative that people weigh in," she says.
That being said, "The level of support has been tremendous," she says, adding, "People are very interested in making sure it happens."
The project has also attracted the attention of a delegation from Seattle who are running a civic design competition. In coming to the Twin Cities, the delegation "wanted to emulate the innovative community engagement and coalition-building," she says.
Source: Mary deLaittre, project manager for Mississippi Riverfront Development Initiative and founder and principal of Groundwork City Building
Writer: Anna Pratt
Janelle Nivens is touring each of the 81 Minneapolis neighborhoods, photographing and blogging the sights along the way.
The inspiration for her mission came on a cold March morning. "I parked a mile away from my brunch destination, Maria's Café, and walked along Franklin Avenue, marveling at all I would have missed if I hadn't gotten out of my car and walked around," she states on her blog.
For example, when she happened by Ventura Village, which was unfamiliar to her, a quick Internet search turned up many more neighborhoods that she'd never heard of. As an enthusiastic urban hiker, "I decided that visiting each was a good goal," she says.
At first she relied on friends to show her around. But soon other informal tour guides, who caught wind of her blog, Minneapolis81.com, via Twitter, Facebook, and other word-of-mouth means, volunteered to help out. Her calendar filled up fast.
In her tours so far, she's come across everything from a tree that's strewn with toys in Linden Hills to a shoe-filled chimney in Fulton. A McKinley-area park on the North Side impressed her, as did neighborhood's CSA Garden. However, she was struck by the area's lack of access to restaurants and grocery stores, which creates what she describes as a "food desert."
Occasionally she spots construction projects that she wonders about, or historical buildings, for which she tries to get the backstory. "Fact-finding is a fun part of it," she says.
She's also become acquainted with numerous local artists, small business owners, and many others who help make the neighborhoods thrive, she says.
Ultimately, through her blog, she hopes to introduce people to new neighborhoods. "I'd like to show how much it's opened my eyes to what they have to offer," she says, adding that it's also a good way to sharpen her photography skills.
Above all though, the project makes it so that "every night and weekend it's like a vacation in my own city," she says.
Source: Janelle Nivens, photographer, Minneapolis81.com
Writer: Anna Pratt
For those still dealing with the aftermath of the May 22 tornado that hit North Minneapolis, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) of Minneapolis and Minnesota have joined forces to provide some architectural assistance through a program called "Rebuilding it Right."
Beverly Hauschild-Baron, the executive vice president of AIA-MN, says that the affected area of the North Side has historic character that should be preserved. That being said, for those who are having to reconstruct part or all of their homes, "it might be difficult...to maintain the integrity of their homes, without some guidance," she says.
Architect teams, including 60 volunteers, are working with the neighborhood to study the structures, trying to figure out what types of drawings or sketches might be most helpful.They're also striving for greener technologies and smarter urban design in the rebuilding effort.
Teams are assigned various blocks to work on, "identifying structures that we might be able to have an impact on, or just simply providing quick design sketches to the homeowners," she says.
"We're trying to help with providing some interface between the homeowner and contractor so that the history and integrity of the neighborhood can be maintained."
This initial phase runs through Aug. 31. The group is partnering with the Northside Community Recovery Team, the city, USGBC-Minnesota, Architecture for Humanity-Minneapolis/ St. Paul, The Assembly of Architects, Rebuilding Together Twin Cities, Preservation Minneapolis, American Society of Landscape Architects Minnesota, and other local and state organizations.
"We recognize that this type of natural disaster is one in which people need to come together, to provide the skills they have and rebuild in the best way possible," she says.
Source: Beverly Hauschild-Baron, executive vice president, AIA-MN
Writer: Anna Pratt
The Pillsbury 'A' Mill in Minneapolis, which once belonged to the world's largest flour-milling complex, represents a key part of the city's growth along the Mississippi River.
But in recent years, the mill, part of which dates to 1881, went through foreclosure after a redevelopment proposal from another developer fell through.
Afterward, it wound up on a list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places," created by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
But Plymouth-based Dominium Development has an $80-million plan to reverse the trend. It plans to convert a handful of buildings on the campus into a 240-unit affordable artist live/work complex, according to Owen Metz, a senior development associate with the company.
Separately, Doran Cos. in Minneapolis is planning a 375-unit housing development for another portion of the Pillsbury site. Read
The Line story
here.
Although Dominium is still working out the details of the building and land agreements, this "is the first project of its scale, in terms of affordable artist live/work housing," he says. "We're trying to have different little nooks that cater to artists, with studios as well," he says.
Dominium has a similar project underway at Jacob Schmidt Brewery in St. Paul, which
The Line covered
here. "We're trying to play off of what's already been done and what we've learned," says Metz.
Although much of the design work is still in an early phase at Pillsbury, Metz says that the iconic grain elevators, which contribute to its historic significance, will stay intact--purely for aesthetic reasons.
The group is talking with the neighborhood group, city officials, and other stakeholders to get input and leverage some of the work that's already been done on the site. "We're trying to streamline the process a little bit but also get feedback," which Metz says is especially important for such a landmark.
Some of the building's structural issues need to be addressed before too much gets hammered out. "Nothing's in stone yet," he says. "We're considering various uses for the space. We want to make sure it fronts well at Main Street."
He hopes it'll bring a unique vitality to the area, while also building on the existing community in Northeast, he says. "We feel that financially, it's a good investment and that it'll be a success and be able to fill up quickly," he says.
In an area where many of the housing options are higher-end, "It gives people the opportunity to live that close to downtown, with those views, at an affordable level," he says.
Source: Owen Metz, Dominium Development
Writer: Anna Pratt
This summer, music is happening in unconventional places in St. Paul. All over the city, 20 colorfully painted pianos have been planted outdoors. They're available for anyone to play through a program called "Pianos on Parade."
The musical objets d'art have been on the streets since the beginning of June, where they'll stay until the end of this month.
Keys 4/4 Kids, a St. Paul-based nonprofit organization that raises money from the sale of used pianos for music education programs in the Twin Cities, Chicago, and Kansas City, worked with the city to bring the program to fruition.
It's a take on an initiative that originated in the U.K. and debuted in New York last year, called, "Play Me I'm Yours," according to Kelsey Shanesy, a coordinator for Keys 4/4 Kids. When the New York City program took off, some people approached Keys 4/4 Kids about doing something similar locally, she says.
Her organization, which is well stocked with the instruments, was receptive to the idea, and the city backed it. "That's how it was born," Shanesy says.
Besides adding a unique element to the landscape, "Pianos on Parade" aims to "create moments of community between people who might not otherwise encounter each other," she says.
So far, the response to the project has been positive. She's been getting enthusiastic emails about how the pianos are stirring up fond memories for people, along with comments about the experience of hearing the music wafting down the street. Photos of players banging out tunes are also coming in. "It's been a lot of fun and the city is wrapping its arms around it," she says. "It's had some great moments."
More broadly, the program seems attuned to a broader movement that's picking up all over the U.S., wherein the piano, which used to be the center of home entertainment, has migrated outside for all kinds of people to enjoy, she says.
Source: Kelsey Shanesy, Keys 4/4 Kids
Writer: Anna Pratt
A group of gardening enthusiasts in Southwest Minneapolis's Kingfield neighborhood are working to make the area greener.
In 2009, the Kingfield Neighborhood Association (KFNA) formed a volunteer gardening group that already has a number of projects in progress, according to KFNA executive director Sarah Linnes-Robinson. "Their vision is to share food, ideas, and work and create a connection between gardens and gardeners throughout Kingfield," she says.
The group's first endeavor, Pleasant Garden, opened last year on land it leases from the Center for Performing Arts at 3754 Pleasant Ave. S. It rents the 17 plots to people who share some equipment and resources, while a common garden on the site is open to the public.
Another community garden flourishes at 45th and Nicollet Ave. S., on land that a private property owner donated to KFNA. The vegetables, including a mix of tomatoes and eggplants, were also donated. "It's a true community garden," she says, adding, "We use all of the food raised to support the project and share it with the food shelf."
Right now, the group is researching models for ownership and management of a possible garden at 3916 Blaisdell. "We're talking to neighbors to see what they want and to address their concerns," she says.
Separately, the group is also looking into an area along the Interstate-35W sound wall. "The hope along the sound wall is to work with the [Minnesota Department of Transportation] to adopt the land as an urban orchard, planting hearty and fruit species, bushes and trees," she says.
Community gardens are helpful to those who don't have the growing space or live in a shady spot. People can exchange tips or host gardening classes. "It's getting bigger and bigger. It continues the education of gardening and growing sustainably. It's very cool," she says, adding that the gardeners who are working together on this "are so inspired."
But the benefits go beyond the environmental. "It's also a great community-builder," she says.
Source: Sarah Linnes-Robinson, executive director, Kingfield Neighborhood Association
Writer: Anna Pratt
Visit Saint Paul is collaborating with the city of St. Paul on a high-tech promotion that encourages people to explore downtown landmarks where various sustainability efforts are underway.
As a part of the contest, which runs until Oct. 1 and is called "Saint Paul: Code Green," players can scan large QR codes on banners that adorn 16 sites, according to Jake Spano, a city spokesperson.
QR codes are a kind of barcode that's readable by smartphones. People can also enter the contest by using text messages and paper forms.
After scanning the QR code, participants will be directed on their phones to a website that "will give the user a branded experience based on the location they are at," which includes links to related eco-friendly facts and initiatives, according to a prepared statement about the event.
City Hall, Park Square Theatre, and Como Park Zoo and Conservatory are just three of the many and varied venues participating.
Spano hopes the promotion helps convey how the city has become a leader in sustainability, helping to educate people about the benefits of its green initiatives both in terms of cost and energy efficiency.
"We want to get people to think, to create a curiosity around prominent tourist attractions and drive traffic downtown," he says.
Possible home initiatives range from retrofitting old windows to switching out fluorescent light bulbs to be more energy efficient. "These are things that people can do at home and apply to their daily life," Spano says.
Additionally, participants have the chance to win various green prizes, including a 2011 Chevrolet Volt, an energy-efficient furnace, an Energy Star-rated washer and dryer and an electric lawn mower.
Source: Jake Spano, City of St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt
A portion of the photography exhibit Lake Street USA, from prominent local artist Wing Young Huie, has recently found a new permanent home in the city's public services building downtown.
The black-and-white photos, which were taken between 1997 and 2000 along Lake Street and the diverse surrounding neighborhoods, catalog everyday events and everyday people--ice fishing, various forms of work, interesting hairdos, cultural and religious ceremonies, children, families, and more.
In the course of a decade, some places and faces have changed quite a bit. Going forward, the photos will become even more important as historical documents of the city, according to Mary Altman, a public arts administrator for the city. "What's interesting about it is that it's snapshots of Minneapolis in a particular time," she says.
The original exhibit, which had 675 images, once graced numerous storefront windows along a seven-mile stretch of Lake Street in Minneapolis. Photos were also displayed at one time at the Walker Art Center, according to Altman.
Until recently, this collection of 60 photos had been housed at the offices of the Harrington Company, a Minneapolis-based association management firm. A couple years ago the company approached the city about donating the works, she says.
The public services center seemed like a natural fit because it gets so much foot traffic. "Since the photos are of people from Minneapolis, we thought it would be cool to have images of the public [in the building]," she says, adding that the idea fit in with the arts commission's goals to "transform the government feeling of the building and to make it more friendly."
The photos are for sale, with 20 percent of the proceeds to go to the renovation of Lake Street's historic Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery, she says.
Art in Public Places, the City of Minneapolis, and the Minneapolis Arts Commission are co-sponsors of the show.
Source: Mary Altman, public arts administrator, city of Minneapolis
Writer: Anna Pratt
The Ordway Center for Performing Arts in St. Paul is over halfway to its fundraising goal of $35 million for a new concert hall and related endowment fund.
Plans are underway to expand its McKnight Theatre, which is separate from the 1,900-seat Music Theater.
Under the plan, the McKnight will go from a 315-seat proscenium arch-style theater to a 1,100-seat arena stage configuration, according to Patricia Mitchell, its president and CEO.
Audiences will wrap all around the platform in the new "purpose-built" concert hall, she explains.
The face-to-face views "change the way people listen to music," while the acoustics will have "great natural sound," she says.
A related endowment fund will help underwrite the use of the new McKnight by each of the Ordway arts partners, including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, and Schubert Club, which share space at the Ordway.
As it is, the two stages are fully booked, she says. Last year, only 23 dates went unfilled, and those were Mondays, which are traditionally "dark" or off days.
A larger concert hall will help ease scheduling headaches and allow for more specific programming with longer runs, she says. Some professional music groups that don't have a permanent home will "have a first-class venue available to them."
It'll also accommodate more audiences, including greater numbers of schoolchildren. With another 125,000 people coming downtown every year, she adds, the place will be an economic boon for the city. "The impact on the restaurants and parking is huge," she says.
Although the theater design is still in progress, she's pleased with how it's shaping up.
The space will blend in with the nearby Rice Park, "one of the most beautiful urban squares anywhere," she says, adding, "It's important to maintain the character and feeling of that."
Construction could start as early as next spring, depending on the project's financing coming together.
"I think it's a wonderful solution to a longstanding problem," for the four arts partners, while it's also a "tremendous benefit to the community at large," she says.
Source: Patricia A. Mitchell, president and CEO, Ordway
Writer: Anna Pratt
The 1906-built Folwell Hall on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus is wrapping up a $34.5 million renovation.
Folwell Hall, which has the most classroom space of any building on the East Bank of campus, is slated to reopen this August, in time for the fall semester that begins Sept. 6, according to university spokesperson Kelly O'Brien.
Soon, the departments that relocated when the building closed in June 2010, including Asian Languages and Literatures; French and Italian; German, Scandinavian and Dutch; and Spanish and Portuguese, will settle back in.
The current preservation work links up with the 2007 exterior preservation in an effort to extend the building's lifetime another 50 to 100 years, Folwell "will be reinvigorated from the top to bottom, inside and out," O'Brien says.
Inside the building, historic attributes such as the yellow- and gray-shaded Italian marble on the first floor, wrought-iron stair railings, fireplaces, and elaborate woodwork have been painstakingly renovated. "All of that has been removed and cleaned up and put back in place," she says.
The classrooms, many of which have been consolidated to be more flexible, will be equipped with cutting-edge technologies to keep pace with new learning opportunities. Students will connect with foreign-language learners in other countries "so they can practice each others' languages with native speakers."
Classrooms will also display foreign-language news and other programming. "It helps connect students with the world and immerse them in foreign culture and languages," she says.
Additionally, the classrooms will be much quieter than they used to be, without the jet engine-sized air conditioners that language students once had to suffer through, she says.
Mechanical and electrical systems and the windows have been upgraded to be more efficient. Accessibility was also a priority; a connection to the Gopher Way tunnel system was added to help out in this area, as well, she says.
Source: Kelly O'Brien, University of Minnesota spokesperson
Writer: Anna Pratt
HUGE Improv, an improvisational actors troupe that originated at the Brave New Workshop's comedy theater in 2005, has taken its company to the next level with a new permanent home in Minneapolis's Uptown area.
Until the group opened its doors in December 2010 at 30th and Lyndale Avenue South, it had to compete for time and attention at various venues throughout the week, according to Butch Roy, who leads HUGE Improv.
After working to build up the weekly "Improv-a-go-go" program at the Brave New Workshop, showcasing various troupes, and an improv festival that's now in its fifth year, the group decided to go for a place of its own. "You can only grow so big before you have to risk it and make the big change," he says, adding, "There was a lot of enthusiasm for long-form improv and then came the decision to make the leap."
Now, HUGE Improv is able to share its stage with many other performers, often hosting multiple shows daily.
But the nonprofit group, which is entirely volunteer-driven, is still fundraising for improvements to its all-black-painted theater, which, in traditional style, has just a slightly elevated stage and 100 seats on one level, according to Roy. Previously a retail space, the 4,000 square feet also includes a backstage area and a lobby, while the bar is still in progress (along with the accompanying beer and wine license), he says.
Altogether, the completed aspects of the build-out totaled $26,000, according to Roy. Earlier on, the group was quoted $67,000 for the work, but HUGE Improv was able to make up the difference with lots of donations and volunteer time, on everything from paint to drapes, he says.
The locally based Shelter Architecture even contributed design services, which was a big help. However, HUGE Improv still needs financial support to offset its construction costs, he says.
Like many other businesses and organizations, HUGE Improv went through a rough period during the recession, where it incurred a lot of debt. Instead of getting bogged down by that, though, "We try to stay focused on the sense of play that makes it fun," he says, adding, "We want to be ourselves with the audience."
Source: Butch Roy, president, HUGE Improv
Writer: Anna Pratt
Despite a challenging economy, St. Paul's Park Square Theatre has continued to flourish.
As proof of that, the theater is currently fundraising for a $4.2 million project that involves renovations to its existing facility and the addition of a smaller, thrust-style stage in the historic Hamm building.
Michael-Jon Pease, director of operations and external relations, says the theater has been growing steadily over the past decade. So far, the theater is about 75 percent of the way to its fundraising goal. Recently, it reported that $350,000 came in from the St. Paul Foundation, while the F. R. Bigelow Foundation gave another $200,000 and $50,000 came by way of individual gifts, according to a Broadway World story.
When the theater reaches its financial goal, it'll start construction on the new stage, which will be adjacent to the existing 350-seat proscenium-arch-type auditorium.
Renovations in the existing space, which have already been completed, were geared around patron comfort and safety, he says. For example, the former seats were replaced with ones that provide better lumbar support. The stage also inched up a bit, and the lighting equipment was upgraded.
All in all, it'll be more energy efficient while also providing for more artistic flexibility. "It bumps up the whole experience several notches," Pease says.
The 150-to-200-seat thrust will "feel like a younger, more contemporary social space," with people seated on three sides of the stage, not just one. It'll enable the theater to more effectively stage shows that are suited to that kind of intimate configuration, Pease says. "We'll be able to do more types of shows for more types of audiences."
Further, Park Square will double its number of shows, and employ 60 percent more artists. As a result, it'll also grow its audience from 55,000 to 86,000 a year, in part with the help of other arts organizations it's working with to schedule late-night events in the space, such as cabarets, readings, and more.
About $1 million raised through its Next Stage Campaign, as it's calling the fundraising effort, will provide a cushion when the new stage is up and running. Pease is optimistic that the fundraising component will be wrapped up by December 2011. At that point, the theater will announce its construction time line. "We want to be very purposeful to grow the organization, make it stronger, and redefine its value," he says.
Source: Michael-Jon Pease, director of operations and external relations, Park Square Theater
Writer: Anna Pratt
Sustainability was a priority for the Johnson Brothers Liquor Company, developers of The Lyric at Carleton Place apartments, which opened a year ago on University and Hampden avenues in St. Paul.
Recently, the Lyric received an award from the city recognizing its strides in this area. The 2011 sustainability awards went to a dozen businesses, organizations, and individuals on the cutting edge of everything from green construction to cleanup and beautification, according to city information.
To add to that, this week the apartment building will host an event called "Hats Off to the Corridor," featuring art, music, and food to celebrate the Central Corridor light rail transit line that is planned to connect Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The 171-unit apartment building, which has a black-box-style theater, exercise room, community area, and gallery, is connected to the Carleton Place Artist Lofts. It's the first new construction project to be completed along the Central Corridor. The Lyric has also been designated part of the city's Energy Innovation Corridor, which spotlights sustainable developments along the light-rail line.
Beth Pfeifer, a spokesperson from The Cornerstone Group, one of the project's collaborators, says that in keeping with previous Johnson Brothers projects, "It's important to them to develop something that stands the test of time."
Collaborating with the Cornerstone Group, BKV Group, Yen Chee Design, Jaeger Construction, Xcel Energy, and the Weidt Group, the Johnson Brothers found numerous ways to reduce noise and waste, improve air quality and energy efficiency, and filter stormwater, according to project materials.
To do so, it took full advantage of advanced heating and cooling systems plus Energy Star-certified appliances, native plants, and a rooftop garden, among other things.
As a result, the building is 22 percent more energy efficient than similar developments. Pfeifer says the cost of achieving this level of energy efficiency was minimal, overall, and it'll pay for itself within a couple of years. "We hope it's an impetus for others to invest in [energy efficiency] as well."
Source: Beth Pfeifer, The Cornerstone Group
Writer: Anna Pratt
TLS/KVA, a design team that's based partly in Boston and Berkeley, Calif., has begun an information-gathering phase to bring its RiverFirst concept to fruition.
In February, the team won the Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition (MRDC) with the proposal, which involves "inter-related design initiatives focused on health, mobility, and green economy," and which, functioning on many different levels, aims to help raise awareness about how consumers impact the river system, according to a prepared statement about the proposal.
The competition asked for proposals that would reorient the area to the river, with a main idea being that parks can be a powerful engine for sustainable recreational, cultural, and economic development--something that is especially needed along the river, an area that historically has been underused, according to project materials.
For its efforts, TLS/KVA has secured a commission, though the scope, location, and features are still up in the air, according to project information.
To figure out what specific aspects of its ambitious RiverFirst proposal will be doable, the team is researching other existing riverfront-related plans, while also getting feedback from various experts and community members and nailing down possible funding sources, according to project manager Mary deLaittre.
On April 6, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board approved $267,000 in contracts for this phase of the project, which has a new heading: Mississippi Riverfront Design Initiative.
Ultimately over the next six months, TLS/KVA will work to define an implementation plan for both a long-term framework and a more immediate project--so this is a transitional phase into development, she explains.
In late April, TLS/KVA had its first steering, advisory, and technical committee meetings with the park board. It'll continue to meet in the coming months, and then unveil a firmer plan to committee members in September, she says.
The committees, which will be open to the public, offer "critical connections and opportunities for community engagement," says deLaittre.
With a project of this scale, "it's important to collaborate across institutions and the public and private sector," she says, adding, "We want to avoid a piecemeal approach."
What sets apart this community engagement process from others, she says, is that "we're trying to substantively engage people and turn to them for what they're best at."
Source: Mary deLaittre, project manager for the Mississippi Riverfront Design Initiative
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
At the recent Bruner Loeb Forum in Minneapolis, a mix of speakers stressed numerous community development initiatives that take art into account in ways that are both concrete and philosophical.
The Bruner Loeb Forum, which originated at the Harvard Design School, is a biannual gathering that brings to the fore "innovative strategies from across the nation that leverage local engagement in art and design to build more equitable, more economically sustainable, and more connected neighborhoods and cities," according to program materials.
The two-day event in Minneapolis was titled, "Putting Creativity to Work: Stronger Communities through Locally Rooted Art and Design." As it unfolded at various local venues, it brought together a crowd of that included local and national designers, scholars, planners, artists, nonprofit representatives, government officials, and others, program materials state.
Juxtaposition Arts hosted the event in partnership with the University of Minnesota's Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) and landscape architecture department, Nexus Community Partners, 4RM+ULA architecture, and Conway+Schulte Architects.
At the conference, speakers touched on everything from Houston's Project Row Houses to the ability of artists to turn around declining neighborhoods. Attendees toured the North and South Minneapolis neighborhoods, where Juxtaposition Arts and Native American Community Development Institute are working to improve the areas.
DeAnna Cummings, who heads Juxtaposition Arts with her husband, Roger, hopes people will get serious about addressing racial disparities. "They have to be addressed if we'll ever manifest our potential as a community," she says. "We all have to work together to change it."
She cites a couple of examples of the kind of creative problem-solving that came out of the exercise. In examining West Broadway Avenue North, from the Mississippi River to Penn Avenue North--as part of a creative mapping activity--conference participants concluded that the plethora of youth-oriented programs is too poorly advertised, while artistic streetscape enhancements need to be more visible.
She says that the event's speakers discussed the importance of pulling together diverse groups of people to solve problems and build on opportunities. Instead of getting the best and brightest people, who tend to be like-minded, "more effective is a team that thinks differently, that envisions challenges through different lenses," she says.
Cummings says she was impressed with the level of energy of conference-goers. While she and others are still "unpacking" the takeaways, follow-up events are in the works, including a Juxtaposition mural to go on Broadway and Emerson. Students will work with professional artist mentors "to bring what happened at the conference out onto the street."
Source: DeAnna Cummings, Juxtaposition Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Artspace Projects, Inc. is in the middle of putting together the funding for a $15 million development to go on a parcel near the Guthrie Theater, on the eastern edge of downtown Minneapolis.
The project, which has been dubbed ArtCube, includes 45 affordable live/work studios for artists; it's similar to another Artspace project in Northeast, called the Jac Flats (which
The Line wrote about
here), according to Heidi Kurtze, the group's property development director.
The five-story building will have 8,000 square feet of commercial space, while 20,000 square feet will be devoted to an arts incubator for the larger community, though the details are still being fleshed out, Kurtze says.
A portion of the incubator, from which the development gets the "cube" part of its name, could be devoted to a gallery and offices, plus an artist residency program she says, citing some possible uses for the space.
To figure out the "best and highest use of space," the group will carry on a community engagement process over the next several months. "We're having a number of conversations with nearby arts organizations that are in need of more space," she says.
Also being explored is the idea of an urban farm to go on the building's rooftop--one that could have some kind of connection to the Mill City Farmers Market, Kurtze says.
On April 5 the City Council's community development committee deemed the project one of 10 city development priorities for transit-oriented design funds this year from Hennepin County, according to city information. ArtCube, which applied for a $500,000 grant from the county, is well connected to a couple of nearby stops for the Hiawatha Light Rail line.
In addition to the county funds, the group intends to apply for grants from the city and Metropolitan Council.
Depending on when the financing comes through, Artspace could start construction next year on the L-shaped development, which is adjacent to the future headquarters of the American Academy of Neurology.
Source: Heidi Kurtze, director of property development for Artspace Projects Inc.
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Eric Brew, a St. Paul resident, has long thought about creating an arts hub where writers, painters, thespians, and others could hang out and feed off of each other.
The timing seemed right, so he recently set in motion an online kickstarter fund, to which anyone can contribute, to make it a reality.
He's eying a 4,000-square-foot space in Northeast Minneapolis, the previous home of City Salvage, which moved next door, for a combination coffee shop, bookstore, and creative outlet he's calling Brew's Coffee & Books.
To make it a go, Brew needs to raise $32,000 in start-up expenses, including the first month's rent and deposit, business licenses, permits, coffee bar, bookshelves, and plumbing.
So far, the project has received $1,575 in startup funds, according to its website. The deadline for raising the money is May 4.
Brew, who was inspired by the famous Shakespeare and Company Bookshop in Paris, wants to provide a similar feel, with a book-filled partition and plenty of nooks and crannies. "It's the complete opposite of what's there now," he says. "It has an empty floor plan."
The vacant space has hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, and a stage. Brew is looking to incorporate writing studios and a lending library, along with books for sale on consignment and dramatic performances.
He envisions a place where people can teach or attend classes, perform, and participate in discussion groups and more. "The biggest thing is having an open space available to all kinds of artists, not specifically writers or actors, but everyone."
Brew's will emphasize sustainable practices: "We promise to be as green as we can be in two environmentally taxing industries, coffee and publishing," its website states.
For starters, the café will serve specialty coffees that come from a local roaster who supports "direct trade" coffee beans that come straight from farmers through an area importer, while sustainable practices will be constantly refined, according to its website. Food will also come from local sources.
The cafe will try to use as many secondhand items as possible, Brew says. To get the concept beyond the idea stage, he's working with a couple of collaborators while also networking with artists. He hopes to open the cafe in June.
Source: Eric Brew, originator of Brew's Coffee & Books
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Sustainability, community, and technology are a few of the key words to describe the $5.2 million renovation of the Hennepin County Library-Northeast at 22nd and Central avenues northeast.
Nearly 300 people showed up for the library's grand re-opening on April 2, according to Lois Lenroot-Ernt, a spokesperson from the library capital division.
The library's collection of books, CDs, and DVDs has been "refreshed," while the physical space has been modernized, with some features that pay homage to its roots, she says.
It's one of a number of libraries that are being improved throughout the county system.
A big part of the Northeast library's major renovation involved revamping the 1973 bricks-and-mortar building, she says. But a portion of the building was removed to make way for a 2,400-square-foot addition, for 16,900 square feet altogether, according to library information.
Sustainability was an underlying theme for many aspects of the project. For example, the addition's exterior is covered with long-lasting zinc panels. The material "naturally maintains a protective patina and will self-repair imperfections and scratches over time," a prepared statement reads. A new stormwater management system on the building's roof also helps out environmentally, while the lot has been landscaped with native plants.
Inside, the building has automated daylighting controls, while windows and mechanical systems have been replaced to be more energy efficient, according to library information.
Lenroot-Ernt says community gathering spaces were a priority. As such, the renovated library has more spaces for reading, studying, and meeting, equipped for laptops and wifi access. Twenty-four computers have been added.
She says the children and teen section allows for better browsing, with books available in bins, and there are some interactive components. Additionally, customer service points have been streamlined, she says.
Other aspects of the project incorporate details from the building's history. For starters, the wooden plank ceiling was kept, and was extended into the addition.
Near one entrance a cleaned-up concrete medallion, a library artifact, is displayed along with a pen and ink drawing of the original Carnegie library building; historic photos line the walls. Among Lenroot-Ernt's favorite additions are the occasional tables that a local woodworker crafted from an aging oak tree that had to be removed during construction.
All in all, the library's profile has been raised, she says, adding, "People can see it from Central Avenue and I think it's going to be a great asset for community members."
Source: Lois Lenroot-Ernt, spokesperson for capital division of Hennepin County Library
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Videotect, Architecture Minnesota magazine's first-ever video contest, inspired everything from a 3D battle rap to a History Channel-style spoof documentary about skyways.
The contest got people of all ages and backgrounds thinking about what the skyways mean to them and what impact they have in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, and other areas.
It drew 24 submissions from people who worked in teams of one to six people, according to Chris Hudson, who edits the magazine, which the American Institute of Architects Minnesota publishes.
While architects are often critical of skyways because they take away from the life of the street, "We were surprised that when we opened it up to non-architects how much people celebrated the skyways," he says.
The results came at a sold-out screening at the Walker Art Center on March 31.
A team led by Jim Davy, which produced a highly stylized video clip showing a progression of walkers through a skyway that leads to nowhere, was the grand prizewinner, receiving $1,000. Three other teams, one named IDE[A], the others led by Benjamin Lindau and James Tucker, got Honorable Mention in this category, along with $500 apiece.
The Tucker entry, which also received the Viewer's Choice Award and the $1,000 prize, imagined a future wherein global cooling had pushed people out of the northern climes. "Once the glaciers retreat they come back and find the skyways," he says.
The contest seemed to hit a nerve. "A lot of smart people came forward and got what we were after, with thought-provoking commentary on an architectural topic."
Besides the 350 seats that were filled at the Walker, 1,600 people cast a vote online between March 7 and 18.
The crowd that was "way into it," he says, adding, "There was a lot of noise from the crowd, laughing, cheering and whistling."
Source: Chris Hudson, Architecture Minnesota editor
Writer: Anna Pratt
Watch the Grand Prize winner:
Jim Davy, Pete Mikelson, Steve Berg, Danny Sim, and Steve Busse from Architecture Minnesota on Vimeo.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The Northeast Community Development Corporation initiated a proposal for the Jac Flats condos some years ago, but it was shelved due to market troubles.
Now, it could come back in a new form.
Artspace Projects, Inc., a Minneapolis-based nonprofit real estate developer that's working with the community development corporation, has adapted the project for 35 affordable live/work apartments for artists, according to Artspace project manager Andrew Commers.
The $9.3 million four-story apartment building will be constructed on the same lot, at Jackson Street Northeast and 18 ½ Avenue Northeast, and it retains many of the same ideas, including the artist focus.
"All units will be for low-income artists and their families," Commers says, explaining that some units will be reserved for those making 30 to 60 percent of the area median income.
The apartments will have high ceilings and big windows that allow for plenty of natural light, which he says is ideal for artists who'll work in the space.
Tenants will decide what to do with a 2,500-square-foot communal space, which could be used as a studio, gallery, or classroom. "It'll depend on their interests and energy," he says.
The flats will also have underground parking, while a portion of greenspace on the property could become a sculpture park.
As a whole, the project will blend in with the neighborhood, in terms of height and contours, he says.
Several noteworthy project funders are Wells Fargo, LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation), a sponsor of The Line, and the Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation (GMHC), he says.
Additionally, the city awarded $50,000 in federal low-income tax credits to the development. It's a small allocation but it demonstrates early support for the project, he says, and will give it a competitive edge in the next application process.
Right now Artspace is pursuing affordable-housing subordinate funds from the city, county, and state, he says.
If those applications line up, it'll position the project to be fully funded and may allow for construction to start in early 2012, he says. Then, following 18 months of construction, the Jac Flats could be ready for leasing in June 2013.
Source: Andrew Commers, Artspace, project manager
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Marty Schirber, a remodeling contractor who lives in Northeast Minneapolis, came up with the idea of turning the nearby Hollywood Theater into a haven for jewelers after talking with several artists who told him they were looking at collocating their studios to save money.
The Hollywood Theater, which opened for movie screenings in 1935, has been vacant since it closed its doors in 1987, according to city information.
After the city bought the building in 1993, it pursued several redevelopment proposals but none came to fruition, according to city information. The city's asking price for the property is $275,000.
Schirber, who serves on the neighborhood group's Hollywood Theater Task Force, says that the theater auditorium could become studio space, while the balcony could accommodate jewelry-making classes. The lobby could be converted into an art deco-styled jewelry store, in keeping with the theater's history, he says.
He pictures a place that's similar to the Mississippi Craft Center, which serves the Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi and accommodates numerous artists who work in different mediums. (He happened to be visiting the Center when The Line called him.) "This place is a destination," he says. "A lot of the artists have quit their regular jobs. They have enough traffic to go full-time here."
Jewelers could split the costs of the pricey equipment and workbenches they use by sharing studio space at the Hollywood. "It could be a guild for jewelers and a conduit for people to find artists," he says.
Schirber has found that the concept "resonates soundly with artists and jewelers," adding, "It's just what they need."
He estimates that conversion will cost less than a million dollars, though he's still researching the idea, including checking into possible funding sources, and a business plan for the project is still in the works.
Source: Marty Schirber, Hollywood Theater Task Force
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
To accommodate growing programs, the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis's Phillips neighborhood is embarking on a $21.5 million campus expansion.
A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for April 16, while construction will continue through June 2012, according to institute information.
The twofold project includes the renovation of the 1908 Turnblad Mansion, where the American Swedish Institute was founded 80 years ago, its website states. A new elevator and stairway tower will make it more accessible; original rooms will be preserved, and classroom and community meeting areas will be set up, along with space for research materials, according to the website.
Bruce Karstadt, who is the president and CEO of the American Swedish Institute, explains that through the years, "The mansion has been called upon to serve as all kinds of things that it was never intended for."
The renovation will help bring back its original grandeur.
Secondly, a 34,000-square-foot Nelson Cultural Center, named for donors Carl and Leslie Nelson, will be built adjacent to the mansion, with a pedestrian walkway linking the two buildings, he says.
The center's contemporary design will complement the historic mansion, reflecting Scandinavian influences, he says.
It'll feature a glass-enclosed reception lobby, art gallery, studio and crafts workshop, 325-seat event space, conference room, museum shop, and café. It'll also have storage space, commercial kitchens and offices for partner organizations, including Gustavus Adolphus College, according to project materials.
Given that the institute will offer the only full-service café in a multi-block area, "we hope people come for the coffee and stay for the story," says Karstadt.
There'll be a courtyard between the two buildings, with an outdoor dining and programming area, he says.
In the new cultural center, the institute will go for a high level of LEED certification, a national benchmark for sustainability; Karstadt says that it will be one of the first museum spaces in the area to do so.
The institute will achieve the standard by incorporating a green roof, native plants, sustainable building materials, low-emission interior finishes, water and energy conservation measures, and geothermal heating and cooling systems.
"We're really excited," he says. When all is said and done, "it'll be accessible and welcoming for the entire community."
Source: Bruce Karstadt, president and CEO of the American Swedish Institute
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Right now a good portion of the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts in downtown Minneapolis is still under construction, but much of the structural work is done.
The $40 million project brings together the Hennepin Center for the Arts and the former Shubert Theater, with a newly constructed atrium connecting the two historic buildings.
It's complementary to the Hennepin Theatre District, which includes several historic theaters farther down Hennepin Avenue.
Construction at the center started January 2010 and will continue through this summer, while a grand opening is planned for September 2011, according to Troy Linck, a center spokesperson, who adds that its progress is being documented on its website and on social media sites.
The Cowles Center includes a 500-seat theater in the renovated Shubert building and a new Entry Hall, while all kinds of arts programming will continue to operate in the renovated Hennepin Center for the Arts space. "It'll be a diverse experience walking through the three-building campus."
For starters, the historic Shubert theater, which moved from 1st Avenue to Block E over a decade ago, is being fully refurbished. "A lot of stuff needed serious work," he says, including a reconstruction of the balconies.
Although the design is intended to respect the historic structure, because the Shubert was gutted previously, the renovated building will be quite state-of-the-art, he says.
At this point, most of the concrete work in the building is done. "Workers are framing out the walls and sheetrocking as we speak," he says.
Similarly, inside the new lobby and atrium, where the box office will go, "you can get a feel for the space when you go in now, instead of it being a big empty room," he says.
The education center on the second floor of the atrium has a spacious dance studio and rehearsal area that'll be equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Through its distance-learning program, dance experts teach classes that are recorded and streamed to viewers outside the room, live--a feature that's unique to the center. "There really isn't any other program like it," Linck says.
At the same time, a big picture window will offer passersby a view of rehearsals. It's just another way of demonstrating that "dance at the center is living and breathing," he says.
Additionally, offices throughout the Hennepin Center for the Arts part of the complex are undergoing plenty of cosmetic improvements. "Tenants are excited," he says. "The space looks better and everything feels sharpened up."
Source: Troy Linck, spokesperson for the Cowles Center for Dance and Performing Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Dominium Development and Acquisition has a plan to secure historic status for the old Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company complex in St. Paul's West End area and to convert it into affordable live/work spaces for artists.
Different parts of the brewery were built starting in the early 1900s and into the 1940s as the brewing process changed over time, according to Owen Metz, a spokesperson from Dominium.
The group wants to redevelop the brew and bottle house into 220 apartments, including a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and common spaces, according to Metz, who adds that the purchase of those buildings is still in progress.
In a kind of partnership, the Fort Road Federation community developer will separately buy the office building and keg house, which will also be a part of the historic district, where a combination of offices, restaurants, and retail is planned to go, he says.
Both ideas were discussed at a community meeting in mid-February, during which the process of achieving historic designation was laid out.
Metz says Dominium plans to bring back the historic appearance of the brick buildings that have sat vacant in recent years, though the project's cost is unknown at this time. "We're early on in the design process. Nothing is pinned down yet," he says.
The group is "trying to keep the spaces open," loft-style, while some artifacts from the brewing company's old days, such as pieces of tanks and other equipment may be displayed throughout the apartment buildings, he says.
A waiting list to get into another one of Dominium's buildings, the Carleton Artist Lofts on University Avenue in St. Paul, which has a similar concept, tells him there's a strong demand for such a project, he says.
Also, the area has plenty of galleries, which, he says will "help drive the demand and make it a destination," adding, "It's geared toward people with similar backgrounds and lifestyles and work."
Source: Owen Metz, Dominium Development and Acquisition, LLC
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Community members can help inform artistic designs that will go into each Central Corridor light rail station.
The Metropolitan Council is asking for input from the public about what defines the locale for each light rail station.
Coming up next is a community meeting on March 1, to get feedback on the area surrounding the planned Western Avenue station in St. Paul. The Metropolitan Council has been holding meetings on a station-by-station basis. People can also comment online.
Early design concepts will be presented in the coming weeks, according to council information.
Construction of the 11-mile Central Corridor, which will connect the downtowns of St. Paul and Minneapolis, starts in March. The line is planned to open in 2014.
Laura Baenen, a spokesperson for the project, says the council wants to hear from people about the area's heritage, culture, and history, or, "something significant to the area, what it's known for."
The community's input will be "food for thought in the creative process," she says.
For example, in a public meeting earlier this month about the Victoria Street station, the Rondo neighborhood's historic ties to the railroads and silent movies came up.
Ice castles are being worked into the 10th Street station design, paying homage to long-ago ice palaces, Baenen says, and the oak trees near the Fairview Avenue stop will show up through some kind of an oak-and-acorn motif.
Creative ideas will be integrated into the station design from the beginning, unlike many projects in which artist-designed pavers or handrails are added as decorations. Art "won't be an afterthought," says Baenen. "It won't be attached later."
Whatever the form, it needs to stand up to the elements. "We want it to be both functional and durable," she says.
Source: Laura Baenen, Central Corridor spokesperson
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The historic Northrop building, which hosts various performing arts, concerts, academic ceremonies, and civic events on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus, is undergoing a major retooling of its function and form.
The $80.8 million revitalization project that the Board of Regents approved on Feb. 11 represents much more than a renovation, explains Steven Rosenstone, who serves as the university's vice president for scholarly and cultural affairs.
In 2006 the university took steps to stabilize and restore the 1929 building's exterior, which factors into the total cost, according to Rosenstone.
For too long, the Northrop has been on borrowed time, he says. He refers to a 2005 report that states, "No aspect of the building is without issue." It has problems with its heating and electrical systems, air flow, drinking water, elevators and more, he explains.
Rather than just fixing the building, which would be more expensive, "The idea was, let's rethink it to be a more vital and valuable resource to the university and Minnesota," he says. "It has to work for the 21st century in a way it doesn't right now."
Where in the past the university only used the place 51 days a year, mainly at night, it'll be used to house several programs including the University Honors Program, Institute for Advanced Study, and Innovation by Design. Additionally, it'll provide for collaboration and study, with a global conference center, premium seminar and meeting rooms and a café, according to university information.
Memorial Auditorium will be completely restored and become a "vastly superior performance space," seating 2,800 people, which is down from 4,800.
A team of historic preservationists that includes designers and architects are behind the project, including some people who led the restoration of several other old buildings on campus.
The building, which will soon be under construction, is scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2013. "It'll be a very thoughtful design" for a "spectacular building."
Source: Steven Rosenstone, vice president for scholarly and cultural affairs at the University of Minnesota
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Right now, oslund.and.assoc., a local landscape architecture firm, is collecting input both in person and online about what the redesign of Peavey Plaza should entail. This week the firm, which the city hired, led a visioning session with members of the public at Orchestra Hall.
Peavey Plaza is an amphitheater and fountain on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. The 1975 concrete plaza, which New York landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg designed, is frequently used for outdoor concerts in the warmer months. But its mechanical system is giving out while other areas are also showing signs of wear and tear.
Oslund.and.assoc. is taking the time to find out about how people use the plaza and what they like and dislike about it, explains Tadd Kreun, a landscape architect at the firm who is working on the project. At this early stage, he says, "It would be premature to form design concepts until we know the pulse of the community and the users."
Some parts of the plaza could be left intact, or it could get a whole new look.
In March the firm will come back with some design alternatives at an open house. Final designs will come out in the summer while the groundbreaking is slated for spring 2012.
Kreun says the firm, which also designed Gold Medal Park alongside the Guthrie Theater, and Target Field's Target Plaza, has had Peavey Plaza on its radar for a couple years. "Peavey Plaza is obviously a huge iconic space in downtown Minneapolis," he says. "It's a great opportunity to work on a marquee space."
The plaza is being updated in conjunction with the $40 million expansion of the neighboring Orchestra Hall. But the $5 million or $6 million plaza project will require some fundraising, according to Kreun.
One of the firm's partners, New York-based HR&A Advisors, is looking at ways to make it sustainable economically or "help self-fund itself," he says.
Source: Tadd Kreun, landscape architect, oslund.and.assoc.
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Coming up with inspiring visions for reconnecting the city of Minneapolis to the Mississippi River--one of three great rivers in the world--is no easy task, but that's just what the contestants in the Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition set out to do.
The four finalist teams, which were chosen in November, are competing for a commission to redesign 220 acres of parkland along the Mississippi, starting near the Stone Arch Bridge and pushing the city's northern boundary.
They presented their plans to an audience of over 400 people at the Walker Art Center last week, while another 200 viewers watched online. A winner will be announced Feb. 10.
Mary deLaittre, the contest's project manager, who is also the founder and principal of Groundwork City Building, says each design was impressive.
For starters, the New York City-based Ken Smith Workshop's plan "clearly walked people along the river," she says, adding, "That was the strongest element. It gave a clear concept of the parks along the river."
Boston's Stoss Landscape Urbanism had a clear understanding that "we need to reclaim and redefine the river quickly," while the firm also recognized the importance of marketing and branding the endeavor in unique ways.
Likewise, TLS/KVA out of Berkeley, Calif., "distinguished themselves with an innovative, comprehensive and integrated approach," that included a considerable amount of community engagement.
The group touched on topics such as health, mobility and green economy, educating people about consumer impacts on the river.
Last, Turenscape team members who come from Beijing, China, "really outdid themselves with a quality video that looks at the river over 50 years."
Although each team was paid $30,000, deLaittre says, individually the teams put in another $250,000 in time, expertise and production--hard work that will have lasting value.
Video footage of their presentations can be seen on the project website, where there's also a form for submitting feedback.
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and Minneapolis Parks Foundation cosponsored the contest along with creative partners, the Walker Art Center and University of Minnesota College of Design.
Source: Mary deLaittre, project manager, Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition and founder and principal for Groundwork City Building
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
St. Paul city officials, community members, and other stakeholders are mulling over ideas to help preserve, restore, and improve Indian Mounds Regional Park. A 20-member task force will present plans at an open house this week.
The century-old Indian Mounds Regional Park, in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood, is a segment of the Battle Creek Regional Park, according to city information.
Indian Mounds Park has a history as a sacred Indian burial ground going back 2,000 years, starting with the Hopewell culture. Later the area was sacred to the Dakota Indians. Only six of at least 37 original mounds still exist today.
The park hasn't been updated much since the 1970s, according to parks spokesperson Brad Meyer.
Meyer says the planning process dovetails with a larger visioning effort that's underway, including the Great River Park Plan, which is about making the St. Paul riverfront more natural, more urban, and more connected, project materials state.
The Great River plan will outline where the city's parks will be in 25 years, Meyer says. In the future,Indian Mounds Park could have volleyball and bocce ball courts, gateway features, and a garden, for instance.
Other ideas are for a dog park, tennis courts, exercise stations, and a revamped amphitheater, according to project materials. Some mounds may be relocated, while native plantings would help restore the prairie.
The core idea is that Indian Mounds is a destination park, with a lot of potential for becoming a unique place, Meyer says, adding that it's "a significant step into the future of what could be another premium park."
The plan will move to the City Council in February before heading to the Metropolitan Council.
Source: Brad Meyer, St. Paul parks public information officer
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Interns in architectural firms don't often have the artistic freedom to develop new designs on their own.The annual St. Paul Prize Competition, open to unlicensed architectural professionals, gives them just that, says Eric Lagerquist, a spokesperson from the St. Paul chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The local group runs the contest.
The challenge this year was to come up with a park amphitheater to seat 150 people. It needed to facilitate live entertainment and educational presentations, making space for backstage and reception areas and more, Lagerquist says.
Inspiration came from the Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan, which doesn't have an amphitheater--though the contest is purely theoretical and isn't connected to any real-world development plans, Lagerquist explains.
The winning design, which was announced in mid-December, was by Kar-Keat Chong and Daniel Yudchitz, who work at the Minneapolis architecture firm HGA. Chong and Yudchitz, who received $850 for their idea, positioned the amphitheater so patrons have a clear lake view at all times.
Often, action onstage will block out the scenery. In this case, people could "engage the natural environment the whole time while sitting in the amphitheater."
Their understated design, which included a boardwalk leading to the lake, scored points with the jury because it "didn't detract from the setting," Lagerquist says.
Alex Kang and Ji Hun Cho from PDI World Group, which is also in Minneapolis, were the runners-up, getting $50 for a "very grandiose solution," with beautiful graphics.
Jury members evaluated the seven entries on various criteria, including to what extent they dealt with sustainability and how well they fit the context.
The contest was open to people working individually or in pairs who have architecture backgrounds but are unlicensed. Contestants have about a month to render their ideas after the contest begins. Previous contests have focused on plans for a light rail stop, a bike shed, and a fuel station for alternative fuels, Lagerquist says.
Source: Eric Lagerquist, spokesperson from St. Paul AIA
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
The vacant Victoria Theater in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood is a monument to silent film, Prohibition, American folk music, and turn-of-the-century architecture.Some advocates hope that in the future, more people will know about its link to all these things.
Recently the city's Heritage Preservation Commission determined that there's a compelling case for granting the theater historic designation, and the City Council is likely to address the issue next month, according to city staffer Christine Boulware.
The two-story theater, which dates back to 1915, is one of the few remaining examples of the early work of architect Franklin Ellerbe, Boulware explains via email. In the early 1900s, Ellerbe founded a firm that eventually became nationally prominent Ellerbe Becket.
The Victoria has a Beaux Arts-style brick and terra cotta façade. Inside, the original screen and projection booth, along with decorative pillasters, portions of the balcony and second floor, and hand-painted landscapes are also intact.
Later the theater was renamed the Victoria Café and became a dance hall that put on lively cabaret-style shows. During Prohibition, the nightclub was the target of various controversial federal actions, including a raid. In 1927 the club's house orchestra recorded a jazzy piece called "Moonshiner's Dance" for Gennett Records, which was later included in Harry Smith's famed 1952 Anthology of American Folk Music on Folkways Records, one of the catalysts of the folk-music revival of the 1950s and 60s..
The theater is adjacent to the historic Raths, Mills and Bell, Inc. building which housed one of the city's earliest industrial-film production companies.
The city, which has six locally designated historic districts and more than 60 individually designated sites, previously tried to get the theater on the National Register of Historic Places, but it lacked some of the documentation necessary to prove its significance.
Now the preservation commission and some community advocates want the city to recognize the theater as historic. "The theater is part of a shared memory of the Frogtown community and an important link between generations," Boulware explains.
Additionally, some city officials and community members believe it could "be an anchor for redevelopment and revitalization of the Victoria [light rail] Station area and have a positive effect on the surrounding neighborhood."
Source: Christine Boulware, historic preservation planner for the city of St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The Soap Factory is one of the largest galleries nationwide that focuses on emerging talent, according to its executive director Ben Heywood.
But the historic wood and brick building which houses the edgy gallery, a one-time soap factory, is on the decline.
The 48,000 square foot warehouse in Southeast Minneapolis, which dates back to the 1890s, has no heat or air conditioning, and on top of that, no insulation. As a result, "It's not a stable structure," Heywood says.
To stop the effects of aging, the Soap Factory, which has made many other building improvements since it moved into the space in 1995, is preparing for a more ambitious rehab. Getting an efficient heating system in place, Heywood explains, is key. "We want to own this building into perpetuity."
And finding green solutions to these issues, he says, is of strong interest. The gallery is looking into a passive air conditioning system, which would siphon cool air from the basement into the rest of the building during the warmer months, plus the possibility of a green roof, geothermal heating, and solar energy options.
Although going down any of those paths would require a big upfront investment, "the lifetime costs tend to be less," says Heywood.
Ultimately, the rehab would preserve the look of the building,he says, adding, "The rawness is what works for our art projects."
This year the gallery received a $46,800 grant from the State of Minnesota's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that the Minnesota Historical Society administered, to help get going with a structural review and heating survey, which are underway from MacDonald & Mack Architects and Dunham Associates.
When those pieces come out next year, they'll inform a larger design plan for the building. Afterward, the gallery will take on a full-fledged capital campaign for the estimated $3.5 million project, Heywood says.
For now, "We're starting to assemble what we need to make strong pitches" to public and private groups, he says.
Source: Ben Heywood, executive director, Soap Factory
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
The local Nimbus Theatre, which turned 10 this year, will soon settle into a permanent home.
A couple weeks ago, the theater, which strives to produce thought-provoking, artistically challenging contemporary work, signed a lease for a 4,100 square foot space at 15th and Central Avenue Northeast in Minneapolis.
Nearby are antiques and stained-glass shops, an empty space once belonging to the old Teeners Theatrical supply and the Diamonds Coffee Shoppe.
The volunteer-run theater is planning a 75-seat black-box-style auditorium with a lobby and backstage area in the raw, industrial-looking space. All told, the project will cost $100,000, according to Josh Cragun, a cofounder and co-artistic director at Nimbus, who explains that the development will unfold in a couple phases.
This week, the company is kicking off a capital campaign. Already it's received a $10,000 grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council for lighting equipment while the build-out will begin pending approval of a city zoning change to allow for the theater use.
Until now, Nimbus has relied on rental performance space at the Minneapolis Theater Garage in Uptown, with a separate office in Northeast.
But with steady growth through the years, it made economic sense for the theater to find a place of its own, says Cragun, adding that it's becoming a more permanent, rather than a production-oriented company.
When it started looking for a place a couple years ago, the company wanted to find a space that reflected its values, wherein "we could shape it and make it our own," says Cragun, adding, "It'll give us a sense of identity."
Additionally, Nimbus will have the flexibility to produce a variety of shows that are experimental or have limited runs, along with workshops, readings, and more. Outside companies will be able to rent the venue while in the future Nimbus may hire a staffer or two, Cragun says.
Nimbus's first shows in the space will be "The Balcony" by Jean Genet in February 2011 followed by "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion in the spring.
Source: Josh Cragun, Nimbus Theatre
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
No longer will parks simply be about 'turf and trees.'
A 21st-century park should be versatile enough to support various community activities that happen around the clock and throughout the year.
That's the challenge that's been laid out by the Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition (MRDC), which deals with a 5.4-mile stretch of the river, or about 220 acres starting in and around the Stone Arch Bridge and historic mills and heading north, according to project manager Mary DeLaittre.
MRDC is a joint project of the Minneapolis parks and its foundation, along with its creative partners, the University of Minnesota College of Design and Walker Art Center.
Recently the group's 13-member jury culled through 55 submissions that arrived from all over the globe in response to its request for qualifications. They settled on four finalists including the Ken Smith Workshop, Stoss Landscape Urbanism, Tom Leader Studio, and Turenscape. The award-winning designers and planners hail from New York City, Boston, Berkeley, and Beijing.
Now, the finalists have a little more than a month to come up with plans.
It's a complicated and fascinating assignment, DeLaittre explains. For starters, the terrain goes from the picturesque to the industrial within overlapping local-to-federal jurisdictions. Additionally, Interstate-94 cuts off North Minneapolis from the river, which adds another wrinkle, says DeLaittre, who is also the founder and principal of local consultant Groundwork: The Foundation for City Building.
However, the teams won't be starting from scratch, she says. They'll be armed with a list of the area's resources to work with.
DeLaittre says she's looking forward to seeing the results, which will lead to a commissioned project to be announced in February 2011.
She hopes that the competition inspires people to see the river as a connector and not a divider. "We want to orient the city around the river," she says, adding, "It's one of the three great rivers of the world."
Source: Mary DeLaittre, project manager for the Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition, founder and principal of Groundwork: The Foundation for City Building
Writer: Anna Pratt
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
This month St. Paul held its 30th art crawl, and the semi-annual event has grown so popular that it has spawned a smaller, monthly version. Foot traffic at Saint Paul Art Crawls averages 20,000–24,000, says Robyn Priestly, executive director at the Saint Paul Art Collective, the nonprofit that runs the event.
Spectacular fall weather may have suppressed attendance at this month's three-day crawl. Priestly says reports are still being tallied from organizers at the four "clumps" of studios across the city: Lowertown and downtown; Grand Avenue; University Avenue; and the East Side.
The crawls' appeal is partly architectural, Priestly says: "Looking at the buildings is part of it because these are great old buildings, whether they're the new rehabbed buildings on University Avenue or the old warehouses down in Lowertown."
First Friday open houses occur every month in which the collective isn't mounting an art crawl. The scaled-down monthly crawls feature studios in five Lowertown buildings: Tilsner, Jax, Lowertown Lofts, Northwestern Building and the Northern Warehouse. The next First Friday, on Nov. 5, marks the one-year anniversary of the event.
One of the collective's other projects has been opening a new art gallery in the Northern Warehouse. On exhibit now (call 651-292-4373 for hours): artwork by the collective's past and present board members.
The crawls grew out of open houses held by members of the Lowertown Lofts artists' cooperative 20 years ago. For the first decade they were annual affairs before growing to a twice-yearly event that has stayed true to its original impetus. "It is a giant open house," Priestly says.
Source: Robyn Priestley, St. Paul Art Collective
Writer: Chris Steller
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The four-mile stretch of Hennepin Avenue from Lakewood Cemetery to the Mississippi River is about to undergo scrutiny of the sort Lake Street and University Avenue have seen from photographer Wing Young Huie.
This time, not Huie but another photographer, who takes inspiration from Huie's huge undertakings, will be tripping her camera's shutter from Uptown to Downtown along a major Twin Cities avenue.
Cate Vermeland teaches photography, communication arts and art history at Concordia University in St. Paul. But it was volunteering as an usher at Huie's "University Avenue Project" outdoor slideshow events this year that put her on the path to a photographic exploration of her own.
Vermeland is an Uptown girl. She grew up there in a pre-chain era when mom-and-pop stores prevailed, and she lived on Hennepin Avenue itself for most of the 1990s. "Its great that it's still a walkable street," she says.
Charting Hennepin's changes is part of the point of her project. Vermeland plans to rephotograph views from the archives of Norton & Peel, a local photography firm in business through the 1960s. She'll match the archival image then take more pictures to provide context to the historical pairing.
Vermeland, speaking to The Line by phone from her darkroom, says her approach differs from Huie's somewhat photojournalistic bent: "I come purely out of an artistic tradition." Her photos will explore how architecture along Hennepin creates community, But the pictures, in black and white, are likely to be unpopulated, giving viewers space to enliven the scenes with their imaginations.
Vermeland and Huie will hold a public conversation about their projects Thursday, October 21 at 5:30 p.m. at 1433 University Ave., St. Paul (near University and Albert), followed at 6:30 p.m. by another in the series of outdoor slideshows of Huie's "University Avenue Project."
Source: Cate Vermeland, Concordia University
Writer: Chris Steller
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
On a sunny Sunday August afternoon last year, Leo Kim waded into the stream in downtown St. Paul's Mears Park for a new angle on a scene that had become familiar to him--maybe overly so--after many attempts at photographing it.
"What if I were a squirrel?" Kim asked himself. "What would I see?"
The resulting picture--an intimate view of natural forces set into motion in the city's midst--inspired Kim to embark on a nine-month quest to capture more images of surprising serenity within the city of St. Paul.
Now he's trying to raise $24,000 to publish a book of 96 photos he's calling "Saint Paul Serenity." That's twice what his earlier photo-book of North Dakota landscapes cost, but Kim decided he wants to keep the money in the local economy by using a Minneapolis printer instead of shipping the work overseas. An event on Thursday launches his fundraising effort, which he says is so far going more slowly than did the North Dakota project. He's hoping to get enough book orders to have "Serenity" printed by Christmas.
Kim, a professional photographer, lived in Minneapolis for 15 years before a 2005 move to Lowertown near Mears Park. He found he hadn't created a cohesive series of Minneapolis images--"Someday I will," he vows--but he readily discovered the serene scenes he went looking for around St. Paul.
"The city has done a great job with the landscape," says Kim, an immigrant of Korean heritage who came to Minnesota via Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macao, and Austria--not to mention time spent studying in North Dakota. He says he aspired to become an architect or city planner but couldn't bear to be in meetings. Instead, he seeks out St. Paul's wild side, often finding "I have the place to myself, only a stone's throw from downtown.
"It's amazing."
Source: Leo Kim, Leo Kim Photography
Writer: Chris Steller
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Five hundred people packed the Riverview Theater last week to see the "Minneapolis Project 2010" -- a one-night festival of 24 short films about 22 places in the city. Most of the shorts were narratives that one way or another evoked the character of the neighborhoods in which they were set, says organizer John Koch.
The project is akin to recent efforts such as "Paris, je t'aime" and "New York, I Love You," says Koch, who contends that "any city could do this." But it's no one-off for Koch's nonprofit, Cinema Revolution--the same name as his former art-house DVD-rental shop in Uptown. "The Minneapolis Project" is Cinema Revolution's fourth omnibus film screening, a continuation of events that began during the six years Koch owned the shop.
The city's neighborhoods supply both the films' subject matter and their audience. "Most films are made with the broadest audience in mind," says Koch. But the aim of the 18 filmmakers participating in the Minneapolis Project was different: "creating films specifically for a local audience, knowing that a local audience would find value in it."
A moment in which that concept crystalized came during the screening of the project's lone animated short, "Urban Agrarian Woman," a film about the Powderhorn Park neighborhood by John Akre. At one point the heroine rides a flying bicycle past the tower of the former Sears store, now Midtown Global Market, on Lake Street. The audience's recognition of the local landmark was audible. "From that point they were invested in the idea," Koch says. "It's so rewarding to hear an audience of that size (respond)."
That kind of reaction is part of the appeal for the participating filmmakers, particularly those just starting out, for whom the project is important simply as an opportunity for hundreds of people to see their work. They paid $20 per film to participate, the money going toward a $500 prize for a winning film selected by audience vote (still underway online). Koch fronted the money to book the theater, gambling that the box office would cover his cost. Cinema Revolution will hold another group-film screening in December, "Dance Project 2010," with either a second Minneapolis Project or a St. Paul edition next summer.
"There's so much to say" for filmmakers creating narratives about neighborhoods, says Koch. He contributed three shorts of his own, about Dinkytown, Uptown, and Minnehaha Falls.
"I could make 25 shorts just about Uptown," he says.
Source: John Koch, Cinema Revolution
Writer: Chris Steller
Here are the films from "Minneapolis Project 2010," with links to those now available online. (Filmmakers were prohibited from uploading their contributions to the Web until after last week's screening.)
Minneapolis Project 2010 (trailer)
"We Major" by Brian Murnion - Downtown skyways
"The Lovers" by Brian Murnion - Gateway District
"Dischord" by Tyler Jensen and Jaime Carrera - Bottineau neighborhood and Boom Island
"Passing" by Tyler Jensen and Jaime Carrera - Loring Park
"Parade" by Tyler Jensen and Jaime Carrera - Powderhorn neighborhood
"Yesterday" by John Koch - Dinkytown
"Today" by John Koch - Minnehaha Falls
"Tomorrow" by John Koch - Uptown
"You. Me. Here." (trailer) by Corey Lawson - Nicollet Island
"Firmament Collapse" (trailer) by Allen Keating-Moore (Phillips neighborhood)
"Urban Agrarian Woman" (trailer) by John Akre - Powderhorn Park neighborhood
"Raw Honey" by Abdi Hassan and Gabriel Cheifetz (long version) - Cedar-Riverside neighborhood
"Claudia" by Stephen Gurewitz - Northeast
"Loon Lake Dance" by Dave Deal - Lake Calhoun
"Shudder 13" by Dave Deal- I-35W Bridge/Bohemian Flats
"The Gallery" by Todd Wardrope - Whittier neighborhood
"Transfer" by Todd Wardrope - Route 5 Metro Transit bus stop
"Free Puppies" by Dan Dockery - underground
"Band Box Diner" by Amy Mattila - Elliot Park neighborhood
"Wedge Walk" by Sam Thompson - Wedge/Lowry Hill East neighborhoods
"The Rescue" by Yoko Okumura and Elizabeth Mims - Kenwood neighborhood
"Air Conditioner" by Gabriel Cheifetz - Midtown Greenway
"shut(ter)" by Nathan Gilbert - Phillips neighborhood
"Lakewood" by Sam Hoolihan - Lakewood Cemetery
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The place-names
Minnesota and
Minneapolis share a common source: mni, from the Dakota language, meaning water.
But leaders of the City of Lakes and the Land of Sky-blue Waters have butted heads over a Minneapolis public-art project intended to celebrate that common water heritage--demonstrating that water can divide as well as unite.
It began in 2007 when the Minneapolis City Council budgeted a half-million dollars to commission 10 drinking fountains designed by local artists to be installed in public places around Minneapolis.
The expenditure of $50,000 per fountain drew criticism, most notably from Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Although bonds, not state aid, were to pay for the fountains, the project got caught up in the raging debate over state cuts to funding for local governments.
It's an argument recently revived by Tom Emmer, GOP candidate for governor, who criticized St. Paul's privately funded
sidewalk poetry program as a waste of government money.
Early this year, the Minneapolis City Council scaled back the number of fountains to four. Now, after a dedication ceremony last Saturday, water is flowing at the first two fountains. "3 Forms," a fountain by Gita Ghei, Sara Hanson, and JanLouise Kusske (with help from South High School students) draws inspiration from geology formations and fossils in a classical fountain design.
Last fall, the first fountain, "Water of the Doodem Spirits" by St. Paul sculptor Peter Morales, was installed to less fanfare on Franklin Avenue. Morales says he enjoys watching people drink under the gaze of Raven, who is perched above Turtle and Fish in a sculptural treatment drawing on Ojibwe origin stories. There is no sign to explain the fountain's meaning, but stopping for a drink can sometimes elicit interpretations from other passers-by.
"There's a wide swath of society that goes by there," Morales says. "People took to it right away."
Source: Peter Morales, Balam Studios
Writer: Chris Steller
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
As his firm's design for the world's tallest building rises in Shanghai, architect William Pedersen has designed something much closer to the ground--and, perhaps, his heart--for his alma mater, the University of Minnesota. The $72.5 million Science Teaching and Student Services (ST+SS) building is Pedersen's third major Twin Cities project, after the Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis and the St. Paul (now Travelers) Companies headquarters in his hometown of St. Paul.
Speaking from Kohn Pedersen Fox's New York office, Pedersen was full of praise for local partners HGA Architects, McGough Construction, sculptor Alexander Tylevich, and especially his university client. He seemed freshly enamored of the U of M, where he graduated from the School of Architecture in 1961 after playing Gophers hockey with teammate Herb Brooks. He acknowledged parallels between ST+SS and his 1983 Chicago landmark, 333 Wacker Drive, another building at a bend in a river that has "a fluidity addressing the natural context." Here are a few edited excerpts from the interview:
Q. Why were you attracted to the SS+ST project?
A. My commitment to the university was probably the most powerful attraction. Also, the U had a very strong philosophical concept: [to create] the most advanced teaching building in the United States. President Bruininks was very focused. Finally, it's the most dramatic site on any university campus. It faces the Mississippi River and it faces back to the campus. It forms a gateway to the East Bank campus with the Weisman [Art Museum by Frank Gehry]. The two need to form a relationship.
Q. What other challenges did the site pose?
A. The big glass surface facing west presented solar challenges. The vertical piers of stainless steel are not spaced uniformly. They're closer together where the building faces west--spaced rhythmically, not like an office building. I wanted the building to feel cheerful in all kinds of weather, even on a dreary day.
Q. How did you feel about the building once it opened?
A. I was so proud of my university and the way they [approached the project]--enormously progressive and optimistic.
Source: William Pedersen, Kohn Pedersen Fox
Writer: Chris Steller
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
If you take a walk in St. Paul, it's becoming more and more likely that you'll step on a poem.
The city's sidewalk poetry program is in its third year of stamping poems into sidewalk squares as part of regular maintenance work. Residents compete in an annual contest in which 10 are chosen to have their work set in concrete. Now there are 30 poems in 300 locations across the city. Calls come in from as far away as New Zealand to inquire about the program.
It's one of the projects that got its start through another St. Paul innovation: the artist-in-residence, a nontraditional approach to public art. Many public-art programs operate on the percent-for-art model, explains Christine Podas-Larson of the nonprofit Public Art Saint Paul. A capital project has already been designed and an artist is called in-- "usually at the end," she says--to add some art.
The artist-in-residence program in St. Paul stands that on its head. The artist gets embedded in the inner workings of City Hall. Not only the politics and administration but the day-to-day duties of all sorts of public servants.
The deal Public Art Saint Paul offered City Hall, she says, was this: We will pay for the position of artist-in-residence. You make room for the artist "at the big kids' table." (A $50,000 grant from the McKnight Foundation helped Public Art Saint Paul keep its end of the deal.)
That's how the sidewalk poetry program was born. Artist-in-residence Marcus Young visited the Sidewalk Division of the Public Works Department and asked "What do you do?" It turns out the division spends a half-million dollars annually replacing the equivalent of 10 miles of broken sidewalk squares. Young already had a concept of the city as a book and the sidewalks as pages. Here was a readymade way to turn that into reality.
"We take a tiny corner of what they're doing anyway," says Podas-Larson says. "It makes maintenance artful," she says.
Source: Christine Podas-Larson, Public Art Saint Paul
Writer: Chris Steller
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Members of the Prospect Park-East River Road Improvement Association (PPERRIA) were in favor of historic status for their Minneapolis neighborhood--until they were against it.
It was in 2008 that Council Member Cam Gordon got city approval for the neighborhood's nomination for local historic designation. But over the two years that the nomination was pending, Prospect Park residents had a change of heart as they experienced tougher-than-expected provisional enforcement of historic-district rules.
And so this month, at PPERRIA's urging, the city council rejected historic designation for Prospect Park.
"It sounds strange," admits Joe Ring, leader of the effort to get historic status. "Like most things in life, it isn't simple."
Residents supported rules on owners making changes to building facades, Ring says, but they weren't expecting restrictions on rear additions, temporary wheelchair ramps or lead-paint abatement work.
Did the neighborhood waste $55,000 on a report by historical-research firm Hess Roise that determined it deserved national historic status? No, says Ring, because the city accepted the report, giving the neighborhood standing to object to demolitions like those that inspired the designation effort 15 years ago.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation suggested PPERRIA might instead pursue designation as a conservation district, a status enjoyed by neighborhoods in cities such as Nashville, Tenn., Cambridge, Mass., and Boise, Idaho. A University of Minnesota study due this fall is surveying conservation districts across the country and may recommend language for lawmakers here to consider.
Ring says administration of conservation districts, compared to historic districts, can be more neighborhood-based or bottom-up. And it might give PPERRIA greater say over things like the scale of new student-housing projects or Xcel Energy's tree-trimming practices.
Source: Joe Ring, Prospect Park-East River Road Improvement Association
Writer: Chris Steller
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
When Christopher and Rushika Hage moved back to Minnesota in 2007, they saw that on the sizable shelf of local-history books devoted to individual Twin Cities neighborhoods, one notable neighborhood was missing: Minneapolis' Nicollet Island.
The Hages have since filled that gap, twice over. Their "Nicollet Island" installment in Arcadia Publishing's "Images of America" photo-book series appeared earlier this year. And in July local publisher Nodin Press released their second book on the subject, "Nicollet Island: History and Architecture."
It's an in-depth survey that takes readers from the time when Dakota people made the island a birthing place, through its Gilded Age heyday as home to the city's early elites, to its current status as a showcase park on Minneapolis' downtown riverfront.
Rushika Hage calls the tale "a history of Minneapolis in miniature." Nicollet Island lies upstream of St. Anthony Falls--the only true waterfall on the Mississippi River and the reason Minneapolis came into being as a city.
After voters in the 1860s rejected a chance to buy the island as a central park, its 40 acres developed along the same pattern as the city as a whole: water power-based factories nearest the falls, then tiny zones of commerce, high-end townhouses, mansions, and residences for the middle and working classes.
The Hages devote a chapter to the island's residential and industrial architecture--a 19th-century time capsule, preserved thanks to countercultural residents who fought off bulldozers in the 1970s.
A special find is a boyhood photo of Franklin Griswold, an inventor of railroad and traffic signals used the world over who grew up on the island, riding a homemade four-wheeled cycle.
Sources: Christopher and Rushika Hage
Writer: Chris Steller (who lives on the island and gave some information to the Hages for their books)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
City maps usually use colors, shapes, and other marks to denote things like bus routes, school locations, and major thoroughfares. Now a University of Minnesota professor is asking locals to mark places of pain and joy on her handmade wooden map of the Twin Cities.
"Unseen/Seen: The Mapping of Joy and Pain" is the latest project by Rebecca Krinke, an artist who teaches landscape architecture at the University of Minnesota. She is taking her large-scale tabletop map of Minneapolis and St. Paul to parks and other locations, where she invites people to draw in gray where they've felt pain and gold where they've felt joy.
The result, still evolving, is more than a composite mental map. It's a communal emotional map that Krinke hopes will be enlightening and even therapeutic.
"It really seems to be working," says Krinke, who calls the responses so far "beautiful, interesting and strange." Some people happen by; others who have heard about the project come as if by appointment. Most who participate end up staying half an hour or so, often interacting with others as they mark the map.
To her surprise, many of the markings are linear rather than mere points. River banks are lined with more gold than even Minneapolis' popular city lakes.
Word of the project has traveled quickly, and Krinke says she'll be packaging it for display in Blacksburg, Va. (site of a horrific campus shooting), and Sacramento, Calif.
A map of wood, while a thing of beauty, is also anachronistic in the age of Google Maps. Krinke says she's interested in suggestions she has received for online, possibly worldwide, versions.
Source: Rebecca Krinke, University of Minnesota
Writer: Chris Steller
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
A design has been drawn up for a memorial to the 13 people who died three years ago when the Interstate 35W bridge fell into the Mississippi River, but site selection for the project is still up in the air.
Recent weeks have seen the likely spot for the memorial shift from Gold Medal Park, next to the new Guthrie Theater, to park property across West River Parkway that's actually owned by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
"People are ready to see the memorial," says mayoral spokesman John Stiles, adding that three years after the tragedy is "a decent time" for plans to proceed.
In the days after the bridge fell, the then-newly built artificial hill at Gold Medal Park drew crowds seeking a spot from which to survey the scene of the disaster--to mourn, to witness or simply to pay respects. Tom Oslund, the park's landscape designer, also designed the memorial.
But Gold Medal Park is not a real city park. Instead it's property belonging partly to the city and partly to the Guthrie, leased for 10 years to the William W. McGuire and Nadine M. McGuire Family Foundation for operation as a park.
That means that in 2017 Gold Medal Park could become something else. So city officials have been looking at an alternative location across the street that could accommodate a somewhat downsized version of the memorial.
Park board president John Erwin says by removing "weed trees" and relocating planted crab apple trees, the new site could offer a similar view of the bridge site for the memorial--"in perpetuity."
But Gold Medal Park isn't completely out of the picture yet. "Nothing's off the table," says Stiles.
Source: John Stiles, City of Minneapolis; John Erwin, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
Writer: Chris Steller
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
It's a good thing the board members of the American Craft Council made sure the Twin Cities had a deep talent pool before they chose to relocate the group's headquarters from New York City to Minneapolis.
Because not one of the ACC's staff members in NYC made the move.
For a variety of reasons, according to spokeswoman Bernadette Boyle, all 20–25 stayed East, including Boyle. Speaking by phone from New York on Monday, the day the Minneapolis office opened for business, she said the transition feels "bittersweet."
She has heard good things about the historic Grain Belt Brewery building, where the ACC is leasing space from RSP Architects, the firm that renovated the castle-like structure for its own headquarters.
The Twin Cities were familiar to people at ACC because of the craft show the organization holds annually in St. Paul, one of four such shows in cities across the country. (Another of those cities, Atlanta, was under consideration for the new headquarters site.)
So they knew that the Twin Cities are a "cultural hotbed for crafts," Boyle said, with great museums and simply a great place to live.
The organization had to move. New York simply wasn't economically viable for the ACC anymore, Boyle said.
Some staffers, like Boyle, are continuing with ACC for a few weeks or months, and the show staff will stay on, working remotely. About 15 people will staff the new office, she said.
One feature of the SoHo office still due to make the move to Minneapolis is the organization's 7,000-volume library, which Boyle said is open to the public, by appointment.
Source: Bernadette Boyle, American Craft Council
Writer: Chris Steller
When a couple living in Powderhorn Park moved out of the neighborhood this month, they hung wooden signs with stenciled blackbirds along the way to their new home, many blocks north. And a photographer from the Powderhorn 365 project was there to document the endearing demarcations of their departure.
Every day since Jan. 1, 2009, someone in Powderhorn has posted a photo from the neighborhood on the Powderhorn 365 website. It's a fascinating catalog of life in this diverse south Minneapolis enclave of artists, activists and everyday people.
"I wanted to show people our neighborhood," says resident Amy Wurdock, who dreamed up the project in late 2008 when she got a digital SLR camera. Her motivation: to replace the occasionally heard refrain of "God, this place sucks" with "How cool is this?" Wurdock calls Minneapolis-based photographer Wing Young Huie--known for his
epic documentation of urban streets and neighborhoods--"my main inspiration."
But the prospect of posting a photo a day was too daunting for a mother of two young children, so Wurdock looked for six others who, with her, could each take a day of the week, all year long. The result is not only online but in an impressive coffee table book collecting the team's photos from 2009, made possible through the efforts of Leonie Thomas, an intern from the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA). One resident sent the book to friends in Germany and Australia to persuade them to visit him, Wurdock says. (A 2010 book is possible--if another organization or foundation shows interest in contributing.)
Now the project is continuing with a new crop of seven photographers, augmented by occasional guests filling in. One of the only rules is that photos must come from within the neighborhood's boundaries--although the 2009 book includes a couple that violate that rule. No one has guessed which, says Wurdock.
Source: Amy Wurdock, Powderhorn 365
Writer: Chris Steller
All seems as it should be in front of the James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History. Bronze wolves stalk a bronze moose on the path to the front door, and above the door, an immense American bison is carved in relief on the limestone facade, along with the museum's name.
But behind that facade, the 70-year-old building on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus is suffering from old age, according to museum spokesman Martin Moen. Gallery ceilings lower than the current industry standard make installation of many traveling exhibits difficult or impossible. The space for such exhibits is only 3,000 square feet, a bare minimum. Air conditioning in the 1960s-era addition is on its last legs; the original 1940 building has none.
A solution--constructing a new building for the museum on the university's St. Paul campus--has been in the works for nearly 15 years. Fundraising for the $39.5 million building began in 2001. Some of the $10 million raised so far went toward design work and construction drawing for a new facility at the southwest corner of Larpenteur and Cleveland avenues.
But state funding for the shovel-ready project has twice fallen victim to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto pen, and last year the university decided to give the proposal a breather. The Board of Regents will decide this year whether to include the Bell again in the university's funding request next legislative session.
In the meantime, the state's only natural history museum continues drawing 60,000 visitors per year. On exhibit this summer are works by Francis Jacques, the Aitken, Minn.-born artist who painted dioramas for the Bell and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Part of the cost of the St. Paul museum will be the careful removal of some of Jacques' murals for re-installation in the new space.
Source: Martin Moen, Bell Museum
Writer: Chris Steller
An annual arts crawl reaches the age of maturity at its fifth year. At least that's how Dudley Voight sees the FLOW Northside Arts Crawl, which at the ripe old age of five will once again enliven West Broadway in Minneapolis this Saturday.
"At the fifth year, you can ask different questions," Voight says. "We're not going away. What are our goals? That's really pretty fun."
FLOW is not standard gallery-crawl fare, although Voight says her inspiration for it came from the regular jubilance of monthly crawls in the Warehouse District in years past, when that downtown slice of North Minneapolis teemed with visual arts venues.
Businesses that aren't art galleries play a big role in FLOW, hosting art shows and performances. A highlight this year is
Catalyst Community Partners' newly renovated 5 Points Building at Penn and Broadway, now home to KMOJ-FM Radio ("The People's Station"), which will host three floors of exhibits and arts activities.
Familiarity breeds interest in art, says Voight. One measure of FLOW's impact is that businesses on Broadway now routinely have art on their walls throughout the rest of the year.
"It's an invitation to people to come into our community, into our space," she says, and the art they'll see is a sample of what the community has on offer. "All the things that happen at FLOW happen all year round in north Minneapolis."
Source: Dudley Voight, FLOW Northside Arts Crawl
Writer: Chris Steller
The news that the Bedlam Theatre will have to leave its West Bank space in six weeks to make room for an expanding mosque hit many fans of the offbeat troupe hard.
But Bedlam has periodically embraced and flirted with homelessness in the past as a possibly beneficial artistic state (see its 17-year history recounted in the Twin Cities Daily Planet), only to be set straight by supporters who liked the company's current or earlier digs.
Now co-founder and -director John Bueche says exactly what the theater wants in a new space "is a good question. Sometimes our preconceptions have been proven short-sighted."
Even letting slip that the theater would concentrate its search within the city limits of Minneapolis was enough to generate emails from Bedlam-lovers in St. Paul and a phone call from the St. Paul mayor's office.
The group, founded by grads from St. Paul's Macalester College, has since backed off its insistence on the Mill City.
Would, say, a spot in a suburban strip mall be out of the question?
Bueche said the group, which has built up a loyal following through social events that go well beyond standard theatrical performance, now has two main criteria: "proximity to a young, diverse audience" and a location on "an alternative transit corridor."
That suggests that Bedlam's perfect space is the one from which they're being evicted--located only steps from the Cedar-Riverside light rail station and in the heart of the immigrant-rich West Bank neighborhood.
"It wasn't our choice," Bueche clarifies. "We'd be happy to stay." He sees a silver lining for the neighborhood Bedlam celebrated in its "West Bank Story" production. "We're moving because development is happening here"--due in part, he says, to resolution of decades-long lawsuits between local landowners.
Source: John Bueche, Bedlam Theatre
Writer: Chris Steller
When you think about the materials that make up urban places--concrete, brick, plastic, metal--you don't ordinarily think of yarn.
Yarn bombers, also known at knit taggers, are out to change that. They knit things that are meant to be worn outdoors, but not by people. They wrap their knitting around poles on the street or install it on chain link fences. It's part graffiti, part handicraft.
If you've seen knitting-covered objects in the Twin Cities, you've probably seen the work of yarn bombers. They've covered a big rock at the Barbara Barker Center for Dance at the University of Minnesota, decorated a structural column outside Borealis Yarns at Thomas and Hamline in St. Paul, and enlivened the Cleveland Avenue overpass above I-94.
It's a national trend that a few years ago took hold in the fertile, active knitting culture of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, which, according to Radio K, supports the greatest number of yarn shops per capita of any place in the United States.
These days, knitters of all ages learn stitches and share knit-tagging techniques at meetups such as "Drunken Knit Night" at Merlin's Rest. One knitter who has taken it to the streets, Ann Rojas, says a friend of her daughter's learned to knit for the sole purpose of practicing yarn bombing.
"The stereotype of the old lady knitting at home is not too current," says Rojas, whose own yarn-bombing-in-progress once drew the attention of a St. Paul police officer. "I sent him on his way," she says.
Source: Ann Rojas
Writer: Chris Steller
In another era, the handsome but diminutive Music Education building on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus might have disappeared without a voice being raised or a fuss of any kind.
But the 1888 sandstone structure survived into the 1990s, when along with other buildings on the Knoll (now the Old Campus Historic District) it got a last-minute reprieve from then-president Mark Yudof.
Nearby masonry heavyweights such as Nicholson and Pillsbury Halls got updated for continued use, but the tiny building on the hairpin turn of East River Parkway just outside Dinkytown proved too small for the 21st century. The university began knocking it down this week after 15 years of trying to find a new use or a new owner.
Over that time, says James Litsheim, historic preservation architect for U of M campuses statewide, the university spent $500,000 to keep the structure in decent shape. It needed $2 million more of work but the university offered it for one dollar. There was some interest, but no takers, says Litsheim. No one knew quite what to do with a Richardsonian Romanesque miniature that has no more than 3,000 square feet over four floors, divided into "a rabbit warren" of music practice rooms.
"It's hard to lose this one," Litsheim says, fearing for other small buildings around the state as the university downsizes its space needs in step with reduced state funding. The university is salvaging decorative elements and sandstone facing. The site is so small that the university's master plan calls for it simply to become green space.
The building began as home to the Student Christian Organization. Its last occupant in the late 1990s was a lone researcher, famed inventor Otto Schmitt, in the last years of his own life.
Source: James Litsheim, University of Minnesota
Writer: Chris Steller
In the news business' current economic climate, it's hard to imagine a newspaperman with enough cash to put up a castle.
But the castle-like mansion that Swan Turnblad built in Minneapolis a century ago stands as proof that it once was possible. And as if to repeat the stunt, the mansion's current owner, the American Swedish Institute, has announced mid-recession plans for an addition to the Park Avenue icon.
It's an effort that, as with other cultural institutions' recent expansion plans, has seen a course correction. But it wasn't a scaling-back due to donations drying up. Instead, a neighbor, Ebenezer, offered for sale its seven-story nursing facility next door. ASI bought the property and its plans for a bulky addition with parking structure sidling up close to the historic mansion went by the wayside.
Instead, the Institute re-evaluated its needs and asked HGA Architects to design an addition that while still connected to the mansion would itself be less imposing, giving the Turnblad's landmark what Scandinavians might consider a more appropriate amount of personal space.
"A slightly smaller building," says Bruce Karstadt, ASI's president and CEO, "that doesn't need to be nestled up" quite so close to the old castle. It will house an event space, offices, and a crafts studio, among other things.
Karstadt says the ASI expects to break ground next year on the $21.5 million project, which now includes more restoration of the house (now museum) that typesetter-turned-publisher Turnblad built from his labors on the Swedish-language, Minneapolis-based newspaper Svenska Amerikanska Posten.
Source: Bruce Karstadt, American Swedish Institute
Writer: Chris Steller
Some places around town -- under-used, in transition -- seem to be waiting in the wings for their moment in the spotlight. Skewed Visions, a site-specific performance company based in northeast Minneapolis, makes such places part of the show.
Skewed Visions performances have taken place at sites ranging from the Grain Belt Brewery office building in Northeast to a storefront in Minneapolis' Elliot Park neighborhood and the old Drake Marble building on St. Paul's West Side.
As he ticks off those and other performance locations, founding member Charles Campbell notes that every one of the buildings Skewed Visions has visited has seen a new use since.
Moving outside the world of ready-made stages and seats is no simple matter. The company encounters many of the same obstacles that developers -- or other site-specific visual artists, such as Christo -- face when they try to make permanent or even temporary additions to the urban landscape.
Skewed Visions has a light touch at the locations where they perform, Campbell insists: "It's not a high-impact kind of thing."
At the moment, Skewed Visions has its sights set for a future production at a downtown St. Paul site that Campbell wants to keep secret until negotiations with local governmental agencies and other organizations are further along. The performance will be based loosely on "Austerlitz," a book by the late German author W.G. Sebald.
Skewed Visions' goal is "to make something exciting to witness," Campbell says -- "to engage not just the audience but the spaces."
An effort to buy the stones that once made up Minneapolis' tallest--and, many say, finest--19th-century building continues to build steam.
Recovering and re-using the massive remnants of the legendary Metropolitan Building is suddenly a cause celebre among preservationists. The campaign promises partial redemption for the building's now-lamented destruction a half-century ago, at the nadir of an urban renewal era that devastated the city's most historic section.
Granite blocks from the majestic 1890 structure sit in a huge pile in rural Delano, where waiting to be crushed for road projects. "Most of them are the size of a large car," says Jack Byers, Minneapolis planning supervisor. He says stones with delicate carvings appear to have been placed in the middle of the jetty-like pile, possibly to protect them from the elements.
Byers is working with Preservation Minnesota, Preserve Minneapolis, the Minnesota Historical Society, and the Hennepin History Museum to find preservation funds, then a function, for the pieces of architect E. Townsend Mix's masterpiece.
Dean Phillips, creator of the "Bring the Metropolitan Back to Minneapolis" Facebook page, is eager to meet both challenges. He thinks the blocks would make a great a downtown urban ruins park.
"I'm a passionate fan of architecture, and Minneapolis architecture specifically," says Phillips, whose family's Phillips Distilling Company and Jay & Rose Phillips Family Foundation are in historic buildings in the Old St. Anthony district of Minneapolis. "I'm a sucker for a great story and a good puzzle. This has both of those."
Sources: Jack Byers, City of Minneapolis; Dean Phillips, Phillips Distilling Company and Jay & Rose Phillips Family Foundation
Writer: Chris Steller
The former Greyhound bus terminal in downtown Minneapolis completes its transformation this month into a total-package nightspot, with the opening--alongside the First Avenue and 7th Street Entry nightclubs--of the new Depot Tavern.
It is in the one part of the historic building that up until now has not been devoted to music, dance, and drink; most recently it held a storefront UnBank. But after what First Avenue's Madchen Davis says was "a long time coming," the Depot Tavern will serve bar food and drinks to clubbers, Twins fans and anyone else tempted by the aroma of bacon-wrapped Diamond Dogs wafting through the garage door that faces the sidewalk and will be open whenever the weather permits.
Davis, who works in promotions, says First Avenue saw that music fans were looking for a place to grab grub before or after a show. Even during a show, doors will allow movement between the Entry and the tavern. Davis says the Depot Tavern is about the size of the Triple Rock Social Club on the West Bank, maybe bigger.
With monitors streaming live video from performances taking place in First Avenue's Main Room and the neighboring Entry, Davis calls the Depot Tavern a perfect Plan B when shows are sold out. And it will also provide an opportunity for underage fans to catch acts (albeit on a flatscreen) that they might otherwise have to wait years to see.
Source: Madchen Davis, First Avenue
Writer: Chris Steller
Sanden Totten looks at the Twin Cities from his home in Minneapolis' Phillips neighborhood and his workplace in downtown St. Paul and sees infrastructure needs. Not the usual infrastructure tasks like filling last winter's crop of potholes or repairing bridges.
Totten is seeking ways to connect people with the cities' sizable inventory of murals, using technology and public input. He envisions something like bike routes criss-crossing the urban landscape that take riders from one mural to the next, via "place casting"--place-based podcasts that tell the stories behind the Cities' painted walls.
Totten, a producer at Minnesota Public Radio's Public Insight Network, is bringing that organization's resources to bear on the challenge of mapping urban murals, first in Minneapolis, with St. Paul in the wings. He is currently soliciting ideas and mural recommendations at MPR's website and says the project will launch in July. The form it takes is still up in the air and will be determined in part by the contributions from the public.
The urge to map local murals isn't completely new or limited to Totten. Several years ago Kevin D. Hendricks set up a searchable catalog of nearly 150 Twin Cities murals, among other forms of public art, at his Start Seeing Art website. And Minneapolis City Council Member Gary Schiff has taken to posting on Facebook photos of delightful garage-door murals he encounters on his morning graffiti patrols of alleys in his South Minneapolis ward.
Source: Sanden Totten, Public Insight Network, Minnesota Public Radio
Writer: Chris Steller
Every city worth its salt has at least a few water tanks rusting atop century-old buildings. The lucky ones might score a paint job during a rehab or get depicted in a cityscape hanging on a coffeeshop wall. But few are brought to life like Rusty, the water tank overlooking the Minnesota Twins' new Target Field in Minneapolis' Warehouse District.
Every night since the Twins' home opener, projected images have animated the water tank's visage – most notably, "Rusty," a googly-eyed face that is already an unofficial team mascot and neighborhood icon. From his perch on the roof of the Wyman Partridge Building, Rusty winks, whirls and ogles at the action below, on and off the field (see video).
With a tank-head standing on support legs, "the water tower looks like it could be a person anyway," says Rusty's creator, Brock Davis, an artist who works by day at Carmichael Lynch, an ad agency in the same building.
The company asked Davis to do something creative with the tank in anticipation of its new prominence above the ballpark. Davis had admired European light-show projection work; that simple idea won out over more elaborate and expensive options.
In the future, the automated projections may key off of baseball results or use images that people submit via the Web. But Rusty's industrial-age roots will keep him a nostalgic, even primal presence. "It feels very retro to me," Davis says. "You look out into the darkness and there's something looking back at you."
Source: Brock Davis, Carmichael Lynch
Writer: Chris Steller
The Onion once ran a story about a Minneapolis architect's design for a house in which every room was a foyer. Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis has had the opposite problem since its construction: not enough lobby space.
When it was built in 1974, funds were lavished on an acoustically excellent performance space but a more miserly approach was taken toward the public lobby and backstage areas.
The performance hall can hold 2,450 people but the lobby is meant to hold only 800. That leaves packed patrons with a choice at intermission, according to orchestra spokesperson Gwen Pappas: "Either to go to the restroom or to get a beverage. In 20 minutes, you certainly couldn't do both."
A design by KPMB Architects of Toronto was unveiled last month for a $38 million renovation to correct the imbalance, to be completed by 2013.
The square footage of lobby space afforded each patron will double. People in wheelchairs will come and go more easily; currently stairs are scattered throughout the lobby, remnants of the era before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
KPMB plans to raise the entire main lobby floor, now sunken, to street level, improving people-watching both into and out of the hall. New windows will also provide wider city views now blocked by huge blue tubes along the 11th Street exterior.
The biggest opportunity for intermission elbow-room comes with a lobby bump-out onto orchestra-owned land adjoining the Peavey Plaza public park, where sliding panels will encourage mingling among patrons and parkgoers, Pappas says.
Source: Gwen Pappas, Minnesota Orchestra
Writer: Chris Steller