FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Northern Lights.mn announces the artist projects of Northern Spark 2022

Northern Spark artists explore “What the World Needs Now” in St. Paul with soul-fueling art and community all-night on June 11

(St. Paul, MN) April 28, 2022 — Northern Lights.mn announces the artists and projects for the all-night, in-person participatory Northern Spark art festival this summer exploring the theme, “What the World Needs Now.” This year’s festival will take place along University Avenue and downtown in St. Paul, MN on Saturday, June 11, 2022 from 9 pm – 2 am. Our Closing Event, ingiw mekwendamowaad ziibi: the ones who remember the river, will follow from 2 – 5:30am on Raspberry Island in downtown St. Paul along the Mississippi River.

Northern Spark returns to the Rondo, Frogtown and Little Mekong neighborhoods near University Avenue and downtown in St. Paul, as well as the Mississippi River to shine a spotlight on the beauty and richness of these communities. Art projects will take many forms, including performance, hands-on and participatory art-making, puppetry, and sound and sculpture installation, all responding to the theme, “What the World Needs Now.” 

This year’s program invites festival goers to slow down, sink in and engage one-on-one in a more intimate way than previous Northern Spark festivals. A smaller scale encourages focus on re-connection, memory, and letting go. The festival also includes art projects at Victoria Theater Arts Center, Springboard for the Arts, Rondo Community Library, and the Minnesota Museum of American Art, building upon ongoing partnerships with these organizations.

 

2022 Artists & Projects

 

 

Alia Jeraj
Mangoes are Memories
9pm – 2am: Springboard for the Arts
#MangoMemories

Using mangoes to connect the past and future, Mangos Are Memories asks: What memories do you come from? What memories do you want to pass on? Audiences are invited to share their memories with the mango tree — write them down, or speak them into a recorded soundscape.

By using traditional and contemporary saris, the artist welcomes her own ancestors into the space, and creates an environment for audiences to welcome theirs. The accumulation of memories will offer reflection on where we come from and what we want to leave behind, both as individuals and as communities. Learn more.

Eva Adderley
With Dan DeMarco and Thomas Boguszewski
Drive-in Movie Extravaganza
9pm – 2am: Victoria Theater Arts Center
#puppetdrivein

The nostalgic magic of enjoying a drive-in movie on a warm night has never been more needed than it is now. The Drive-In Movie Extravaganza is an artistic spin on a classic summer treat, featuring cardboard art cars parked in front of a shadow puppet screen. Festival-goers may choose to participate by sitting in one of our whimsical cars and watching the shows, or by becoming the show themselves! Learn more.

Felicia Cooper, Kallie Melvin & Alex Young
The Official Bureau of Lost Things
9pm – 2am: Springboard for the Arts
#lostthings

Join The Bureau’s one-night-only Open House for a chance to peruse years of archived loss and submit your own. Lost Things will be projected through live, improvised shadow puppets as they enter our database, and The Bureau’s guests will have the opportunity to bid them farewell in whatever ways they see fit. Gather to bid farewells, good riddances, and hearty see-you-nevers. Learn more.

 

Pang Foua Xiong, Mai Vang, Suzanne Thao & Sandy Lo
Community | Joy & Friendship
9pm – 2am: Springboard for the Arts
#Rediscovering

An interactive exhibition and journey strengthening relationships to ourselves and each other in community, this project is rooted in centuries-old Hmong embroidery practice of Paj Ntaub (“pan-dow”): vivid needlework incorporating symbolic images/codes, preserving stories – evoking family, nature (thus “flower cloth”), love, perseverance, or folklore. Learn more.

 

 

 

St. Paul Public Library
Library After Dark
9pm – 2am: Rondo Community Library
#libraryafterdark

Rondo Community Library will host a variety of activities and projects as part of 2022 Northern Spark. Learn more.

Grupo Soap del Corazón
Posters and Patches Pop-Up
9pm – 2am: Minnesota Museum of American Art
Guided tours are 9:30pm & 10:30pm, with pre-registration required.
#mpopup

In “Mestizaje: Intermix-Remix,” eight Latinx artists (identifying as Chicano, Chilean, Colombian, Mixteco, Mexican, and Mexican-American) explore what it means to claim a mixed-race identity consisting of both Indigenous and European descent. Join us at the M’s entrance in downtown St. Paul. Screenprint a patch designed by Grupo Soap del Corazón artists, pick up a free poster, and join a bilingual guided tour of the exhibition “Mestizaje: Intermix-Remix” with local independent curator and educator William (Billy) G. Franklin. Learn more.

Riley Kleve and Ever Woodward
With Rowan Hellwich
Community Cloth
9pm – 2am: Springboard for the Arts
#communitycloth

Weaving, memory, and community collide in this interactive installation. Explore an assortment of materials, find common ground, then take a seat and weave with us. Community Cloth is an interactive artwork that asks participants to share stories about cloth while helping to create a woven tapestry. Over the course of the festival, visitors will have the chance to explore an array of materials and contribute to a growing piece of fabric, finding connection in the process. Just as weaving transforms many threads into cloth, conversation and sharing interlaces individuals into a community. Community Cloth is a space for empathy, where strangers can connect over ribbons from last year’s gifts, hems of cropped tee shirts, scraps of precious silks, mismatched shoelaces, long-forgotten stashes of yarn, and so much more. Learn more.

Nick Knutson
From Dusk till Dark: Waves in the Night
9pm – 2am: Springboard for the Arts
#DusktillDark

Dusk has fallen and it’s time for all good bats and ghouls to wake up and carpe noctem. 

Glowing lights emanate from the rooftop and a dull pulsing beat is felt in the distance. As audience goers roam the building, a red velvet rope is present near the elevator. An ominous figure guides you in and escorts you to your precarious location. As the mysterious elevator doors open to the rooftop, the audience is then immersed in an audio/visual experience that emulates an exclusive vampire club showcased in various movies. The dance floor where guests gather will light up and encourage your movement across the space; the projected images will inspire macabre thoughts as the ambient music from bass-driven dark dance and intense gothic rock create a cathartic experience to shake off the stresses of a thousand days. Learn more.

 

Tyler Olsen-Highness and Sydney Latimer
Post Office for the Ancestors
9pm – 2am: Victoria Theater Arts Center
#AncestorPostOffice

A silent interactive experience that allows participants to connect with those they’ve lost and each other. You are welcome to this space of imagination, honor, remembrance, and reflection. Learn more.

 

Mino Oski Ain Dah Yung and Native Youth Arts Collective
Start At Home
9 pm – 2 am: Victoria Theater Arts Center
#startathome

 

Bianca Rhodes and Katharine DeCelle with Youth artists
Rooted in Rondo
9pm – 2am: Rondo Community Library
#rootedinrondo

Rooted in Rondo is a youth produced docu-series and podcast that explores the histories, legacies, and future of Saint Paul’s historic Rondo neighborhood. This project features interviews of prominent Rondo residents, oral histories of past residents, and stories from current community members. Rooted in Rondo examines the businesses, art and music scenes, and community demonstrations in this historic Black neighborhood, pre- and post-construction of Interstate 94. Rooted in Rondo addresses what makes a community and how it heals after displacement and trauma. Youth artists include: ​​DeAnthoney Acon, Angelo Bush, Jacy Landi, Indigo Grey Liu, Jasmine McBride, Jevrye Morris. This is a project of Saint Paul Almanac, in partnership with Saint Paul Neighborhood Network and WFNU Frogtown Community Radio.  Learn more.

 

 

Sequoia Hauck
With Margaret Ogas, Moira Villiard, Gayatri Lakshmi, Sylvia Houle, Awanigiizhik Bruce, Lyz Jaakola, and Rachel Lieberman
ingiw mekwendamowaad ziibi: the ones who remember the river
CLOSING EVENT – 2am – 5:30am: Raspberry Island

Northern Spark culminates in a final late night art experience celebrating the Mississippi River. The notion that water is integral to life is prevalent in almost every indigenous culture and community. Dakhóta peoples have a saying: Mni Wiconi (water is life) and Anishinaabe peoples have the same phrase in their language: Bimaadiziwin Nibi. For Indigenous peoples water is an ancestor, water is a teacher, water is a guide, and water is life. This project is a large-scale installation of two cloth rivers that span what is now Raspberry Island in Imnížaska Othúŋwe/Ashkibagi-ziibiing (St. Paul). The cloth rivers are replicas of Ȟaȟáwakpa/Gichi-ziibi (Mississippi River) and Mnísota Wakpá/Ashkibagi-ziibi (Minnesota River).

The community is invited to journey along the cloth rivers and interact with the teachings of water. The rivers’ pathway includes a multi-sensory environment of song, visual storytelling, and movement. The experience involves Native artists painting water stories on the cloth rivers, Native singers sharing songs of gratitude to the water, and an ensemble of movers embodying what it means to remember our connection to water. We consider this project a gesture towards remembrance. We invite audiences to participate through witness, exploration, and contemplation. Together we ask ourselves: What is our connection to water? How can we remember the significance of water in our lives?  Learn more.

This project is supported, in part, by the Capitol Region Watershed District. 

 

The Theme: What the World Needs Now

The festival theme, “What the World Needs Now,” was created by the 2022 Artist Council with Northern Lights.mn.
Artists are truth tellers, dreamers, seekers of imagination. Between the ever-present uncertainty of our times and the impossible tangibility of the future, we wonder: What does the world need now? 

Some may already be singing, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” These lyrics ring true as an anthem for our times. We all need love, but perhaps your answer to this statement is, poetry projected on every building, clean water for all who inhabit this earth, a sing-a-long in a local park, or endless bubbles shining iridescent in the sun. One thing is for certain: we know we will always need art to fuel our souls.

 

Returning to the one-night, all-night festival
In 2022, Northern Spark returns to the structure of its roots — a one-night, dusk to dawn festival, bringing back the beloved Northern Spark experience of greeting the dawn together, outdoors, after a night of connecting through transformative art experiences.  

As our cities still grapple with the effects of COVID-19, 2022 festival curators leaned into our uncertain times to support artist projects that encourage our communities to safely connect while inspiring the kind of experimental, surprising experiences we love about Northern Spark. 

 

Northern Spark Background
Beginning in 2011, Northern Spark is a late-night, participatory arts festival that lights up the Twin Cities in early summer. From dusk to dawn the city surprises you: friendly strangers share a moment, glowing cyclists whirl by, unique installations pop-up in neighborhoods, and wanderers participate in experimental performances in green spaces. The glow of sunrise after a night of amazing art experiences leaves you rejuvenated. 

Northern Spark’s locations, times, themes, and forms are always transforming. In 2018, the festival introduced a two-night model, so people could experience the artful magic of a festival for two nights until 2 am. In 2021, the festival took on new forms: art in the mail, online, and in person in St. Paul, MN during two weeks. This year, festival organizers are excited to return to an all-night time frame with a modified schedule. 

Northern Spark is produced by Northern Lights.mn, a Twin Cities non-profit arts organization whose work ranges from large-scale public art platforms like Northern Spark to Art(ists) On the Verge, a year long mentorship program for 4 emerging artists working in public space. Northern Lights.mn supports artists in the creation and presentation of art in the public sphere, such as at St. Paul’s Union Depot (Amateur Intelligence Radio), “choir karaoke” at the Minnesota State Fair (Giant Sing Along) and Illuminate South Loop, a mini outdoor festival of nine interactive projects in Bloomington, MN’s South Loop in the days leading up to the 2018 Super Bowl. Through projects such as Aquanesia, a location-­based environmental mystery game, and large scale festivals themed around social issues, Northern Lights.mn helps audiences explore expanded possibilities for civic engagement through art.

 

MEDIA CONTACT
Amy Danielson, 612.245.2020 amy@northern.lights.mn
2022.northernspark.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthernSparkMN/
Twitter: @NL_mn
Instagram: @Northern Lights.mn 

#northernspark

 

We’re seeking Sponsors for the Northern Lights.mn Telethon!

A fundraiser for the Northern Spark festival and Northern Lights.mn
Wednesday, April 20, 7:30-9 pm
In-Person (limited seats) at Nanotako Studios and broadcast LIVE on YouTube 

Featuring: 

• John Gebratatose from HUGE Theater and Black Out Improv returns as host! 
• The Northern Spark Kazoo band!
• Mayda as House Band! 
• Sami Pfeffer as the Remote Telephone Operator!
• Dazzling Door Prizes! 

Sponsor levels and recognition
RotaryDial: $2,000
1 minute spot on live broadcast + 2x mention in Instagram/FB stories

NokiaBrick: $1,000
Shout out on live broadcast + 2x mention in Instagram/FB stories

Blackberry: $500
Logo recognition during show, 2x mention in Instagram/FB stories

FlipPhone: $250
Logo recognition during show, 1x mention in Instagram/FB stories

All levels receive: 

• Group logo display on live broadcast throughout program
• Acknowledgement in NL’s bi-monthly weekly newsletter (~10K subscribers)

Interested? We are happy to brainstorm additional engagements!
Contact Sarah Peters, sarah@northern.lights.mn

Northern Spark is the beloved all-night arts festival that lights up the Twin Cities in June: art installations in the streets, experimental performances in green spaces, glowing cyclists, and other unique arts experiences await. Support Northern Spark and become a Telethon sponsor! 

December 23, 2021

Since our announcement on 12/16/2021 of the finalists for the Future River Call for Augmented Reality Projects we have learned of concerns about the call’s process and lack of care around our definitions of the terms Native and Indigenous.  

In the call we used the language “Native artists or artist teams with significant Indigenous creative leadership” to describe who would be eligible to apply. We did not define these terms, creating confusion and uncertainty for some of our stakeholders. This is a mistake for which we apologize. 

At Northern Lights.mn we aim to support Native artists and Indigenous artists and to honor the diverse Native and Indigenous communities here. Our call was intended to be open to these broad identities. 

We take concerns from Native community members very seriously. We have decided that the best way forward is to pause this project and reevaluate how to move forward.  All of the finalists have been notified of this decision. We will hire a Native consultant to think carefully through all the issues around Native identity and place that have been brought forward. 

More information will be posted in the coming weeks. We wish everyone peace and light.

The Future River: Call for Augmented Reality (AR) Project Proposals

Find a downloadable version of this call here.

Phase 1 deadline: 11:59 pm CST, October 31, 2021.
This call is closed. 

Introduction

Northern Lights.mn with long-time partners Mississippi Park Connection and the National Park Service are excited to announce a new opportunity for artists to engage with the Mississippi River and Owamni-yomni/St. Anthony Falls in downtown Minneapolis in the creation of an Augmented Reality work. 

This call is a new iteration of our commissioning platform previously called Illuminate the Lock. We aim to build on this project history by expanding the artistic forms we support and invite artists, particularly Native artists, to engage with broader sites along the downtown Minneapolis riverfront. 

Place and Context

Owamni-yomni, also known as St. Anthony Falls, is a changing place. In this moment of deindustrialization, the Army Corps of Engineers aims to shift ownership of the decommissioned Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock, while development along the Minneapolis riverfront focuses on access, connection, recreation and culture. 

In parallel, a growing and past due movement calls for bringing Indigenous lifeways and stories of these places into the mainstream. Projects like Andrea Carlson and Moira Villiard’s past Illuminate the Lock projections, Minneapolis Parks and Recreation’s Owamni Falling Water festival, the official renaming of Bde Maka Ska, and the long-awaited opening of Sean Sherman’s (aka the Sioux Chef) restaurant Owamni on W. River Road are part of this movement. 

Alongside these cultural changes, our shifting climate affects the Mississippi’s human and non-human inhabitants. Project climate change impacts in this area include increased temperatures, heavier rains and floods, as well as more drought stress in the summers from dramatically decreased snow. 

Given these shifts, what is the future of the river? How do Indigenous histories and present ways of being give us vision for what could be next?

We are requesting proposals for Augmented Reality (AR) projects created by an artist or artist team with significant Indigenous leadership to illuminate ideas for the future river. 

Why are we asking for significant Indigenous leadership? Part of the mission of the St. Anthony Falls Heritage area is to combat the whitewashing of the Mill District’s history by developing a meaningful presence for Dakota and Indigenous voices within the Heritage Zone.

For Northern Lights.mn, this project allows us to continue our commitments to working with Native artists and to use our programmatic platforms to support Indigenous storytelling.  

Technology

This is a call for Augmented Reality (AR) proposals. In this context, AR leverages a smartphone or tablet to digitally augment a user’s real world view through their device’s camera. 

The AR experience can include a variety of media including, but not limited to, 2D assets, photographs, 3D assets, animation and sound. AR projects can range from simple imagery to fully interactive and immersive environments. 

For this call, the budget level and production timeline for this project skews toward simpler projects (rather than fully interactive or immersive works). Access to this technology for artists is a high priority for this call; we encourage artists without prior AR experience to apply.

Here are is a small set of examples of AR projects we are inspired by: 

• Dameun Strange, Sol Soundgarden, commissioned for Northern Spark 2021
• Nancy Musingizi and Adam Davis-McGee/AxS GRNTD, AR Tour of Old Cedar Bridge, Bloomington, MN, 2019.  
• X, Augmented Earth, recent Joyce Foundation award with Chicago Public At Group

Applicants do not need to have previous experience with AR to apply.

Artwork in any media can translate into AR — sound, music, video, photography, animation, drawing, painting, etc.  An artist or artist team’s ideas and how they are expressed artistically are more important than an understanding of the technology for the first phase of this call. 

Applications that move to the finalist stage will have an opportunity to work with REM5 Studios to flesh out their final proposals, including polished tech specs and budgets.  REM5 Studios is a local XR experience agency with a mission to break down barriers to accessibility in immersive technologies.  

The winning proposal may continue working with REM5 for production and development of the project, or may choose their own AR developer. 

A key goal of this call is to break down barriers for Native and non Native artists interested in working with AR technologies by providing these supports. 

Eligibility 

The Future River call is open to Native artists or artist teams with significant Indigenous leadership. Applicants will be asked to describe their leadership team in the application.

Companies or nonprofit organizations are not eligible to apply. 

Artists do not need to reside in the Twin Cities or Minnesota, but must be available for periodic site review throughout the process as well as during the launch of the project’s public presentation, with a limited travel budget. 

Applicants do not need to have previous experience with AR to apply (see above).  

Place 

The site of focus for this project has many names: Owamn-yomni in Dakota, Gakaabika in Ojibwe, St. Anthony Falls in English. It is where the Mississippi river flows through Minneapolis, near it’s downtown core.  

We are looking for projects to be activated within a portion of the Saint Anthony Falls Heritage Zone. Specifically, projects must be sited within the areas between the 3rd Ave bridge to the 35W bridge on the West side of the Mississippi River. 

Eligible areas highlighted below: 

Proposals must follow these site requirements:

• No permanent structures in the project area
• No obstruction to any pedestrian or vehicle passage

Read more about St. Anthony Falls Heritage Zone. 

Other locations of note in this area: 

Owamn-yomni / Gakaabika  / St. Anthony Falls 

Mill Ruins Park 

Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam 

Water Works 

Stone Arch Bridge 

Timeline and Selection Process

This call has two phases:  

• Phase one proposals are due October 31, 2021, 11:59 pm CST.
• A committee of stakeholders to be announced will select three finalists in November 2021. 
• Finalists will receive $500 each to create and present full proposals due in January 2022. 
• Based on presentations by the finalists, the committee will select one winning proposal in February 2022. 
• Project launch: October 2022. We aim to support the winning artist(s) to launch their project for the public in October 2022. The duration of the piece will be determined by the artist(s) and the project partners according to the specifics of the piece.  The project’s support staff will create a calendar of milestones with the winning applicant to achieve this goal. 

Key Criteria for Project Proposals 

Project proposals will be evaluated according to clarity and creativity of these primary considerations:

Theme. How does your project relate to the theme of “The Future River?”  

Concept.  What are the ideas, histories, stories, futures you want to get across? What cultural references inform your ideas?  What will the audience experience when engaging with your project? 

(Content that is commercialized or intended to sell a product will not be considered.)

Clarity or Known Unknowns. What is your project? Who will create it? What materials, process and methods will you use? What, if any, knowledge do you have of AR platforms? We are looking for clear project descriptions that showcase a commitment to creativity. If there are parts of your project that are unknown, that’s okay, tell us what they are and what process you might use to figure them out.

Accessibility. How will your project integrate accessibility? We acknowledge that no project can be 100% accessible to everyone. Consider how your project will be experienced by people with differing abilities of vision, hearing, touch, cognition, language, etc.

Site. Where within the activity area are you proposing to focus your project? 

Budget

The budget for the Future River commission includes an artist fee of $10,000 and a materials and technology budget of $25,000.  

For Phase 1, applicants will be asked to sketch out a basic budget that includes major cost categories — artist and collaborator fees, materials, travel and technical development fees. We recognize that applicants who are new to AR may not be familiar with the necessary technical development fees. This is okay! The budget is primarily a sketch of the major components of the project. 

A more nuanced budget will be required for the finalist’s proposals. Budget assistance will be provided to finalists.

Application Materials

Proposals are due by 11:59 pm CST on Sunday, October 31, 2021.

This call is now closed. 

The application process is entirely online. Applicants are required to submit:

• Primary contact information
• Artist or artist team information: brief bios and artistic experience of creative leadership team including relationship to Indigeneity.
• Project concept: A succinct description of the project that addresses the key criteria. May include images or whatever is needed to aptly describe the project concept. 
• Samples of past work (Images, video or audio files). Up to 10 images and 2 videos or audio of past, preferably related work.
• A budget that accounts for the major categories of costs for your project within the budget for this commission. (max 1 page)

Info Sessions

Join us for two optional info sessions: 

Online Info Session 

Wednesday, September 29, 6 – 6:30 pm on Zoom. This session will be recorded and available to watch afterwards. 

RSVP on Facebook 

Walking Tour 

Saturday October 2, 1-2 pm

An in-person walking tour of the project area. Meet at  Meet at Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam (1 Portland Ave, Minneapolis, MN). 

RSVP on Facebook 

For updates on these sessions, please register here. 

It is not mandatory to attend the info session and tour, but it is highly recommended!

If you would like to get feedback about your proposal, please email futureriver@northern.lights.mn with a draft of your proposal or your questions no later than October 15.

Submissions

The submission process is entirely online using Submittable. This platform requires you to make a free account. There is no application fee. 

Entries are accepted online until 11:59 p.m. CST, Sunday, October 31, 2021. 

Click here for a downloadable document of application questions. 

History

The original program of this partnership, Illuminate the Lock, was conceived as a way for artists to utilize the unique infrastructure of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, which was decommissioned for navigational use in 2015. Click below for images and descriptions of Illuminate the Lock projects. 

2017

Aaron Dysart, Surface 

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/northernlightsmn/albums/72157686332016050

Andrea Carlson, The Uncompromising Hand 

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/northernlightsmn/albums/72157687479800224

2018

Mike Hoyt, Dameun Strange, Molly Van Avery with Ritika Ganguly, Returning the River 

Flicker: https://www.flickr.com/photos/northernlightsmn/albums/72157674820832568

2021

Moira Villiard, Madweyaashka: Waves Can Be Heard 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUVI7cTkqEc

About Mississippi Park Connection

Mississippi Park Connection is the charitable, nonprofit partner of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Its mission is to strengthen the enduring connection between people and the Mississippi River by enriching the life of the river and the lives of all who experience our national park, the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

About the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area

In 1988, a National Park was created in the Twin Cities to preserve, protect and enhance the significant values of the waters and land of the Mississippi River corridor within the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Known as the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, the park extends for more than 70 miles along the river, running directly through the metropolitan area (the park corridor begins in Ramsey and Dayton and ends just south of Hastings). The park provides leadership, acting as a facilitator and coordinator, in promoting a common vision for river corridor management among 25 municipalities and numerous partner agencies and organizations, whose responsibilities intersect.

About Northern Lights.mn

Northern Lights.mn is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to artists working innovatively in the public sphere, exploring expanded possibilities for civic engagement. Northern Lights.mn produces Northern Spark. 

Supported by

This project is supported with a grant from the Saint Anthony Heritage Board and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

This essay was commissioned for the debut of Madweyaashka: Waves Can Be Heard by Moira Villiard in February 2021 as part of Illuminate the Lock.  

 

Resilient: Searching for Connections through Waves
By Suenary Philavanh 

 

“Resilience: for a Native woman living in an urban, concrete jungle, what does that look like?”

Where St. Anthony Falls flows between concrete, a lone loon swims in the muddy water. Its eyes—bright, red beads and stark contrast to the man-made walls around it—were reminiscent of nature that has become rare in urban cities. The sound of water crashing into itself, echoing through ripples, can be heard from the nearby falls. The moon uses the water to vocalize that this space, where nature can exist between concrete, is sacred.

Moira Villiard’s Madweyaashkaa: Waves Can Be Heard highlights the strength of Indigenous women and explores ways people find and forge the connection within themselves with culture, ancestors, and nature. Her work reflects on the notion of missing Indigenous women beyond the literal and physical meaning of “missing”: going missing through addiction, assimilation and separation from culture, missing through misrepresentation. It acknowledges the hardship Indigenous women face and calls to celebrate their resiliency. This acknowledgement is especially important to have during a global pandemic, when people are missing connections in their lives. Recently, it has become especially important to find alternative ways to connect with other people, nature and oneself. In Madweyaashkaa, Dakota/Ojibway First Nation elder Millie Richard shares her wisdom on how one can reconnect and learn to heal so that they may become more resilient. 

 

Offering tobacco

The first sacred medicine the creator gave to the first people was tobacco. When burned, the smoke carried the people’s prayers up to the sky and was heard by the spirits. When set down on the earth or near water, people were able to express gratitude to Mother Earth for the life she gave. Today, tobacco is still used in almost every ceremony and ritual, and it serves as a way for the people to connect with the spirits and ancestors. It may also be given to show gratitude to elders for their wisdom, guidance and healing. This medicine is known to the Dakota as “cansasa” and to the Ojibwe as “assema.” 

 

Nokomis, the grandmother moon

Nokomis watches the earth and lights up the night, guiding us through the dark. She governs the water both inside and outside our bodies, pulling it—the tides ebb and flow. In the night, it’s easier to find her, for she is the moon spirit that the Ojibwe call “grandmother.” The grandmother moon commands the water that gives life. Women, too, have the ability to give life with the water in their wombs. Because of this power, women have inherited the duties of protecting the water and have a deep spiritual connection with the moon.

Elder Millie says to offer tobacco to Nokomis and ask for comfort and guidance. Her presence can serve as a connection with nature, the ancestors, and with oneself. While many are living in an urban setting, far away from nature, or feeling distant from their connections, Nokomis is always there in the night sky.

 

The importance of water

In the Dakota language, Mni Sota Makoce (where “Minnesota” comes from) is the land where the water reflects the clouds. The falls known today as St. Anthony Falls are in the traditional homelands of the Dakota. It was used for portage routes, a neutral place for other Indigenous nations to pass through. Traditionally, Dakota women would come to the falls and give birth to the next generations. It was and still is a sacred place to the Indigenous people. To the Dakota, this waterfall is known as Owmani-yomni meaning “whirlpool.” To the Ojibwe, it is known as Gakaabika meaning “severed rock.” 

Elder Millie says that St. Anthony Falls can help build a connection with nature and our ancestors. Listening to the tides of the falls can make us present in the moment and with Mother Earth and Nokomis. It can also give us the opportunity to listen to the waves, their spirit, within ourselves and how those tides shape who we are as individuals. When creating Madweyaashkaa, Moira drew inspiration from the tides at the site. She imagined our spirits existing like tides, fluid, constantly moving, ever-changing within us. Humanity mirrors nature, and while we may feel apart from it, we are still deeply connected to nature. 

 

Jingle Dress tradition

The first jingle dress came to a man in a dream. His daughter had fallen ill, and he worried about her wellbeing. One night, he dreamt of four women in dresses ornamented with metal. When the metals hit one another, the dress created a pleasant sound, like rain falling down to earth. In the Mille Lacs’ oral tradition, the man woke up, recreated the dress and taught the dance to the women in his community before the drum ceremony. On the day of the drum ceremony, the man brought his daughter, weak from illness. The women began to dance the jingle dress song, and as time passed the girl’s condition began to improve. By the end of the night, she joined the women and danced, her health restored.

The tradition of jingle dresses emerged circa 1920 during the global influenza pandemic and is believed to have the power to heal. This was also during the United States’ efforts to assimilate the Indigenous population in the country. Older dresses were created from tops of tin cans that were rolled into cones and sewn onto the fabric. Today, there are many different styles for the jingle dress in terms of colors, types and amounts of metals used, and accessories used with the jingle dress.

The Ojibwe believe that power moves through air, and the air carries the healing sounds of the jingle dress. The jingle dress dancers  typically dance at ceremonies and powwows, but in recent years it has gone beyond those spaces. It has become present in popular protest movements. Jingle dresses first appeared around the time the United States government outlawed ritual dancing in Native American reservations. Today, its tradition as a radical dance and medicine for community healing continues. It has empowered Indigneous people, especially women, and has come to symbolize resilience in their communities. In recent years, jingle dresses have appeared in popular protests to speak out against the pipeline project in Standing Rock, to call attention to the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and to stand in solidarity against police brutality. 

 

Brief history of St. Anthony Falls

St. Anthony Falls had undergone major changes since the Industrial age. Industries began to appear along the banks to draw power from the falls. The construction of the Eastman Tunnels in 1869 promised to generate more electricity, though severely underestimated the power of the falls. It led to the falls’ collapse, devastating its islands and surrounding land, redirecting the course of the river, taking life with it.

In the falls existed six islands but have since been destroyed by industrialization. Spirit Island was one of those islands, once a nesting site for bald eagles, a sacred site to the Dakota. It became a site of attraction to the local Euro-American as the island was abundant in limestone. It was subjected to quarrying and milling. The total removal of Spirit Island occurred in 1960 to accommodate plans for the lock by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Of the six islands, only Nicollet Island remains today. 

 

“We are the backbones of our nations. We are the heart of our people, our children, our elders.”

During Moira’s first scouting of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam as a site for her projected animation, she saw a loon swimming in the water. She was curious about the sighting, a small minute detail of her experience at the site that felt personal and sacred. She wanted to pay homage to the loon. In the creation story, Maang, the loon, was responsible for creating the sky. He put the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars in the sky. Once he finished putting the stars up, the spirits asked Maang to watch the stars and become the leader of the earth and sky. He was able to do so by watching the stars’ reflection in the water at night. Although the creation story did not initially influence Moira’s decision, the loon’s appearance at the site reflects the deeply embedded importance the loon holds in Ojibwe tradition and society to this day.

Madweyaashkaa:Waves Can Be Heard was inspired by Indigenous women’s resilience through going missing and surviving a pandemic. The appearance of the jingle dress in Madweyaashkaa is a visual acknowledgement to the strength of Indigenous women and encourages strength during today’s pandemic. Even in hard times something new and healing can be created and found. While we are in need of finding alternative ways to reconnect with our world around us, we may not actually need to do something different or complex. Instead, the solutions may lie in tradition and in ourselves. 

 

 

Illuminate the Lock is a partnership with All My Relations Arts, a program of Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI), and Northern Lights.mn,  Mississippi Park Connection, and Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and is supported through a grant from the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board.

Northern Spark 2021: Alchemy
June 12 – 27, 2021

This summer the Northern Spark festival returns and takes new forms: in the mail, online, and in person, focused on two neighborhoods in St. Paul for a two week span of time. 

In past years during Northern Spark, tens of thousands of people have gathered throughout the cities from dusk to 2am on two nights. In 2021 the festival supports artist projects that encourage our communities to safely connect and still inspire the kind of experimental, surprising experiences we love at Northern Spark.  

The theme for this year is Alchemy:

1. A seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination. 
2. An ancient practice from around the globe wherein sorcerers of science attempt to transform base metals into gold. 
3. A search for a universal elixir. 

Artists are the modern-day alchemists. We mix form, materials, and ideas to transform the collective emotional matter of this world into new shapes. If art were a universal elixir for healing, how do we hold space for grief and loss as well as concoct recipes to honor our hunger for joy? How do we transform isolation into intimacy? Orbits into intersections? What community wisdom might we mix together for recovery?

This year’s distributed Northern Spark takes on new forms. For a span of two weeks, you can engage with the festival’s artist projects online, at home, and if you are a resident of St. Paul’s Eastside and Rondo/Frogtown neighborhoods, through the mail. Bring your grief, your joy, your self and be part of the elixir of magical transformation. 

The theme was created by the Artist Council with Northern Lights.mn.

The festival’s first Open Call is now live! Click here to read about the Open Call for Mail Art Projects.

 

Northern Spark 2021 Open Call for Mail Art Projects

Application Deadline: Monday, January 25, 2021, at 11:59 pm, Central Time. This call is now closed. 

View or download a plain text PDF of this call here.

WHAT IS NORTHERN SPARK?

Northern Spark is a late-night participatory public arts festival that lights up the Twin Cities in early summertime. In 2021, the festival takes new forms: in the mail, online, and in person in St. Paul, MN during a two week span of time.

In past years during Northern Spark, tens of thousands of people have gathered throughout the cities from dusk to 2am on two nights. In 2021 the festival supports artist projects that encourage our communities to safely connect and still inspire the kind of experimental, surprising experiences we love at Northern Spark.

More information about previous years of Northern Spark: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

 

Open Call Table of Contents

SUMMARY
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
FESTIVAL THEME
ELIGIBILITY
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
BUDGET
APPLICATION MATERIALS
SELECTION PROCESS AND TIMELINE
INFO SESSIONS
SUBMISSION FORM
FAQs: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

SUMMARY

Northern Spark 2021 is taking place virtually, in the mail and in-person in St. Paul, MN from June 12 – 27, 2021.

This is an Open Call for Mail Art projects that integrate the U.S Postal Service and St. Paul’s Rondo/Frogtown and Eastside neighborhoods as essential and dynamic elements within their proposal.

2- 5 project proposals will be selected by a jury consisting of the Northern Spark Artist Council.

Proposals must also respond to this year’s theme: Alchemy.

Keep reading for information on how to apply, who is eligible and full timeline of required dates and meetings.

For information on future calls and Northern Spark 2021 project opportunities, sign up for our e-newsletter here.

 

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

This is an Open Call for Mail Art projects that integrate the U.S Postal Service and St. Paul’s Rondo/Frogtown and Eastside neighborhoods as essential and dynamic elements within their proposal. We hope to inspire you to safely create a confluence of artistic activity within these neighborhoods using the networks of the mail.

Examples may be, but absolutely not limited to: mailing handwritten letters, sending musical scores, dispatching postal carriers to plant seeds, or mailing small objects.

Why Mail Art?

In the past year, the post office has received unusual attention. Social distancing and quarantine have modified the value of hand-delivered packages, information and mail. Furthermore, in an election year, personal canvassing, political lobbying and voting created a viral hub of interest and debate concerning the postal service.

Large gatherings of people may not be safe by summer of 2021, despite the COVID-19 vaccines. Sending art through the mail is a way to extend Northern Spark’s ethos of “art for everyone” without asking people to leave their homes. It is also a way to reach St. Paul residents who may not normally attend an arts festival.

Mail Art has populist, anti-institutional roots, and experimental roots, as artists looked to disrupt traditional gallery systems by sending handmade or printed  postcards, letters, stickers, collages and even small objects through the postal service.

We love to support artists who tap into systems such as the mail service to connect people, places and ideas in unconventional ways.

For more information on the tradition and revival of Mail Art, check out some of these links:

https://www.printedmatter.org/mail-art/

https://iuoma-network.ning.com/main/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/mail-art-from-quarantine

https://www.1ne3.org/postcard

https://dadafluxusmailart.blogspot.com

www.americantheatre.org/2020/10/13/turn-off-your-phone-check-your-mailbox/

Why Eastside and Rondo/Frogtown in St. Paul?

Initially, the 2021 Northern Spark festival was to take place in physical public spaces in the East Side and Rondo/Frogtown neighborhoods of St. Paul. We identified these locations because they have historically been excluded from arts investment even though they are sites of vibrant cultural expression and artistic spirit. Due to COVID-19, we have had to transition this portion of programming to virtual spaces and invite artists to design socially connective projects that still honor our initial place-based intentions.

Proposed projects do not need to be specifically about St. Paul, but need to articulate a connection between the proposed Mail Art and the residents of Eastside St. Paul or Rondo/Frogtown who will interact with the work.

Click here for a map of St. Paul’s Wards and District Councils.

Eastside neighborhoods: Payne/Phalen, Dayton’s Bluff, The Greater East Side, Eastview-Conway-Battle Creek-Highwood Hills (Wards 5, 6, 7; Districts 1, 2, 4, 5) 

Rondo: Summit-University (Ward 1, District 8) 

Frogtown: Thomas-Dale/Frogtown (Ward 1, District 7) 

Scale and Reach

The intention of the Northern Spark Mail Art projects is to connect meaningfully with as many people as possible in St. Paul’s Rondo/Frogtown and Eastside neighborhoods with the given resources.

For context:
Frogtown has 4,836 households
Rondo has 7,476 households
Eastside has a total of 15,308 households – 5,666 in Dayton’s Bluff and 9,642 in the greater Eastside

These numbers do not include businesses.

Is a project required to mail something to every address in the target neighborhoods with this budget? No. We know the materials and postage budget won’t cover all the addresses in these neighborhoods.

Does the artist / team need to provide the addresses for the mailing? No. Northern Lights.mn will work with the selected artists and St. Paul partners to source mailing lists tailored to the project’s goals and focus.

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FESTIVAL THEME

Northern Spark 2021: Alchemy

Alchemy:

• A seemingly magical process of transformation, creation or combination
• An ancient practice from around the globe wherein sorcerers of science attempt to transform base metals into gold.
• A search for a universal elixir.

Artists are the modern-day alchemists. We mix form, materials, and ideas to transform the collective emotional matter of this world into new shapes. If art were a universal elixir for healing, how do we hold space for grief and loss as well as concoct recipes to honor our hunger for joy? How do we transform isolation into intimacy? Orbits into intersections? What community wisdom might we mix together for recovery?

This year’s distributed Northern Spark takes on new forms. For a span of two weeks, you can engage with the festival’s artist projects online, at home, and if you are a resident of St. Paul’s Eastside and Rondo/Frogtown neighborhoods, through the mail. Bring your grief, your joy, your self and be part of the elixir of magical transformation.

The theme was created by the 2021 Artist Council with Northern Lights.mn.

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ELIGIBILITY

This call is for individual artists, artist collectives, and creative community organizers. This open call opportunity is open to anyone with a connection to St. Paul, preferably the neighborhoods of focus for this year’s festival: Rondo/Frogtown and Eastside. Non-profit organizations or companies are not eligible to apply.

Who is an Individual Artist?

Anyone who is a maker of things or experiences in the realm of art; can be self-taught, or academically trained, emerging or seasoned as an artist.

What is an Artist Collective?

Groups of artists who work together toward shared artistic goals or projects. These groups may be ongoing or temporary for Northern Spark. Artist groups that have 501c3 status are not eligible.

Who is a Creative Community Organizer?

A creative community organizer is a community member who has been involved with uplifting and organizing communities. This person has a deep understanding of community politics, privilege, and power and uses their voice to challenge the system to create social change.

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KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROJECT SELECTION

Projects will be evaluated according to these primary considerations:

Theme. How is your project inspired by the 2021 festival theme?

Imaginative connection and creativity.  How is your project using the mail in different or uncommon ways to connect people creatively?

Clarity or Known Unknowns. What is your project? Who will create it? What materials, process and methods will you use? We are looking for clear project descriptions that showcase a commitment to creativity. If there are parts of your project that are unknown, that’s okay, tell us what they are and what process you might use to figure them out.

Accessibility. How will your project integrate accessibility? We acknowledge that no project can be 100% accessible to everyone. Consider how your project will be experienced by people with differing abilities of vision, hearing, touch, cognition, etc.

Relationship to place. The applicant artists do not need to live in or be from Eastside or Rondo/Frogtown St. Paul, but proposals need to articulate a connection between the proposed Mail Art and the residents of Eastside or Rondo/Frogtown who will receive the work.

 

In addition, while none of the following are strict requirements, they are factors in making our decisions:

Sustainability. We encourage artists to consider their carbon footprint and potential waste while creating and implementing their project.
Participation. How will people interact with your project?
Duration. All public project components must take place during the two week window of Northern Spark 2021.
Feasibility. Can your project be prepared in the 3.5 months between notification of acceptance and the start of Northern Spark? And executed within the two week timeframe of the festival? (June 12-27, 2021) Northern Lights.mn will assist with general production, but you are responsible for the creation, production and execution of your project.
Inclusivity. All content must be appropriate, inclusive, and safe for a wide public audience of all ages.
Safety. Please consider the personal safety, including COVID safety, of your audience, yourself and the artwork itself.  Here is a resource of prohibited and restricted items from the USPS.
Free. Participation in the majority of Northern Spark experiences must be free of charge.  Projects that intend to sell art or products are not eligible.

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BUDGET

If your project is selected, you will receive a budget of up to $6,500. We suggest you plan for an artist(s) stipend of $2,000 within this budget.

You will submit a budget with your application that outlines the primary costs of your project: materials, postage, equipment, services or hired help. The budget should reflect everything you need to complete your project. Your project should be scaled to fit within this stipend and materials budget.  Projects that are contingent on further fundraising will not be considered.

View sample budgets here.

If you have questions, email submissions@northern.lights.mn or come to an online Info Session.

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APPLICATION MATERIALS

The application process is entirely online. Applicants are required to submit:

Name of Artist, Artist Collective, or Creative Community Organizer (if collective, name Lead Artist)
Reliable Contact Information (phone, email, mailing address) Whoever checks these will be responsible for communicating with Northern Lights.mn staff for the duration of the project period.
Project Description (up to to 2 pages) Project title, project idea, material and equipment needs, processes for creation and your familiarity/experience with them, collaborators and feasibility (see Key Considerations, above). We encourage you to be as specific as possible. The proposal must explain the project’s connection to the festival theme and target neighborhoods in St. Paul (see above).
Artist bios and work samples of past work that communicates your ability to manifest the project you are proposing. Work samples do not need to be of the same material or media as your project idea, but give the jury a sense that you can complete a project on the scale you are proposing. Please include identifying information and/or brief descriptions.
A budget (1 page) that fits within the parameters of the open call and/or clearly identifies confirmed additional resources if you have any (not required!). Sample budgets will be available soon.

The submission form is on Submittable here.

For help with application for people unable to apply online or access the application, please contact us! submissions@northern.lights.mn. 

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SELECTION PROCESS AND TIMELINE

Projects will be selected by Northern Lights.mn and the Artist Council, who reserve the right to request additional material and information after the proposal deadline, and to reject any and all proposals received.

Application Timeline:

Deadline for applications: January 25, 2021, 11:59 pm, CST
Artists notified no later than: February 12, 2021

Being a Northern Spark artist means being part of a community of makers. Festival artists take part in monthly meetings at which you receive and give feedback and problem solving for your and others’ projects, receive production and curatorial support and other networking benefits. Northern Spark is a professional development experience!

Before applying with a project, please make sure you will be available for the following dates and interested in a learning process. We want to help you succeed with your project.

Festival Artist Timeline:

• Festival Artists Introductory Meeting: February 24, 2021, 6-8 pm on Zoom. *Please save this date
• Monthly Festival Artist Meetings, 6-8 pm on Zoom: March 24, April 28, May 26
• Festival projects take place between June 12 – 27, 2021.

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INFO SESSIONS

Please join us for an Info Session about Northern Spark 2021 Open Call for Mail Art.

• Wednesday, January 13, 2021 from 6:30-8:00 pm
• Saturday, January 23, 2021 from 3-4:30 pm.

Both sessions will take place on Zoom. Find more information on Facebook: January 13th, January 23rd (link forthcoming).

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SUBMISSION FORM

The submission form is now live on Submittable. Find it here, as well as on the Northern Lights.mn Opportunities page.

If you are planning on submitting a proposal and would like to receive relevant open call updates, sign up for our e-newsletter.

If you have specific questions about the submission process, e-mail submissions@northern.lights.mn

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is a project required to mail something to every address in the target neighborhoods with this budget? No. We know the materials and postage budget won’t cover all the addresses in these neighborhoods. Be creative in how you think about where to engage in these neighborhoods.

Does the artist / team need to provide the addresses for the mailing? No. Northern Lights.mn will work with the selected artists and St. Paul partners to source mailing lists tailored to the project’s goals and focus.

How much detail about my production process do you want to see in my proposal? Be as specific as you can. We want to understand what you are proposing to send, to whom and how you will make it.  We want to see descriptions of any equipment you’ll use to make the work, any special processes would be needed or collaborators you’ll engage, etc. Basically, anything that will help us get a sense of how your project would come together.

I don’t need funding for my project / I can provide all the funding for my project, and I would like to present it at Northern Spark. What is the process I should follow? All proposals for Mail Art projects must go through the Open Call process. This is an equity practice, so all artists have a chance to be presented by the festival regardless of their access to resources.

Is there a set number of projects that will be accepted? At present we have funds to support 2-5 Mail Art projects depending on the proposal budgets. This may change depending on possible new resources or the proposed projects.

I’m not interested in presenting a project, but I really want to be a part of this festival. How can I get involved? You can volunteer! We love our volunteers. Email volunteers@northern.lights.mn for more information.

What should I do if I don’t see my question listed in these FAQ’s? E-mail submissions@northern.lights.mn with any additional questions.

 

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Photo caption: A person facing away from the camera wears a tweedy vest with a patch on the back that reads “Night Time Post – Mail is Magical.” In the background a triangular tent with colorful flags glows in the dark night. This project pictured is Nighttime Post by Erin Lavelle and Anthony Chapin from Northern Spark 2014. Photo by Dusty Hoskovec.  

 

The long nights at this time of year mark a half-way point before the longest days of the year – a time when we are usually out in public with thousands of our friends enjoying art installations at Northern Spark.

2020 was going to be strange for Northern Lights.mn no matter what, with our intrepid founder stepping down last spring and the planned hiatus of Northern Spark. Little did we know those would be the least of our challenges.

Despite the entwined twin pandemics of disease and racism and their economic fallout, this year was not without joy and achievement. Here are a few bits to celebrate:

• We started, and paused, and restarted the 11th cohort of Art(ists) on the Verge.
• With the help of two brilliant artists, we converted an in-person fundraiser into an online project within the span of two weeks last March for Spring Howl 2020.
• The 3rd Artist Council (formerly known as the Program Council) dreamt up and put to PDF a set of guidelines for making our beloved night-time arts festival. Read it here Relationships & Reciprocity: A Guide to Making Northern Spark or watch the video.
• We teamed up with fellow St. Paul friends and partners to support the 24th Annual Drive In and Online Peace Celebration.
• In collaboration with a stellar intern from Macalester college we launched a research project to form a possible projector rental program for Twin Cities artists.
• Working again with All My Relations Arts, NACDI, Mississippi Park Connection and the National Park Service we commissioned and then paused a large-scale animated projection work by Moira Villiard as the 4th Illuminate the Lock project. Madweyaashka: Waves Can Be Heard is rescheduled for late February 2021.
• We made glow in the dark t-shirts and hoodies!

What we’re looking forward to in 2021: 

Participatory work by the artists of Art(ists) on the Verge 11. Look for public projects to emerge in spring / summer 2021.

A new form of Northern Spark, curated and crafted by the Artist Council with us to create COVID-safe form and trauma-aware modes of connection in summer 2021.

Working equitably with artists, partners, places and you to make meaningful, awe-inspiring, compassion-producing, fun works of art in the near and far beautiful future. 

See you there!

On sale now: glow-in-the-dark Northern Spark gear! T-shirts come in kid and adult sizes; hoodies in adult sizes only. 

Design is by veteran Northern Spark art director Matthew Rezac. 

Shirts and hoodies will be printed at Elpis Enterprises, a non-profit that provides job training, work experience and job placement for homeless or precariously-housed young people ages 16-23. 

Orders due by November 30th for winter holiday delivery. Shop our Etsy store here! 

All proceeds support the artistic programming of Northern Lights.mn.

From Left: Katie Nyberg of Mississippi Park Connection, Dan Dressler of National Park Service, artist Moira Villiard and mentor artist Jonathan Thunder.  Photo description: Four people stand distanced from one another wearing masks and smiling at the camera. A brick building is behind them, along with the curves of the Hennepin Ave bridge over the Mississippi River. A (spatially distant) visit to the Lock  Earlier in August we masked up and walked out on the Lock wall at Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam with artists Moira Villiard and Jonathan Thunder.  Site visits with artists are one of the best parts of working on public art projects. After months of working indoors, it was inspiring to walk about the formidable space of the Lock and imagine its various surfaces lit up with projections or awash with sound. We feel very lucky to be able to witness the early moments of an artist’s process, as ideas are unfolding. We talked about how the water used to move through the lock chamber and tried to imagine a frozen version as the visual landscape for this work. This project is currently scheduled for early December, 2020. PS: did you know that the St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam is open to the public through September? Wednesdays – Sundays, 10 am – 4 pm. You can go visit the falls too! This project is a partnership with All My Relations Arts, a program of Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI),  Mississippi Park Connection and Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and is supported by the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board.   Artist Council members Hawona Sullivan Janzen (left) and Courtney Cochrain (right) at a video shoot at Indigenous Roots gallery.  Photo description: one person wearing bright colored clothing sits on a stool and another person stands behind a video camera. They are in a gallery with windows to the street and sunshine pouring in. Northern Spark community framework coming soon When the Program Council began meeting last fall to dig deep into thinking about the future of Northern Spark and new ways of working in community, we planned to have a big BBQ this summer to share about the process. Needless to say, that plan shifted many times with COVID delays and the necessity of leaving time for people to be engaged with or take space from the uprising in response to the police murder of George Floyd. Slowly over the summer months our conversations and values began to take shape in a document we’re calling Relationships & Reciprocity: A Guide to Making Northern Spark. We’re in the design and editing phase of the document and a video on its main points. Be on the look out for its release later this month. This project is supported by a grant from Saint Paul Cultural Star. NL’s outgoing Projects Coordinator Tyra Payer (middle).  Photo description: three people stand smiling amidst a crowd holding a red banner that reads “Dream of Wild Health.” Goodbye Tyra! This month we are sad to say goodbye to Tyra Payer, who has worked in various roles at NL for the past year and a half.  Tyra started as the Curatorial Content Apprentice for Northern Spark 2019. Her deep connections to organizations and community in the American Indian Cultural Corridor became crucial to the success of Northern Spark along Franklin Ave that year. After the festival ended, she stayed on in a hybrid role tending to administrative and communications tasks, and helping to steer the 3rd Program Council through the process of creating a framework for community engagement at Northern Spark to be published next month. “I personally have learned so much from Tyra; how to lead by listening, to tend relationships as carefully as to-do lists, and to always leave time in any process for unexpected ideas or connections to come forward.” says NL Executive Director, Sarah Peters. Throughout her tenure working part time with NL, Tyra has also worked at Dream of Wild Health, a non-profit that works on Native food sovereignty.  We wish her all the best as her role at DWH shifts to full time. We’ll miss you, Tyra!

Job Description: Northern Lights.mn Artist Council Manager 

Deadline: September 11, 2020.  Deadline extended: September 20, 2020
To apply, send letter of interest with details of relevant experience to jobs@northern.lights.mn.

Northern Lights.mn (NL) supports artists in the creation and presentation of art in the public sphere. Our largest and most visible program is the Northern Spark (NS), a free, late-night, public arts festival that takes place in June. To create NS, we work with many art, culture, and neighborhood organizations and the ongoing Artist Council (AC).  Initiated for Northern Spark 2017, the AC is a group of individual artists who are paid by and work with NL to shape the theme, artist and partner opportunities and public participation in the festival.  Read more about the history of the Artist Council (formerly called the Program Council) here. 

The Artist Council Manager (ACM) manages the Council and supports some functions of Northern Spark related to Community Partners.   

The ACM is chiefly responsible for overseeing the operations of the Artist Council, recruiting members, managing relationships, designing and facilitating meetings, and coordinating the AC’s presence on the night(s) of the festival. This position also coordinates between the AC and the designated Community Partners for Northern Spark for occasional joint meetings.  A core function of this position is to help build and nurture relationships with and between Council members, NL staff, and Community Partners. 

We are looking for an individual who has experience working with community-based artists, and is skilled in meeting design and facilitation. Self introspection and a commitment to anti-racism is necessary. Prior experience with NS as an artist, partner or attendee is strongly preferred. Experience working with or knowledge of arts-based economic development is helpful. 

 

Salary: $12,500 for 8-10 hrs/week
Status: Contract, 10 months (September 2020 – June 2021)
Works with: Executive Director, Northern Lights.mn

Responsibilities: 

• Schedule, design and facilitate Artist Council meetings
• One-on-one meetings with Artist Council members as needed
• Coordinate with Community Partners as needed for joint meetings 
• Design and conduct informal evaluation of Council once a year
• Recruit members; manage recruitment process with Council committee
• Strategize improvements in AC process with NL’s ED 
• Weekly check-in with NL’s Executive Director  

 

Required skills and experience:

• Awareness of Northern Spark, including attending the festival at least once in recent years. 
• 3-5 years experience working with multidisciplinary artists in community contexts and cultural organizations and/or art organizing  
• Excellent organizational and communications skills 
• Experience with meeting design and facilitation, including familiarity with anti-racist practices and communication strategies
• Leadership ability and experience
• Project management skills
• Good interpersonal skills; ability to work with and learn from different kinds of people
• Ability to work with a small, busy team of colleagues and self direct when necessary

 

Desired skills and experience:

• Knowledge of arts-based economic initiatives and organizing strategies
• Experience with Google Docs and Asana

 

Other requirements: 

• Must have own computer, access to the internet and transportation
• Ability to work a flexible schedule with occasional weekend and evening meetings
  

NL has an office in Minneapolis but all staff are working from home / remotely due to COVID-19 for the foreseeable future. Artist Council meetings take place on Zoom using an organizational account.  

 

To apply, send letter of interest with details of relevant experience to jobs@northern.lights.mn.
Deadline: September 20, 2020. 

 

 

We are excited to announce a lead and mentor artist for a winter illumination at the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock. 

Moira Villiard, lead artist, is a self-taught, dynamic visual artist, Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe direct descendent, and current Minnesota-based community organizer.  Though early in her career, her proficiency is in a wide variety of artistic genres, including portraiture, illustration, graphic and digital design and as a muralist. She’s worked as a curator and passionate arts educator, concentrating her efforts around issues of equity and justice including: arts access for underrepresented voices and communities, creative placemaking, environmental sustainability, youth empowerment, and acknowledgement of Indigenous land, culture, and history.

Of this opportunity, she says: 

“Art is a social process for me, so I’m most excited for the relational aspects of this project; things like working with Jonathan Thunder as my official mentor and engaging with community members around the creation of this piece and what they’d like to see. I’m also grateful to have the opportunity to explore this platform and medium in a way that elevates Indigenous perspectives.” 

Jonathan Thunder, Red Lake Ojibwe, will serve as a mentor artist, bringing his knowledge of projection to the project, among other skills. Thunder is a multi-disciplinary artist who works in canvas painting, digital animation and illustration. Northern Spark 2019 attendees at the American Indian Cultural Corridor saw Thunder’s work Manifest’o projected large-scale onto the side of the Many Rivers East Building on Franklin Ave. 

He says,

“I’m excited to work in collaboration once again with Northern Lights, Native American Community Development Institute and artist Moira Villiard on this unique and colossal event. The Mississippi has been a big part of my life since I can remember, and the lock and dam at St. Anthony has always been a destination for me during times of meditation and deep thought.”

 

Join us in congratulating these artists! Stay tuned for more details on the project as it develops. 

This project is a partnership with All My Relations Arts, a program of Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI),  Mississippi Park Connection and Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and is supported by the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board.

 

Last weekend would have been the 10th Northern Spark festival had we not decided, back in October, to take a hiatus this year. The weather was near perfect, I couldn’t help but notice. After 9 years of obsessively checking weather apps in June, minding the radar screen of Dark Sky has become an early summer habit. 

Our hiatus decision turned out to be serendipitous, as our spring has been uncommonly shaped by two intertwined pandemics: a contagious respiratory virus and a flare of systemic racism. 

This year, instead of worrying about the effect of rain and wind on Northern Spark artist installations, when the weather turns sour I think about the memorial at 38th and Chicago that honors George Floyd. I think about how the rain will dampen the signs and scatter the flowers. Unlike the festival that requires a coordinated staff, the community will return to that corner autonomously and rebuild. 

Here in the non-profit arts world we have a lot of unbuilding to do before we reconstruct. We need to discontinue racist systems across the spectrum of our work, in funding, curating, community engagement, and partnership. Northern Lights.mn is small in the big scheme of things, but the work is big to us, to the artists with whom we’re lucky to collaborate, our community partners and our cities. 

Although COVID-19 slowed down our process of finishing the Northern Spark Framework for Community Engagement this spring and early summer, we are working with the 3rd Program Council to complete this vision now. This crew of Indigenous artists, Black artists, and artists of color have created a plan that operationalizes equity through a set of values and processes that give time to relationship building.  We’ll soon be announcing more details of the content of the plan and opportunities for feedback and discussion. 

When the 4th Council is recruited and on-boarded with the mentorship of returning members, we will continue the messy conversations of building equitable arts practices together. The pandemics have cracked open new versions of familiar questions – what kind of public space do we need to collectively build? How are excluded voices centered instead of merely “seated at the table?” What would it look like to uplift and honor Black life through our work? 

To sit here today and look out a year from now to June 2021 when Northern Spark is scheduled to return in some form, we must ask what it may mean to be outside, at night, in the streets.  The uprising for justice of the past few weeks leaves a mark that we must honor. Maybe a late night arts festival is not the answer. Maybe it is absolutely necessary. What kind of a coming together of artists and community will be needed?

We will find the answers together, along with the rest of the questions. 

 

Image credit: Thunderstorm on West River Parkway at Northern Spark 2014. By Ian Hanson.