Join us for a generosity spree! #GiveAtHomeMN, May 1-8

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Northern Lights.mn is taking part in #GiveAtHomeMN, a week-long generosity spree! This state-wide campaign aims to support the arts, schools and non-profits who provide essential services to Minnesotans and beyond – especially now, through online programming.  

We believe that art and culture is always essential, even in times of crisis. 

As arts organizations we need to pivot our support for artists during spatial distancing, but moreover, we have to figure out how to rebuild the cultural public sphere when it is safe to do so. 

This is what NL does.  We support emerging and established artists in the creation and presentation of art in the public sphere. 

Our platforms focus on participation and engagement between people, artwork and place. 

Since Minnesota’s stay-at-home order was announced, we have: 

  • shifted our Spring Howl fundraiser to an online project and paid those artists their full fees 
  • paid our 7 Program Council members for their work in developing a Community Engagement Strategic Plan (stay tuned for more info!)  
  • convened several conversations with our Art(ists) on the Verge 11 cohort to determine how best to support them while that program timeline is extended 
  • started planning a winter return of Illuminate the Lock

We are also creatively planning for Northern Spark’s return in 2021. 

We need your support to keep creating platforms for artists to make new work, develop their practices and ultimately, help us get through this time with hope and beauty.  

Donations to Northern Lights.mn for #GiveArtHome are accepted through May 8th here, or anytime on our Support page.  Thank you! 

Co-Director’s Column

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Co-Director’s Column
November 21, 2019

The unseen work of taking a pause.

A little over a month ago we made the announcement that we’re taking a strategic hiatus from producing Northern Spark this summer, 2020.  A lot of preparation when into that communique; with what feels like a degree of instability in certain sectors of the arts community right now, we wanted to make sure our community of artists, partners, supporters and fans would understand the care with which we made this decision. We didn’t know what response would return after hitting “Send Now” on our press release and newsletter.

Over the next several hours and days, the messages that came back to us, largely, were congratulatory and supportive. “Good for you!” was a common refrain.  “More arts organizations and programs should do this,” and “we’ll miss Northern Spark, but glad you’re taking the time for reflection this year,” appeared online and in my inbox.

I’m so thankful for these responses and the understanding they indicate, as I truly believe that we — any of us— are the only ones who can stop the frantic pace at which we feel we must work. This sense is of course furthered by an increasing feeling that the world is on fire (some of it is) and our work can’t wait. But what I’ve learned in the past few months, as that there is big, rewarding work in slowing down and taking time.

Last week we had the 2nd meeting of our 3rd Program Council (profiled above and here) to dig into a large set of interlocking questions about the who, what, where, how and when of the Northern Spark festival.  Community, partnership, place, artists, audience, funding —how do all of these work together in an equitably organized festival?

We met for 4 hours in the side room at Indigenous Roots, eating burritos and covering big sheets of paper with refreshed and project-specific definitions of that list of words above. As we untangled a lot of ideas, we started to put down our dreams for a festival that grows from genuine community engagement into an event that supports and uplifts artists, festival workers, and partners while continuing to make an uncommon, magical, immersive, nighttime art experience for everyone.

After we cleaned and I made by way home at 9 pm after a 12 hour day I forgot how tired I was.  The care for our collective work that emerged from the meeting was a spike of positive energy.

There is a lot of attention paid to self care right now, and increasingly we’re in conversation about organizational self care.  What does it look like to take care of individual selves, and also our organizations in this sector?  We have two more 4 hour meetings and a few shorted wrap up meetings before the Council finishes its work on a Community Engagement Strategic Plan for Northern Spark. You might call me crazy for considering 12+ more hours of evening meetings over the next few months as self care, but this is where I find nourishment right now, and I’m gonna take it!

Thanks for reading.

-Sarah Peters
Co-director, Northern Lights.mn

 

The next ten years

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The next ten years

Life at Northern Lights.mn is never static. We like to try new things – sometimes seemingly impossible things – and to learn from them, iterate, converse, revise, try it again, adjust, repeat. Change has always been part of our DNA.

In this spirit, we are excited and humbled to announce a change in leadership at Northern Lights.mn. For the past year, Sarah Peters and Steve Dietz have worked as Co-Directors, sharing responsibility and decision making. One purpose of this collaboration has been to transfer the significant knowledge that Steve, as NL’s founder, has about our organization, from its conceptual impulses to its thousands of Google folders.

Over the next year, Steve will step away from the everyday administration of the organization. With Sarah at the helm, we’ll develop a succession plan that honors Steve’s contributions and ultimately aims to bring on another Co-Director to continue shared leadership.

It is a year to reinvent and also to reflect on our rhizomatic roots while growing into the future.

In Steve’s words:

“I founded Northern Lights.mn with the simple goal of it being a flexible, resilient platform dedicated to supporting the work of artists. More than ten years later there is much that we have accomplished, from boosting the careers of more than 50 ‘artists on the verge’ to bringing the joy of a city transformed by artists to tens of thousands of people annually to artist takeovers of locks and rivers and train stations and skyscrapers and streets and plazas and other cities. It has been an absolute blast.

So many people have been a part of this journey, especially the artists, who I can never thank enough and from whom I have learned so much. I am an unabashed fanboy and earnest student.

I am eager to assist and see the next decade unfold under the leadership of longtime colleague and Co-Director Sarah Peters. She has the fortitude and receptiveness to imagine and do great things.

In this next year of renewal, let us know what YOU think. A good platform belongs to its users.”

 

Of this change and process Sarah says, “Steve has built an incredible organization that has achieved so much in a decade. I’m honored to carry Northern Lights.mn’s spirit of experimentation and commitment to artists into the future.”

 

With much love and gratitude,
Sarah, Steve and the Northern Lights.mn board

 

 

Image caption: Northern Lights.mn founder Steve Dietz making opening remarks for the first Northern Spark with Board Chair Neal Cuthbert, 2011. Photo by Patrick Kelley.

Partnerships in Rondo for Northern Spark 2019

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Partnerships in Rondo for Northern Spark 2019

The Library inside the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center is an inspiring place to spend an afternoon. Books on African American history line the shelves below portraits of the Center’s previous executive directors and founding board members. Exhibits and old maps sketch the image of a thriving African American neighborhood alongside contemporary photos that demonstrate a spirit of community resilience.  

For the past year, this Library’s long conference table has been the gathering spot of several dedicated folks who have sat together to set the scene for the radiant art experiences people will have in the historic Rondo neighborhood this June at Northern Spark.

But the story starts two years ago.

In the months following the 2017 Northern Spark festival along the Green Line, Northern Lights staff sat down with Nieeta Presley from Aurora St Anthony Neighborhood Community Development Corporation and Brittany Wright of Visions Merging — our core programming partners in Rondo that year — to debrief on the event.

We talked about what was joyous and what went right and what could have been better. One of the key “room for serious improvement” notes was the fact that we invited the Rondo and other Green Line partners into the process after many of the big decisions had been made. We’d do better to engage people from the beginning, to create the theme and sites together.

Fast forward to February of 2018 when a number of individuals from several Rondo-based organizations gathered to begin talking about what a Rondo node of Northern Spark 2019 might look like. The initial brainstorms were punctuated by long lists of important historic sites and current venues.  

At one point we all piled into the Hallie Q. Brown bus and went for a tour, stopping to learn about historic Black churches, Tiger Jack’s corner, the Sterling Club and the Rondo Commemorative Plaza, among other sites.

While festival programming this June will center around Hallie Q Brown Community Center, commissioned festival artists tap deep into this broader neighborhood history with their projects as they create, exhibit, drum and dance to a contemporary beat of resilience, renewal and regeneration. Satellite activities will also take place at the Rondo Community Library.  Festival goers can ride a free shuttle bus between these locations and listen to storytellers from the community along the way.

We’re immensely thankful for the patience and enthusiasm from everyone who has sat around the long conference table at Hallie Q. for the past many months!

Hallie Q. Brown Community Center turns 90 this year! Founded in 1929 as a settlement house for African Americans denied service from other agencies, HQB is an African American, nonprofit social service agency open to all. The Center serves as the historical gathering place for the African American community and provides programming in early childhood education, youth enrichment, seniors, basic needs (food shelf and clothing closet) and multi-service hub with partners. They also house the HQB Archive Project, a collaborative initiative that will serve as the hub of cultural and historical exchange for one of the Midwest’s most important loci of African American history. Read more about Hallie’s important community programs here.

Model Cities was founded in 1967, and has a mission to provide social and economic prosperity by providing access to opportunities that stabilize and develop families and communities. Their new mixed-use development BROWNstone, is located at Victoria and University and houses the Reading Room, a gathering space with original artwork that celebrates the legacy of African Americans in the railroad industry.

Aurora St. Anthony Community Development Corporation (ASANDC) hosts a variety of social, economic, housing, and commercial development programs for residents of all ages in the Rondo neighborhood. Read about their programs to support homeownership and small business development here.

Housed within Hallie Q. Brown since 1976, Penumbra Theater creates artistically excellent and socially responsible drama that illuminates the human condition through prisms of the African American experience.

And, speaking of libraries, we’re also thankful to the staff at the Rondo Community Outreach Library in St. Paul for their enthusiasm about Northern Spark. The Rondo Library on the corner of Dale and University will be a satellite site for artist projects and engagements (and books!) during Northern Spark.  Sign up for our e-newsletter and stay tuned for a feature on our partnerships with Hennepin County Library and St. Paul Public Library coming in May.

Image credits from the top:

1. Hallie Q. Brown Community Center Library bookshelf, photo courtesy Northern Lights.mn

2. Drawing on Rondo by Witt Siasoco, commissioned by ASANDC and Visions Merging, Northern Spark, 2017. Photo by Caleb Timmerman

 

Welcome Northern Spark 2019 Apprentices!

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This year we launched a paid Apprenticeship Program to share the knowledge we’ve built over the years of producing Northern Spark and to foster an exchange of skills and knowledge in the communities where the festival is taking place. Festival apprentices get an inside view at how a large public event comes to be, and in turn teach veteran staff new ways of working within their communities. We’re excited to be working alongside and learning from these fantastic individuals!

Winston Heckt, Communications Apprentice

Winston is a filmmaker graduating from Augsburg University in the spring of 2019 with a B.A. in Film and Communication Studies. His films have screened at a handful of local festivals and have won awards for best cinematography, best directing, and best short. When not on set or in the classroom, Winston is an avid reader, writer, musician, and contemplator of life’s big questions such as the meaning of life and who shuts the door after the driver gets off the bus.

As the Communications Apprentice he maintains the social media presence for Northern Spark and assists with e-newsletters, press releases, and printed content. He is excited for the opportunity to contribute to Northern Spark and learn the ins and outs of communicating a festival’s planning process and wide-ranging set of artists’ ideas to the public.

Tyra Payer, Curatorial Apprentice

Tyra (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) is from Belcourt, North Dakota and relocated to the Twin Cities in 2017. Tyra uses her education and experience to develop, implement, and plan projects that highlight the vibrant work of Indigenous peoples in Minneapolis. She completed her first service term through the Public Allies AmeriCorps program where she led community engagement at a neighborhood association. Currently she is serving her second AmeriCorps term as the Evaluations & Communications Specialist at Dream of Wild Health, a Native led nonprofit dedicated to indigenous foods and youth programs. When she’s not working, Tyra finds new ways to cook with food from local farmers’ markets. As the Curatorial Content Apprentice, Tyra attends to all of the project descriptions that fill the Northern Spark website and assists the festival’s Artistic Director.  Tyra is also the Northern Lights.mn Projects Manager.  

Pamela Vazquez Torres, Production Apprentice

Pamela is a Mexican art historian and cultural manager based in the Twin Cities since 2017. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Humanities with a concentration in Art History from the University of the Americas Puebla, Mexico (UDLAP), and is currently in pursuit of an MA in Media Studies from The New School. She has worked as curatorial assistant in internationally exhibited contemporary art projects in China, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Spain and the U.S. She was part of the content team of CutOut Fest, an international animation and digital art festival celebrated in Querétaro, Mexico, as coordinator of the industry division in its 7th edition (2015) and Content Coordinator in its 8th edition (2016). Pamela is inspired by the immense possibilities for social change at the intersection of the arts, activism and community engagement. As Production Apprentice she supports the many details of operations for Northern Spark.

 

The Northern Spark Apprenticeship Program is supported by a Minnesota State Arts Board Arts Access grant.

Announcing Northern Spark 2019 Artists – Press Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Announcing Northern Spark 2019
Artist Line-up and Creative City Challenge Winner

Radical Playground by Candida Gonzalez and Mary Anne Quiroz wins the 2019 Creative City Challenge and 30 artist projects will explore the theme We Are Here: Resilience, Renewal, & Regeneration

(Minneapolis, MN) March 12, 2019 — Northern Lights.mn announces the Creative City Challenge winner and line-up of artists selected to create vibrant and thought-provoking projects for the ninth annual Northern Spark, the free arts festival illuminating public spaces in the Twin Cities Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15—starting at dusk (9 pm) and ending at 2 am.

This year, artists will explore the theme We Are Here: Resilience, Renewal, & Regeneration with projects in three walkable and transit-accessible locations—the American Indian Cultural Corridor in Minneapolis, The Commons in downtown Minneapolis, and the Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul.

Radical Playground wins the 2019 Creative City Challenge

The participatory art installation Radical Playground by Candida Gonzalez and Mary Anne Quiroz has won the 2019 Creative City Challenge.

During the summer of 2019 on The Commons, participants will be invited to “heal through play” with whimsical interactive alebrije: animal sculptures inspired by dream creatures from the Caribbean, Mexico, the Pacific Islands and the indigenous cultures of Minnesota. Radical Playground will debut on The Commons June 14 as part of Northern Spark. The art will remain on The Commons through August 2019 for a summer of everyday interaction and special programming events in July and August.

The artists intend Radical Playground to invite Indigenous communities and communities of color to a space where they feel free to gather, to play, to heal. They want their project to bring a feeling of play, of free joy, of giving people’s bodies a break from stress and worry.

The installation shape follows eight posts circling a large center post. The center post is topped by a large, striking alebrije and has a pyramid-shaped base that will serve as an ofrenda (altar) during programming. The outer posts are topped alternately by alebrijes and flowers representing the four directions. Four “selfie” panels anchor the four direction posts at the bottom and invite people to become alebrijes themselves as they put their faces in the panel cutouts. The color palette is bright and tropical for exciting, colorful viewing from long distances. Solar lights will create a magical nighttime experience. Read more about the Creative City Challenge in the City of Minneapolis’ press release.

 

Artist Line-Up for 2019


Northern Lights.mn is proud to announce the roster of installation artists for the ninth annual Northern Spark festival. Roughly 30 artist projects will illuminate public spaces and explore the theme We Are Here: Resilience, Renewal, and Regeneration through a myriad of vibrant and thought-provoking projects.

In The Commons, grab a digital spray can and tag the Digital Graffiti Wall (presented by Walker Art Center), see the transformation and evolution of Ancient Ethiopian string musical instruments (Yilma H Woldemedhen), and use your body in joyful protest by dancing in the streets (Don’t You Feel It Too?). Walking down Franklin Ave you’ll see a multimedia installation of animated Anishinaabe stories (Jonathan Thunder), power a cyclist sculpture by pedaling stationary bikes (Victor Yepez), and explore a re-imagined Franklin Library designed by and for the local Indigenous community (Marlena Myles with Hennepin County Library). In Rondo, experience a Visual Jazz Odyssey (Miko Simmons) and make solar peace poles that light up the community with regenerative solar energy (Illuminate and Regenerate Rondo Regiment).

Full project descriptions and performing and video artists will be announced in April.

Participating Artists:
Kashimana Ahua
Beatrix*JAR
Natchez Beaulieu
Jesse Buckner
Don’t You Feel It Too?
Heid Erdrich & Rosy Simas Danse
Kelley Leaf
Tom LeBlanc and Al Gross
Joshua McGarvey
Marlena Myles
Illuminate and Regenerate Rondo Regiment (Anura Si-Asar, Melvin Giles, Rekhet Si-Asar)
Miko Simmons
Jonathan Thunder
Yilma H Woldemedhen
Victor Yepez

 

2019 Theme—We Are Here: Resilience, Renewal, & Regeneration
Every year, Northern Spark creates a theme to inspire artists’ creativity around cultural and societal issues. This year’s theme was generated through responses from people and organizational partners in the communities of Northern Spark 2019.

Northern Lights.mn, along with the 2018-2019 Program Council (more info below), explored new ways of determining the festival theme by involving community input. Northern Lights.mn engaged with community members during neighborhood events at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center and Native American Community Development Initiative’s Four Sister’s Market over the summer to ask people what challenges or celebrations their communities face everyday.

The various responses were molded by the Program Council into the overarching theme, We Are Here. The subthemes Resilience, Renewal & Regeneration were formed to contextualize the theme and inspire artists and audience.  

“We Are Here is a collectively authored call to our communities to raise their voices,” says Teeko Yang, former Program Council and Projects Manager at Northern Lights.mn.

“As we say in the theme document we wrote with the Program Council: ‘Claiming space is one of the most powerful actions anyone can take. For people who do not see themselves or hear voices like their own in the dominant culture around us, raising their voice can mean the difference between invisibility or resilience, renewal, and regeneration.’”  

 

Northern Spark 2019 Locations

The venues for Northern Spark 2019 are in Minneapolis and Saint Paul:

  • American Indian Cultural Corridor on Franklin Ave. in Minneapolis
  • The Commons in downtown Minneapolis
  • Hallie Q Brown Community Center in the Rondo neighborhood of Saint Paul

 

Dates and Times

In 2019, Northern Spark will take place over two nights, the third weekend in June:

  • Friday, June 14, from 9 pm to 2 am
  • Saturday, June 15, from 9 pm to 2 am

Programming and art will be the same each night unless noted.

Northern Spark at The Commons will also be the site of the opening reception for the 2019 Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, taking place in the Twin Cities June 13-16, presented by Americans for the Arts in partnership with the City of Minneapolis Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy; Springboard for the Arts; and the Minneapolis Foundation.

More information is available at 2019.northernspark.org

2018-2019 Program Council Members
Alex Buffalohead, Sara Endalew, Pa Na Lor, Zahra Muse, SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE, Mary Anne Quiroz, Aki Shibata and Donald Thomas Jr. More information about the Program Council.

 

Northern Spark Partners
Northern Spark has always been a collaborative effort. Northern Lights.mn is grateful for the generous involvement of several organizations in the support and programming of Northern Spark 2019:

Neighborhood Partners
Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Program, City of Minneapolis
Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation
Green Minneapolis
Hallie Q. Brown Community Center
Model Cities
Penumbra Theater
Native American Community Development Institute
Visions Merging

Participating Venues
All My Relations Arts
Franklin Library
Hallie Q. Brown Community Center
Rondo Community Outreach Library
The Commons

Presenting Partners
Aurora St. Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation
Catalyst Arts
FOCI Minnesota Center for Glass Arts
Hennepin County Library
Mia
Minnesota Sacred Harp Singers
Model Cities
Saint Paul Public Library – Rondo Community Library
Walker Art Center
Weavers Guild of Minnesota

 

Northern Spark Background
Since 2011 thousands of Minnesotans and visitors have enjoyed Northern Spark, an annual arts festival illuminating public spaces in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In early June, tens of thousands of people gather to explore giant video projections, play in temporary installations in the streets, and enjoy experimental performances in green spaces. Late into the night the city surprises you: friendly crowds, glowing groups of cyclists, an unexpected path through the urban landscape, the magic of sunrise after a night of amazing art and experiences.

Northern Spark began as a dusk-to-dawn event. In 2018 we introduced a new model for attendees to experience the artful magic of Northern Spark for two nights in a row until 2 am.

Memorable projects from past Northern Spark festivals include Chris Larson’s Celebration/Love/Loss, Jim Campbell’s Scattered Light, Luke Savisky’s Ex-MN, Pramila Vasudevan’s Census, and countless other projects from artists such as: Ananya Dance Theater, Marina Zurkow, HOTTEA, and Million Artist Movement.

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 5 emerging artists working with digital culture. We support 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, our work helps audiences explore expanded possibilities for civic engagement through art.

 

Sponsors and Supporters

 

     

 

 

 

Designer Matthew Rezac on Northern Spark 2019’s graphic identity

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The graphic identity for Northern Spark 2019 was revealed today on the refreshed festival website. Designer Matthew Rezac, who created the original NS logo back in 2011 and has art directed the festival’s design ever since, turned this year’s rich theme, We Are Here: Resilience, Renewal & Regeneration, into a set of icons.

We asked him a few questions about his design process. Here’s what he had to say:

NL: This year’s theme has a lot of ideas packed into the title. How did you approach translating the ideas into graphics?  

MR: I originally started thinking about the literal sense of “We Are Here” — such as maps and the visual language that goes along with them. However, after an informal meeting with some core Northern Lights staff it became clear that the design should come from the ideas held within the “Resilience, Renewal & Regeneration” portion of the theme. Broad symbols and ideas mentioned during that meeting were things like roots, plants/trees, growth, and cycles. The challenge then became how to present these ubiquitous themes in a unique (or at least less-common) way that also looked like Northern Spark.

From there I took a deep dive into the world of fractals, hoping a micro view would lead me to something that a macro view could not. In the end most of the visual studies related to fractals ended up on the cutting-room floor, but that process lead me to the spiral graphic. I was thinking about the simplest graphic representation of “growth,” each circle being larger than the previous. In those early sketches I liked how the spiral interplayed with the Northern Spark logo — and how it could also be a representation of “renewal” — so I set off to create visuals for “resilience” and “regeneration.”

 

For “resilience” I kept thinking about “defiant growth” and specifically how you often see grass/weeds/plants growing out of the cracks in a concrete sidewalk. The extreme angles in the crack portion of the icon gives the whole thing a defiant feeling — like it could be the symbol for a resistance movement.

 

Then, for “regeneration” I went the direct biological route, thinking about things in nature that can regenerate tissue or limbs. The resulting symbol is a more abstract shape that has been cut in a circle, with the new pieces along the outer edge growing in a clockwise pattern — each line longer than the previous.

 

Finally, the way the three icons interact with the typography is once again referencing the idea of “defiant growth” as the icons move from the background to the foreground, growing around the type.  

 

NL: Did you have any design ideas that didn’t make the cut that you love?

MR: There was one direction (from my fractal deep-dive) that was using a script to draw various fractal trees. I was determined to make it work, but in the end it just wasn’t right. It felt too flat from a conceptual standpoint. It was also problematic visually: it looked great for social media headers, but fell apart when I put it on t-shirts or the website.

 

 

NL:  The design for Northern Spark has always been about icons. You’ve recently looked through the entire catalog of NS icons to prepare the graphics for the upcoming Spring Howl fundraiser.  What are your favorites? Or is that like asking which kid you like best?

MR: From the first set I designed in 2011, I am partial to the bird for some reason. Actually, there are quite a few from that original set that aren’t directly related to Northern Spark programming or activities — bird, squirrel, bread crumbs, etc. I just tried to have a little extra fun with those flourishes on the periphery.

 

I also still love the 2016 Climate Chaos system of arrows. Expressing five different concepts (move, nourish, interconnect, perceive, act) using one device (the arrow) was such an efficient move, both visually and conceptually. And they looked amazing on the t-shirt!

 

NL: Lastly, what else are you working on that inspires you these days?

MR: I’m currently working on a number of exciting and inspiring art books, each in a different phase of development — two of these are in the very early stages, but also have Northern Spark connections. One is a new collaborative artist book with Monica Haller (who presented at Northern Spark in 2013 and 2016). Monica and I had previously collaborated on the book “Riley and his story” (2009), and the creative process surrounding her new work has been invigorating — I’m really excited to see where this one takes us. The second connection is an exhibition catalog for Piotr Szyhalski (who has been a part of Northern Spark in some way or another more often than not). I’ve been a huge fan of Piotr’s work since I was a student at MCAD, so working on that one is a complete honor.

Job Opportunity: Northern Spark 2019 Neighborhood Volunteer Lead – AICC

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Northern Spark 2019 Neighborhood Volunteer Lead – AICC

Northern Spark is a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  Northern Spark is produced by Northern Lights.mn. For more information on our work, visit our website: http://northern.lights.mn/.

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul: Downtown East in The Commons (Minneapolis), American Indian Cultural Corridor along Franklin Ave. (Minneapolis), and Rondo at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center (St. Paul). Festival dates are Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 from 9 pm to 2 am each night. For general information about the festival, visit here.

Job Description: Neighborhood Volunteer Lead – AICC

This position is responsible for the recruitment, scheduling and festival nights-of management of approximately 50 volunteers and survey seekers in the American Indian Cultural Corridor hub of Northern Spark.  

 

Deadline to apply:
Send resume and cover letter to jobs@northern.lights.mn by Feb 1, 2019.

Stipend: $1,500
Estimated hours: 5­-10 hours a week, approx 75 hours total
Duration: Mid-March through June 30, 2019
Reports to: NS Volunteer Coordinator

Tasks:

Volunteer Recruitment and Management

  • Learn recruitment and scheduling tools and systems from Festival Volunteer Coordinator
  • With Festival Producer and Volunteer Coordinator, determine plan for Volunteer Operations in the AICC hub including Info Tent location and Volunteer Lounge
  • Recruit and schedule volunteers and survey seekers to fill approx 50 shifts for night­s-of and pre-­festival events (~25 per night) for the AICC node
  • Conduct ongoing communications with festival volunteers assigned to this node
  • Attend pre-­festival outreach and recruitment events in the neighborhood
  • With Volunteer Coordinator, organize, attend and present at Volunteer Orientation in AICC
  • Oversee all Volunteer operations in AICC on night-of festival including:
    • Checking Volunteers in and out for their shifts
    • Executing 3 attendance counts nightly
    • Maintain the Volunteer Lounge area
    • Help keep volunteers on task, engaged and informed throughout the night
    • Help to problem solve and serve as a point of communication with festival staff
    • Communicate with Production staff

 

Other duties

  • Attendance at monthly, then weekly staff meetings in Minneapolis
  • Create and coordinate a final list of all completed volunteer shifts and update festival records

 

Requirements:
Excellent written and verbal communications and public speaking skills; interest and enjoy working with people; ability to work independently and efficiently; keen ability to organize and track large amounts of data. Experience working with volunteers a must.  

Ideal candidate holds community ties within the American Indian Cultural Corridor and local Indigenous communities, and a broad, community-specific network from which to recruit volunteers.

Experience using Google docs is important, knowledge of Asana and CiviCRM preferred but not necessary if willing to learn these tools.

 

Necessary equipment:
Own computer and access to internet when not in the NL office. Smartphone w/ data plan necessary for festival nights-of communications.

 

Job Opportunity: Northern Spark 2019 Neighborhood Volunteer Lead – Rondo

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Northern Spark 2019 Neighborhood Volunteer Lead – Rondo

Northern Spark is a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  Northern Spark is produced by Northern Lights.mn. For more information on our work, visit our website: http://northern.lights.mn/.

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul: Downtown East in The Commons (Minneapolis), American Indian Cultural Corridor along Franklin Ave. (Minneapolis), and Rondo at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center (St. Paul). Festival dates are Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 from 9 pm to 2 am each night. For general information about the festival, visit here.

Job Description: Neighborhood Volunteer Lead – Rondo

This position is responsible for the recruitment, scheduling and festival nights-of management of approximately 50 volunteers and survey seekers in the Rondo hub of Northern Spark.  

Deadline to apply:

Send resume and cover letter to jobs@northern.lights.mn by Feb 1, 2019.

Stipend: $1,500
Estimated hours: 5­-10 hours a week, approx 75 hours total
Duration: Mid-March through June 30, 2019
Reports to: NS Volunteer Coordinator

Tasks:

Volunteer Recruitment and Management

  • Learn recruitment and scheduling tools and systems from Volunteer Coordinator
  • With Festival Producer and Volunteer Coordinator, determine plan for Volunteer Operations in the Rondo hub including Info Tent location and Volunteer Lounge
  • Recruit and schedule volunteers and survey seekers to fill approx 50 shifts for night­s-of and pre-­festival events (~25 per night) for the Rondo node
  • Conduct ongoing communications with festival volunteers assigned to this node
  • Attend pre-­festival outreach and recruitment events in the neighborhood
  • With Volunteer Coordinator, organize, attend and present at Volunteer Orientation in Rondo
  • Oversee all Volunteer operations at Hallie Q Brown on night-of festival including:
    • Checking Volunteers in and out for their shifts
    • Executing 3 attendance counts nightly
    • Maintain the Volunteer Lounge
    • Help keep volunteers on task, engaged and informed throughout the night
    • Help to problem solve and serve as a point of communication with festival staff
    • Communicate with production staff

 

Other duties

  • Attendance at monthly, then weekly staff meetings in Minneapolis
  • Create and coordinate a final list of all completed volunteer shifts and update festival records

 

Requirements:
Excellent written and verbal communications and public speaking skills; interest and enjoy working with people; ability to work independently and efficiently; keen ability to organize and track large amounts of data. Experience working with volunteers a must.  

Ideal candidate holds community ties within Rondo and a broad network from which to recruit volunteers.

Experience using Google docs is important, knowledge of Asana and CiviCRM preferred but not necessary if willing to learn these tools.

 

Necessary equipment:
Own computer and access to internet when not in the NL office. Smartphone w/ data plan necessary for festival nights-of communications.

 

Job opportunity: Northern Spark Festival Volunteer Coordinator

Written by

Northern Spark 2019 Festival Volunteer and Survey Coordinator

Northern Spark is a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  Northern Spark is produced by Northern Lights.mn. For more information on our work, visit our website: http://northern.lights.mn/.

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul: Downtown East in The Commons (Minneapolis), American Indian Cultural Corridor along Franklin Ave. (Minneapolis), and Rondo at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center (St. Paul). Festival dates are Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 from 9 pm to 2 am each night. For general information about the festival, visit here. 

Job Description: Festival Volunteer and Survey Coordinator

This position is responsible for the recruitment, scheduling and training of approximately 150 festival volunteers and survey across three festival neighborhoods. This position also manages two paid Neighborhood Lead positions who assist with volunteer recruitment, scheduling and nights-of management.

Deadline to apply:

Send resume and cover letter to jobs@northern.lights.mn by Feb 1, 2019.

Stipend: $3,000
Estimated hours: 5­-20 hours a week, approx 150 hours total
Duration: Mid-February through June 30, 2019
Reports to: NS Co-Director

Tasks include:

Volunteer Strategy

  • Review existing volunteer structure, scheduling and training materials, and nights-­of operational plan and adapt as necessary
  • Create Volunteer sign up forms and schedule spreadsheet including pre-­festival and festival nights for all festival neighborhoods

 

Neighborhood Lead Management

  • Onboard and manage Neighborhood Leads (2) in recruitment, scheduling and nights-of operations
  • Work with Festival Producer and Neighborhood Leads to plan Volunteer Operations including Info Tent and Volunteer Lounge in each festival zone  
  • With Neighborhood Leads, organize and present at three Volunteer Orientation sessions (one in each Festival neighborhood)

 

Volunteer Recruitment and Management

  • Recruit and schedule volunteers to fill approx 60 shifts for night­s-of and pre-­festival events (~25 per night + reception volunteers) in The Commons
  • Coordinate Volunteers for Americans for the Arts reception in The Commons on Friday, June 14 from 7-9 pm
  • Conduct ongoing communications with all festival volunteers
  • Attend pre-­festival outreach and recruitment events such as May Day Festival
  • Oversee all Volunteer operations in The Commons on night-of festival including Info Tents and Volunteer Lounge (hospitality, signage, materials)
  • Coordinating with production staff on the nights of festival

 

Survey Seekers

  • Organize materials for Survey Takers and a system for collecting surveys during Festival
  • Recruit and schedule survey seekers for The Commons
  • Coordinate survey data entry after festival

 

Other duties

  • Attendance at monthly, then weekly staff meetings in Minneapolis
  • Create and coordinate a final list of all completed volunteer shifts and update festival records

 

Requirements:
Excellent written and verbal communications and public speaking skills; interest and enjoy working with people; ability to work independently and efficiently; keen ability to organize and track large amounts of data. Must have experience working with volunteers.  

Ideal candidate has a strong knowledge of diverse Twin Cities communities and a broad network from which to recruit volunteers.

Experience using Google docs is important, knowledge of Asana and CiviCRM preferred but not necessary if willing to learn these tools.

 

Necessary equipment:
Own computer and access to internet when not in the NL office. Smartphone w/ data plan necessary for festival nights-of communications.

Northern Lights.mn Newsletter, Dec 14, 2018

Written by

Work with us! New paid apprenticeship program


Northern Spark 2016 Launch Party with special musical guests Doks Robotiks at Mill City Museum. Photo: Dusty Hoskovec.

Since 2011, Northern Spark has created a spirit of adventure and belonging, with the help of hundreds of artists and community partners. This year we’re starting a new Festival Apprenticeship Program, the goal of which is to share the systems we’ve built over the years, and to foster an exchange of skills and community knowledge in the neighborhoods where the festival is taking place. Festival Apprentices get an inside view of how a large public event comes to be, and work with a dynamic team that produces all aspects of the festival.

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods: Downtown East (Minneapolis) in The Commons, American Indian Cultural Corridor (Minneapolis) along Franklin Ave., and Rondo (St. Paul) at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center.

For the Apprentice Positions we are looking for candidates with cultural connections and community involvement in Rondo and the American Indian Cultural Corridor.

There are four festival-wide positions:

  • Outreach and Projects Apprentice
  • Communications Apprentice
  • Curatorial Content Apprentice
  • Production Apprentice

Read more about each position and stipends here.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Friday, January 11, 2019.

 

Meet the Creative City Challenge 2019 Finalists

We are pleased to announce three finalists for the 7th annual Creative City Challenge, a showcase for local creative talent and a tangible symbol of the complex stories that make up the many narratives within our urban landscape. The theme for the 2019 Challenge is “We Are Here.”

Artist organizers Candida Gonzalez and MaryAnne Quiroz will transform The Commons into a Radical Playground. Through whimsical interactive animal sculptures inspired by dream creatures from the Caribbean, Mexico, the Pacific Islands and the indigenous cultures of Minnesota along with a summer of programming, participants will be invited to heal through play.


Candida Gonzalez and MaryAnne Quiroz, Radical Playground, concept sketch. Courtesy the artists.

For On This Spot, a team of visual artists, fabricators, and filmmaker Daniel Bergin, led by Molly Van Avery and Mike Hoyt, will create four multimedia story hubs that surround a large free-standing vertical map of Minneapolis, which is also a projection surface. Utilizing a network of deep community ties around Brian Coyle, Waite House, Pillsbury House Theatre, and Oak Park, the story hubs will illuminate historical and present day struggles and triumphs around racial justice and communities’ efforts toward self-determination. When the installation in The Commons is complete, the hubs will be distributed back to each center, becoming resources for residents to learn more about their neighborhoods’ complex identities.


Mike Hoyt and Molly Van Avery, On This Spot, concept sketch. Courtesy the artists.

Rory Wakemup’s We Are Still Here consists of an outdoor diorama of 21st century Native Peoples staged using the concept of  “Indigenous Futurism.” In a serious yet satirical manner, outfits and objects will be used to showcase a plethora of contemporary gadgets/weaponry for the 21st century non-violent warrior. With appropriations of pop-culture, renewable energy, naturally harvested materials and concepts from Native American culture, this diorama will inform the general public that we, Native Americans, are still here and will be here in to the future continually doing what we have always done, protecting our mother earth and our right to live on it.


Rory Wakemup, We Are Still Here, concept sketch. Courtesy the artist.

Finalists will be juried at the end of January, and the selected winner will install their project on The Commons during the summer, launching during the Northern Spark festival. The Creative City Challenge is a project of the Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Program of the City of Minneapolis in collaboration with The Commons and Northern Lights.mn.

How does my art fit into Northern Spark?


Givings of a Global Immigrant by Binyam Raba at Northern Spark 2018. Co-commissioned by African Economic Development Solutions. Photo: Sean Smuda

With the Northern Lights Program Council we made some changes to the Northern Spark Artist Open Call to pave a way for artists to participate in the festival without the need to perform or stage a piece for all 10 hours of the two night event.

Primarily, we’ve introduced two new categories: a call for short video works and a call for 20 minute performances.

Video Screening -We’re looking for video works with a 5 to 15 minute run time. Video works may be silent or have sound, be experimental or narrative or anything in between. If you have a feature-length work you would like to submit, please select a section or favorite scene that is no more than 15 minutes. If selected, your piece will be put into a reel with other works and looped during both nights of Northern Spark in each festival neighborhood. The same reel will be screened at each location. Locations: The Commons, American Indian Cultural Corridor, Hallie Q. Brown Community Center

Performance Stage – Apply for a 20 minute slot on a stage with basic sound equipment provided. This could be a spoken word set, a dance troupe performance, a choir, a puppet show, a sing-a-long, a magic act, a story slam, a set with your band. Apply for a slot on Friday or Saturday night.  Locations: American Indian Cultural Corridor, Hallie Q. Brown Community Center

And never fear, if durational work is your thing, we’ve got a spot for you too!  The call also seeks Participatory Installations; the kind of engaging, fun, and thought-provoking projects Northern Spark is known for.

Got questions? Come to the Northern Spark 2019 Info Session 
Thursday, January 3, 2019
6:30 – 8 pm
Rondo Community Outreach Library, 461 Dale Street N, St. Paul, MN 55102
RSVP on Facebook.

Open Call Deadline: Monday, January 14, 11:59 pm CST

 

Support the artists who make our world amazing.


Celestial Amnesia: A Passage to Peace by Miko Simmons at Northern Spark on Nicollet, 2018.  Photo: Sean Smuda

In 2018 Northern Lights.mn supported, promoted, and produced the work of just over 300 artists through our program platforms. We are a low-overhead organization, so your donation goes directly to support artists in the creation of works both epic and intimate. 

Help us continue to support artists in 2019 and beyond!

Become a Sustaining Donor or contribute a one-time amount at the Northern Lights.mn site. All donations are tax deductible this tax year if received by Dec. 31, 2018. 

Thank you! 

 

Last Call: AOV9 up through Dec. 30, 2018


Installation shot of Ziyang Wu’s Smarter City 2 at Rochester Art Center. Photo: Rik Sferra.

You’ve got a few weeks left to catch the exhibition Art(ists) on the Verge 9. Don’t miss your chance to travel aboard the fictional subway train in Ziyang Wu’s Smarter City 2, or to make a electromagnetic field blocking pouch for your smart phone in Stephanie Lynn Rogers’ installation Security Blanket. AOV9 is on view at Rochester Art Center through December 30.
Read more about the artists here and get directions to Rochester Art Center here.

Thanks to the Jerome Foundation and Rochester Art Center for the support of this program.

 

News: artist opportunities from our colleagues

Red Eye’s Works-in-Progress
This program supports emerging performance makers in the creation of new work, to be presented as part of the New Works 4 Weeks Festival in May 2019.

Works-In-Progress provides artistic, production, and administrative developmental support over a six-month period for a cohort of 4-5 selected artists/artistic collaborations. Artists selected are supported with rehearsal space, providing the opportunity to explore and experiment with conceptual and staging ideas over an extended timeframe.
More info and link to the full guidelines here.
Application deadline: December 17

Fringe Festival Open Calls
Minnesota Fringe recently opened applications to produce in Fringe Festival and Family Fringe online. Artists interested in applying to one or both festivals should read the application information pages for each festival. Submissions are due February 14 for Fringe Festival and February 28, 2019, for Family Fringe.

For more information, go to www.minnesotafringe.org/festivals.

Northern Spark 2019 – Festival Production Apprentice

Written by

Northern Spark 2019 – Festival Production Apprentice

Northern Lights supports artists in the creation and presentation of art in the public sphere, focusing on innovative uses of technology to imagine new interactions between audience, artwork, and place and explore expanded possibilities for civic engagement.

Our largest program is Northern Spark, a free, annual, late-night, multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place in June and draws tens of thousands of Minnesotans each year. In collaboration with arts organizations and community partners, we turn the city into a surprising arts experience.  For more information about Northern Lights.mn, visit our website: http://northern.lights.mn/.  For more information about Northern Spark, visit northernspark.org

In 2019 Northern Spark takes place in three neighborhoods: Downtown East (Minneapolis) in The Commons, American Indian Cultural Corridor (Minneapolis) along Franklin Ave., and Rondo (St. Paul) at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center. The apprentice positions seek applicants with strong cultural ties to the latter of these two neighborhoods.

Since 2011, Northern Spark has created a spirit of adventure and belonging, with the help of hundreds of artists and community partners. The goal of the apprentice program is to share the systems we’ve built over the years, and to foster an exchange of skills and community knowledge in the neighborhoods where the festival is taking place. Festival apprentices get an inside view at how a large public event comes to be, as part of a dynamic team that works together to produce this beloved event. 

For this year’s Apprentice Positions we are looking for candidates with cultural connections and community involvement in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul and the American Indian Cultural Corridor in Minneapolis.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Monday, February 1st, 2019.

To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter online here.
Questions? email jobs@northern.lights.mn 

 

Job Description: Festival Apprentice – Production

The Production Festival Apprentice works with the Producer to support the production process of Northern Spark — from the planning phase through implementation and clean-up. This includes artist, venue and vendor coordination; the planning and implementation of festival infrastructure (signage, amenities, etc); emergency planning; permitting; and zero waste efforts. This person will work closely with the Producer and interact with the rest of the production team (tech, crew, etc).

Qualified applicants should have related production experience, which may include: theatrical stage or production management, event or project management, etc. Technical experience or knowledge not required, but helpful. This is a great job for someone who has related event production experience who wants to take on more advance responsibility and/or seeks experience working within a festival context.

Advance work may include:

  • Attending all Northern Spark staff meetings and production meetings (bi-weekly)
  • Communicating with various departments in the City of Minneapolis on permits (preparing paperwork, checking on status, resolving issues, etc.)
  • Managing spreadsheets to track equipment, materials, artist information, etc.
  • Drafting schedules and coordinating with artists, venues and production team
  • Updating contact sheets
  • Sourcing/obtaining equipment and materials
  • Coordinating plans for infrastructure, amenities, zero waste, etc.
  • Management of crew members
  • Additional tasks, tbd

Tasks during the festival may include:

  • Management of equipment or festival amenities
  • Management of vendors and/or zero waste plan, including crew members
  • On-site problem-solving
  • Additional tasks, tbd

Post-Festival tasks may include:

  • Compiling information for production reports; finalizing spreadsheets
  • Taking inventory of equipment (tents, projectors, etc), with Crew
  • Managing returning of materials to vendors and/or storage facilities (i.e. walkie-talkies, signage, tents, etc.), with help from the Crew/PAs
  • Additional tasks, tbd

 

Stipend: $5,000

Estimated hours: approx. 10 hrs/week w/additional hours required in May and June for festival implementation

Duration: February through June 30, 2019

Reports to: Producer

Required skills:
Must be detail-oriented, organized, and able to respond quickly and problem-solve on-site. Great written and verbal communication skills, self-motivated and able to adapt to changing deadlines. Experience working with Google Docs and Spreadsheets necessary. Ability to read maps and ground plans. Ability to work with broad range of people outside the organization. Ability to work with a fast-paced schedule with overlapping project timelines. This job involves working on your feet for sustained periods of time and staying up late!

Required availability:
Weekday schedule to be determined with supervisor. Must be available Wednesdays from 12:30 – 3:30 for production and staff meetings. Some evening and weekend availability is necessary.

Artist Production Meetings (evenings): February 26; May 29
Project site visits (6 weekday evenings in March)
Project test dates (4 evenings the week of May 20)
Must be available full time for the week of the festival (June 9 – 16).

Required equipment: Own computer; internet access when not at NL office.

Must have reliable transportation for travel between sites.

 

A Northern Lights year in review

Written by

It’s been a year.   A challenging, stirring, uncommon year.  Don’t you think?

We began 2018 in the sub zero temperatures of Minnesota’s Super Bowl weekend. (remember that?) At Illuminate South Loop, we launched 9 original artist projects that put our local creativity on display, all the while seeking to resolve a key truth: is it duck, duck grey duck or goose?

In February we convened the 2nd Northern Lights Program Council, a leadership group of 9 artists of color working with us to address barriers to racial equity and inclusiveness in our programming. We also welcomed back Teeko Yang to lead this group.

In June we lit up two nights for the annual, beloved Northern Spark festival. Under the urgent call of Commonality, we brought people together for art and connection in three downtown Minneapolis sites – including late nights in the stacks of the Minneapolis Central Library!

In July we announced a leadership shift with Sarah Peters joining Steve Dietz at the helm of Co-Directorship of Northern Lights. Onward with collaborative decision making and innovative skill sharing!

All summer we worked with a fantastic team on a re-design of our futuristic mystery game about watersheds, Aquanesia. Then we took it on the road to work with local actors and partners in Grand Rapids and Rochester, MN.

Oh, and just before that, we supported the development and world premiere of an epic tale of rewilding the river by four multidisciplinary artists at the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam.

In October we opened an exhibition at Rochester Art Center of our 9th cohort of mentored emerging artists working in/around digital media, bringing art on the verge to southeast Minnesota.

And finally, we recently launched Artist Open Calls for the 7th Creative City Challenge and for Northern Spark 2019 with a theme woven by the Program Council from community responses: We Are Here: Resilience, Renewal & Regeneration. 

It’s been a big year!  And we’re going to keep it up next year. We’ve got a goal to raise $4,000 by Dec. 31 to support our ambitious programming for 2019.

Your tax-deductible donation makes a big difference, helping us to reach more audiences, support more artists and sustain Northern Spark annually.

Everything you need to know about becoming a Sustaining Member is on our Support page. Whether monthly or one-time, your donation helps. You can contribute any time until December 31 to help us meet our goal!

Thanks for seeing us through another great year.

 

–Sarah Peters, Steve Dietz and Teeko Yang
Northern Lights.mn Team

 

 

2018 Project Image credits from the top:

1. Robin Schwartzman, Duck Duck What? At Illuminate South Loop, February 2018. Presented by Northern Lights.mn, City of Bloomington and Artistry. Photo: Dusty Hoskovec

2. Kashimana Ahua with Filsan Ibrahim, Applause Posse along Nicollet at Northern Spark 2018. Photo: Ryan Stopera

3. Players scoop toxic algae into the Pearly Mussel during Aquanesia in Grand Rapids, MN, September 2018. Photo: Northern Lights.mn

4. Illuminate the Lock: Returning the River by Mike Hoyt, Dameun Strange and Molly Van Avery with Ritika Gangly at Upper St. Anthony Lock and Dam. Presented by Northern Lights, Mississippi Park Connection and National Park Service with support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Photo: Dan Marshall

5. Areca Roe, Founder Effect, Art(ists) on the Verge 9, Rochester Art Center, 2018. Photo: Rik Sferra

 

Northern Lights.mn Newsletter – August 10, 2017

Written by

Join us in Jamestown

On August 24, Northern Lights.mn staff will settle in for the 327 mile drive to Jamestown, North Dakota to participate in the culmination a three year collaboration. The new Hansen Arts Park in downtown Jamestown is the result of many years of planning, fundraising and community engagement led by the Jamestown Art Center in consultation with Northern Lights.mn. The new park features landscaping and accessible pathways, artist-made mosaic benches, ample space for events, and the permanent Boulder Pavilion.

ArtSpark will jumpstart the park as a community space with a full, two-day schedule of happenings including musical performances, fire dancers, a fashion show, topiary demonstrations and even a living sculpture competition among others. Two of the Minnesota-based artist projects traveling to Jamestown are reaching out to the community to invite participation through food and fabric:

Emily Stover and Molly Balcom Raleigh are working with local coordinators to invite area residents to share recipes and tell stories of their food heritage in the Dumpling House.

Nickey Robare and Rachel Breen are looking for sewists to work in the re-creation of their pop-up garment factory Behind the Seams to instigate conversation on where and how our clothes are made.

Do you know any tailors or quilters or makers of ravioli, potstickers or momos in the Jamestown area?  Be in touch! Drop a line at info@northern.lights.mn

Preston Drum and Michael Murnane will also be presenting work.

If you go:

Friday, August 25, 4:45 pm – 12 am
Saturday, August 26, 9 am – 12 am
Jamestown Art Center, 115 2nd Street SW, Jamestown, North Dakota

More info on the Facebook event.

Test illuminating the Lock

Light test with Aaron Dysart at Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam. Photo by Joni Van Bockel.

On a night in late July Aaron Dysart and lighting designer Kyle Waites hauled a great deal of technical equipment up the tiny elevator at the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam. They ran incredible lengths of cabling around the Lock’s 400 x 56 ft dimensions, affixed theatrical lighting to railings and slowly lowered a fog machine secured by ropes into the chamber’s 49 ft depth. As the sun set, the fog machine slowly dispersed a haze into chamber. Washes of purple and blue light rotated through this wispy atmosphere. By the time the sky was fully dark, the lock had taken on an otherworldly quality.

Surface is the first of two experimental projection projects taking place this September as part of program called Illuminate the Lock. A goal of these projects is to learn the technical capacities of this unique space and to demonstrate artistic uses for infrastructure no longer used for river navigation. How might artists re-imagine this space? What other stories can be told there?

Save the dates to experience Dysart’s Surface on September 15 & 16 and Andrea Carlson’s The Uncompromising Hand on September 29 & 30.

Illuminate the Lock is presented by Northern Lights.mn, Mississippi Park Connection, the National ParkService with support from St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board and the US Army Corp of Engineers. Dysart’s presentation is also part of Here and There presented by The Soap Factory.

Duck Duck What?

Robin Schwartzman, Duck, Duck, What? concept sketch

Each month between now and February, we will feature one or more of the projects we are presenting January 26 – February 4, 2018 in Bloomington’s South Loop in collaboration with the City of Bloomington and its nonprofit partner Artistry’s creative placemaking efforts.

Did you know that Minnesotans are the only people in the United States who play the childhood game Duck Duck Gray Duck? Apparently, the rest of the world plays Duck Duck Goose. Go figure. In honor of this unique heritage, Robin Schwartzman is giving visitors and residents alike the opportunity to vote on the game they remember playing with an interactive billboard. Who will win Duck Duck What?

Robin Schwartzman, who has a love of wordplay and a wonderfully pop visual sensibility, has created numerous memorable public art projects, including Think and Wonder, Wonder and Think for Northern Spark 2012, Minnesotan Ice for Northern Spark 2016, and numerous mini-golf holes around the country.

Thank you Soap Factory!

After a year of co-working with the staff of  The Soap Factory, we have moved out of their building to make room as they prepare for an exciting renovation!  We extend a huge thank you to the staff and board of the Soap for sharing space with us and making room for the necessary mess of signage, projectors, cabling, gaylords of water bottles, and large meetings that enable Northern Spark and our other programs to happen. We truly appreciate their generosity.

In the meantime, you may see us around town working at coffee shops and libraries. We are looking for a temporary office home — if you have space to share or ideas, let us know! info@northern.lights.mn

And don’t worry, for you AOV fans, Art(ists) on the Verge 9 will be back at the new Soap Factory in May 2018!

Projects we like

Image: African Economic Development Solutions

Little Africa Fest, the annual festival of African art and culture organized by Northern Spark 2017 partner African Economic Development Solutions is coming up! On Saturday, August 19, 2-8 pm, hang out in St. Paul’s Hamline Park for a chill afternoon and evening of African music, dancing, food and artisan vendors.

Art(ists) on the Verge 7 fellow Liza Sylvestre takes a break from her MFA program to put up this multi-media exhibition at SOOVAC.  On view through August 26th.

Internationally acclaimed artist and Northern Spark 2014 participating artist HOTTEA has transformed the Atrium space at the North entrance of Mall of America with his largest yarn installation ever. On view through October 31.

Northern Lights.mn Newsletter – July 13, 2017

Written by

ArtSpark Jamestown

Michael Murnane, Under Ice, Northern Spark 2012, photo by Patrick Kelley

On August 25 and 26th, Northern Lights.mn will be in Jamestown, North Dakota to celebrate the opening of Jamestown Art Center’s new Arts Park, a creative downtown development project that has turned an empty lot into an arts-focused park for the community. We’ve been working with JAC for three years to consult on the commission of permanent elements for the park and to help program its celebratory opening.

A flurry of activities are planned for the 2 day event, including live music, art-making, a pep band, and a living sculpture competition. We are presenting four projects by Minnesota artists that you may have seen at previous Northern Lights events:

Dumpling House by Molly Balcom Raleigh and Emily Stover
Make and eat dumplings inspired by local residents’ beloved family recipes in this temporary, communal kitchen. Presented at Maker Day, 2014.

Traffic Jam Scene by Preston Drum
Climb into a cardboard car and become the driver of your destiny as gridlock becomes a drive-in movie theatre. First presented at Northern Spark 2017.

Behind the Seams by Rachel Breen and Nickey Robare
Learn the environmental and human impacts of the garment industry at pop-up garment factory in the streets of Jamestown. First presented at Northern Spark 2017.

Under Ice by Michael Murnane
The Arts Park’s giant wall is transformed by projected images of ice fishing in a moving piece about Murnane’s trips to the lake with his father. Sound score by Evan Murnane and storytelling by Kevin Kling.  First presented at Northern Spark 2012.

Jamestown, ND is only 327 miles away from the Twin Cities. Set your GPS and meet us there!

Illuminate the Lock

Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, Minneapolis, MN

In the summer of 2015 the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in downtown Minneapolis ceased operations as the head of navigation on the Mississippi River. While boats no longer pass through the lock, this massive piece of river infrastructure is open to the public as a visitor center operated by the National Park Service.

We’ve long been fascinated by the architecture of the Lock, so were eager to join forces with the NPS and Mississippi Park Connection to support artistic experimentation inside its walls.

Illuminate the Lock is a two-weekend series of artist projections inside the Lock chamber.

Aaron Dysart’s Surface takes years of handwritten data recorded by Army Corp of Engineers staff as the basis for a light show. Daily pool heights will translate into shifting colors projected on atmospheric effects created in the lock chamber.  The spectacle will display the 52 year operating history of this iconic Minneapolis space through near daily observations by the people who tended it. September 15-16.

Andrea Carlson’s The Uncompromising Hand engages Spirit Island, a limestone island and Dakota sacred site that was once in the Mississippi River near the current Lock and Dam. A hand–drawn animation based on six photographs of the island at the MN Historical Society’s collection that plot the island’s lengthy dismantling between the 1890s and 1960s will fill one side of the lock’s long wall. Text in Dakota and Ojibwe will accompany the projection.  September 29 – 30.

Illuminate the Lock is presented by Northern Lights.mn, Mississippi Park Connection, the National Park Service with support from St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board and the US Army Corp of Engineers. Dysart’s presentation is also part of Here and There presented by The Soap Factory.

South Loop, Bloomington 2018

Alyssa Baguss, concept design, Vitamin D

We are excited to announce that Northern Lights.mn is working with the City of Bloomington’s Creative Placemaking Commission and its nonprofit partners Artistry to present a number of projects during Super Bowl week at the Bloomington Central Station Park in the South Loop. More details to come about new projects by these and other artists: Alyssa Baguss, Eric William Carroll, Coffee House Press, Daily Tous Les Jours, Ben Moren, Plus/And (Amanda Lovelee and Emily Stover), Robin Schwartzman, Pramila Vasudevan, and Marina Zurkow.

You did it!

Northern Spark 2017

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our call to meet our FY 2017 goals for individual giving. We made it! We support Northern Spark through a combination of grants, sponsorships, ticket sales to the Launch Party, and individual donations.You make Northern Spark happen with your support. Thank you.