Our Final Program

Save the date for our last program ever. 😢

Saturday, June 10, 2023
9pm – 1am
Upper Landing Park 
Downtown St. Paul

Join us for a final farewell.

Gather with friends and strangers for a night by the river. Wander through installation projects by Bayou Bay and Dameun Strange with Sayge Carroll and Matsoshi Matsafu. Linger at the Northern Spark Memory Station and contribute your remembrances from long nights of art in the city.

In contrast to the energetic flurry of past Northern Spark festivals, this final event invites you to slow down and spend a quiet evening of collective listening and remembering. Bring a blanket, lay supine and listen. From sunset to late night, we’ll reflect, rest, wander, and send wishes to the water.

Want to volunteer? Whether you lent a hand once or every year, we’ll need help one last time. Let us know here.

This final program is made possible by grants from Capitol Region Watershed District and St. Paul’s Cultural Star program.

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We’re having a sale!

We’ve collected a lot of stuff over the years. You can help us clean out our storage unit and become the proud owner of Northern Spark memorabilia during our upcoming merch sale. These items will only be available for a short time, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

All proceeds support our final program on June 10th.

Northern Spark Merch Sale
April 17 – May 15
On our Etsy store

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Remember when…?

Remember when we took over the sprawling grounds of the Union Depot in St. Paul and tucked art projects and installations into every nook and cranny?

Northern Spark 2013 was truly a site-specific event – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to locate art projects in and around a train station.

• Roger Nieboer and lesser mortals transformed the Amtrak ticket counter into an existential travel agency
• Revolver held a high-stakes writing duel via typewriters directly on the railroad tracks
• Center for Hmong Art and Talent turned the train platform into a runway for a version of the beloved Fresh Traditions fashion show
• Ananya Dance Theater honored the water in an installation and dance-procession to the river in the rainy dawn

These are four of the 76 projects in Lowertown that year.

How did it happen?
Northern Lights.mn staff had become familiar with the Depot building and grounds while working on a commission of two semi-permanent artworks in 2012. Walking around the glorious building we imagined the ways our vibrant arts community could animate the historic site, at a moment when it had been fully renovated but was not yet operational. This tiny slice of time allowed us to use spaces such as the train tracks and the Amtrak ticket counter.

Years of working relationships with the Ramsey Regional Rail Authority, Depot building managers JLL, and St. Paul city government were key to the success of Northern Spark 2013. In fact, our 15 years of experimental public projects have only been possible because of civic and private institutions’ willingness to embrace uncommon artistic practice. We are ever grateful!

Take a trip down memory lane (or track?) in the Northern Spark 2013 Flickr albums.

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Support the arts in a phone call

The CREATE Jobs bill was introduced last week in the legislature, and if passed, would fund $190 million in grants to help approximately 1,500 live entertainment venues and arts, cultural, historical, and humanities organizations across Minnesota. The arts sector needs everyone’s help to get it passed! Call your Minnesota electeds and tell them to support HF 2844 (House version) and SF 2867 (Senate version). Arts jobs are real jobs!

Find more information on this hand out created by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts or on the MCA website.