More →

Perform with us at Northern Spark 2013! From sundown on June 8th to late into the night, our intrepid Kazoo Band will parade through Lowertown, waving artist-made banners and entertaining the public, all while encouraging them to support Northern Spark with donations. We’ll learn a few pop songs that relate to money and giving, and you do not need to be able to read music to participate.

More →

Some great interviews by Ned Hulrey with Art(ists) On the Verge artists prior to the opening of their exhibition on Saturday, May 4 at The Soap Factory.

Christopher Houltberg

Sarah Julson

Mad King Thomas

Asia Ward

Anthony Warnick

More →

Northern Lights.mn announces the recipients of the 5th round of Art(ists) on the Verge commissions (AOV5). AOV5 is an intensive, mentor-based fellowship program for 5 Minnesota-based, emerging artists or artist groups working experimentally at the intersection of art, technology, and digital culture with a focus on network-based practices that are interactive and/or participatory.

Artists: Katie Hargrave, Alison Hiltner, Aaron Marx, Peter Sowinski, Emily Stover

Congratulations from the jury: Steve Dietz, Artistic Director, Northern Lights.mn; Rudolf Frieling, Curator Media Arts, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Ben Heywood, Executive Director, The Soap Factory; Piotr Szyhalski, Professor Media Arts, Minneapolis College of Art and Design; Yesomi Umolu, Curatorial Fellow, Visual Arts, Walker Art Center.

AOV5 artists will exhibit their work at the Soap Factory, March 2014.

Art(ists) On the Verge is generously supported by the Jerome Foundation.

More →

Art All Night. Community All Year.

Saint Paul, Minn. – March 12, 2013 – Northern Spark announced today the partners that will be participating in the free, dusk-to-dawn, nuit blanche, which will ignite Saint Paul’s Lowertown in an explosion of urban art. The festival will be held on Saturday (into Sunday morning), June 8, 2013 from 9:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. with the main hub at Union Depot, hosting nearly 25 projects. Performances, visual arts, projected images, interactive media, and participatory events will bring together a multitude of artists who create art projects in partnership with numerous arts organizations at multiple venues. The public is invited to join this all-night adventure to see the city in a new light.

“With the reopening of the historic Union Depot, the continuing expansion and development of Lowertown businesses and the ballpark construction underway, the Lowertown district, known for its vibrant arts culture, is only becoming more lively. This unique festival is a wonderful way to showcase our arts community in a distinctive way,” stated Mayor Chris Coleman.

This year the festival expects nearly 72 projects in collaboration with 47 cultural organizations and sponsors.

More →

This is an open call for up to 10 projects in any medium for Northern Spark, June 8, 2013.

Application deadline

Midnight, CST, March 4, 2013

More →

Five finalists have been chosen for the final phase of the Creative City Challenge at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Nominees were selected through public voting which took place on the Minneapolis Convention Center Facebook site.

More →

Northern Lights.mn announces a call for a fifth round of Art(ists) on the Verge commissions (AOV5), which will take place from April 2013 – March 2014.

AOV is an intensive, mentor-based fellowship program for 5 Minnesota-based, emerging artists or artist groups working experimentally at the intersection of art, technology, and digital culture with a focus on network-based practices that are interactive and/or participatory. AOV is generously supported by the Jerome Foundation. Links to past AOV programs and fellows’ work can be found here.

Deadline

Monday, February 11, 2013. Submission form here.

More information here.

More →

Northern Lights.mn announces the recipients of the fourth round of Art(ists) on the Verge commissions (AOV4). AOV4 is an intensive, mentor-based fellowship program for 5 Minnesota-based, emerging artists or artist groups working experimentally at the intersection of art, technology, and digital culture with a focus on network-based practices that are interactive and/or participatory.

Artists: Christopher Houltberg, Sarah Julson, Mad King Thomas, Asia Ward, and Anthony Warnick

More →

Creative City Challenge

Call for Proposals

A New Competition

Vision

Goals

Process

Selection Criteria

Jury

Submission

Public Voting

Questions

More →

Want to check out David Byrne’s Playing the Building installation at Aria at the Jeune Lune? A $50 donation to Northern Lights.mn on Give to the Max Day (you can schedule it now, btw), scores you a free ticket, thanks to our friends at First & First.

More →

For a $50 donation, receive a free ticket to David Byrne's "Playing" the Piano at Aria, in collaboration with First & First.

Northern Lights.mn takes art to the streets….
Northern Lights.mn supports emerging artists….
Northern Lights.mn supports artists who rock our world….
Northern Lights.mn supports new ideas….
Northern Lights.mn supports collaboration….

Your support makes Northern Lights.mn possible….

More →

Just when you thought it was safe to watch TV and open your email now that the U.S. elections are over, many of us will recieve multiple pitches for donations to our favorite Minnesota non-profit for Give to the Max Day, Thursday, November 15.

Including from Northern Lights.mn.

We have had an extraordinary year, and we are looking forward to another year of exciting projects. Over the next few days, I’d like to highlight Northern Light’s commitment to artists, audiences, ideas, and collaboration.

We are three years old and trying to do this with the least infrastructure possible, so that your support will go the furthest possible.

Support Northern Lights.mn this Thursday on Give to the Max Day.

More →

Playing the Building at Aria, Nov. 5 - Dec. 4. Photo: Jake Armour

I saw Beatrix*Jar at the recent opening of Playing the Building at Aria, the old Jeune Lune theater, and I wanted to ask them what they thought about the relationship of circuit bending to playing around with buildings, but we didn’t get the chance to talk. Maybe we would have discussed Gordon Matta-Clark’s building cuts. Usman Haque’s Evoke, “a massive animated projection that lights up the facade of York Minster in response to the public, who use their own voices to “evoke” colourful light patterns that emerge at the building’s foundations and soar up towards the sky, giving the surface a magical feeling as it melts with colour” might have come up, but what’s interesting about Playing the Building is the way it deconstructs the organ and building, stripping them both of harmony and ornament. It’s not really about making music. It’s more about making. And listening. The organ is an amplifier for the solitude of an empty building.

More →

I look at this nearly every day.

I arrived at The Soap Factory’s $99 Sale late in 2011. Most of the work had already been claimed, but it didn’t matter to me. What I had eyes for, only, was Landscape Simulation : Fargo / Former PetSmart, Westgate Shoping Center, Macon, GA, 2011. At least that’s what is written on the back of the drawing. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time.

More →

Installing ReGeneration

Exhibition installation in progress

Installing ReGeneration

Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical Station

Installing ReGeneration

Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical Station

Installing ReGeneration

View from the floor

Installing ReGeneration

Lighting tests

Installing ReGeneration

View from mezzanine of Common Weathers by The Living and SOFTlab

Installing ReGeneration

View from mezanine of Common Weathers by The Living and SOFTlab

Installing ReGeneration

Ben Garthus talking to NYSCI “Explainers” about Biomodd [NYC4]

Installing ReGeneration

Zach Lieberman installing Face by Face

Installing ReGeneration

Zach Lieberman installing Face by Face

Installing ReGeneration

Shih Chieh Huang, 99plus

Installing ReGeneration

Shih Chieh Huang

Installing ReGeneration

Shih Chieh Huang, 99plus

Installing ReGeneration

View from mezzanine of Common Weathers by The Living and SOFTlab

Installing ReGeneration

View from mezzanine of Common Weathers by The Living and SOFTlab

Installing ReGeneration

Amanda Parkes and Michael Cosaboom with Nick Yulmnan’s New York Immigration Son

Installing ReGeneration

Nick Yulman, New York Immigration Song

Installing ReGeneration

Nick Yulman, New York Immigration Song

Installing ReGeneration

Nick Yulman, New York Immigration Song

Installing ReGeneration

Nick Yulman, New York Immigration Song

Installing ReGeneration

Biomodd [NYC4]

Installing ReGeneration

Biomodd [NYC4]

Installing ReGeneration

Ricardo Miranda Zúñiga, A Geography of Being : Una Geografia de Ser

Installing ReGeneration

Ricardo Miranda Zúñiga, A Geography of Being : Una Geografia de Ser

Installing ReGeneration

Ricardo Miranda Zúñiga, A Geography of Being : Una Geografia de Ser

Installing ReGeneration

Scott Kildall with Michael Cosaboom and Amanda Parkes

Installing ReGeneration

Installing ReGeneration

Scott Kiildall, 2049

Installing ReGeneration

Scott Kildall, 2049

Installing ReGeneration

Scott Kildall, 2049

Installing ReGeneration

Carl Skelton, Tomorrow 2.0

ReGeneration opens tonight at the New York Hall of Science! Almost there. It’s looking great.

Biomodd, Biomodd [NYC4]; Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical Station; Shih Chieh Huang, 99plus; Marisa Jahn and Stephanie Rothenberg, World’s Fair 2.0; Scott Kildall, 2049; Zach Lieberman, Face By Face;  Carl Skelton, Tomorrow 2.0; The Living and SOFTlab, Common Weathers; Nick Yulman, New York Immigration Song; Ricardo Miranda Zúñiga, A Geography of Being : Una Geographia de Ser

More →

BIOMODD, Biomodd [nyc4]

Night shot of NYSCI with the Biomodd window garden in full development and the first LED grow light installed. Photo: Angelo Verneulen

BIOMODD, Biomodd [nyc4]

Ultrasonic humidifier as ‘caretaking robot’ in the window garden. Controlled by the game running on Biomodd’s network. Photo: Angelo Vermeulen

Installing ReGeneration

Looking toward Scott Kildall, 2049. Photo: Michael Cosaboom

Installing ReGeneration

Looking toward Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical New York. Photo: Michael Cosaboom

Installing ReGeneration

Looking toward Shih Chieh Huang, 99plus (at top). Photo: Michael Cosaboom

Installing ReGeneration

The Living and SOFTlab, Common Weathers

Installing ReGeneration

Carl Skelton, Tomorrow 2.0. Photo: Amanda Parkes

More →

Marisa Jahn and Stephanie Rothenberg, World’s Fair 2.0

ReGeneration opens October 27 at the New York Hall of Science

Marisa Jahn and Stephanie Rothenberg, World’s Fair 2.0

ReGeneration opens October 27 at the New York Hall of Science

More →

How would you remake your City?

Be a part of the revitalization of the beautiful convention center plaza as it is transformed into an activity center and gateway to Minneapolis. 

The Minneapolis Convention Center and the Mayor of Minneapolis are pleased to announce a new Creative City Challenge to create and install a temporary, interactive, site-specific, eco-focused “portal” to the City of Minneapolis on the Plaza of the Minneapolis Convention Center beginning summer 2013.  This challenge is intended to encourage exciting proposals and thoughtful discussion about how to make our downtown more vital, dynamic, livable, walkable and environmentally friendly.

More →

Shih Chieh Huang, 99plus

Installation view, SOFTlab and The Living, Common Weathers

Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical New York

Installing Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical New York

Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical New York

Installing view

ReGeneration

Shih Chieh Huang, 99plus

Ricardo Miranda Zúñiga and Amanda Parkes

Shih Chieh Huang, 99plus

Installing Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical New York

“Rolodex”

Installation view, SOFTlab and The Living, Common Weathers

Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical New York

Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical New York

Installation view, ReGeneration

Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical New York

Futurefarmers, Ethnobotanical New York

Ethnobotanical New York

Plant press doubles as seating

Today we continued to install ReGeneration at the New York Hall of Science. Everyone is thrilled with SOFTlab’s and The Living’s “cloud” design for the exhibition called Common Weathers. There are still some issues to resolve, but it provides a beautiful focus for the work in a pretty chaotic installation venue.

biomodd [nyc4]‘s installation of BIOMODD has been going like gangbusters for a couple of weeks already. It’s a dynamic installation that builds a community as it is built.

Futurefarmers have built a remarkable mobile research station, Ethnobotanical New York, out of the commonest of materials, and it is stunning. It also rewards investigation, from the seats that double as plant presses to the “rolodex” of images to the provocative library.

Shih Chieh Huang installed 99plus. At first we wondered about it being “hidden” in its funnel cloud, but there are some great views from around the exhibition floor, and having to work for these views adds to a certain mystery of peering into the ocean depths.

We also reviewed Ricardo Miranda Zúñiga’s delightful video game, which is at the heart of A Geography of Being: Una Geografia de ser, which he will begin installing on Friday. The wooden robots are awesome!

Tomorrow we install Scott Kildall’s 2049.

More →

“On October 24, Richard Flood will moderate a roundtable discussion considering the future of the international “nuit blanche” phenomenon. The organizers of Nuit Blanche New York, Ethan Vogt and Ken Farmer, will be joined by Shauna McCabe (Curator, ScotiaBank Nuit Blanche Toronto), Steve Dietz (President and Artistic Director, Northern Lights.mn and the Northern Spark festival), and Council Member Stephen Levin to explore critical responses to, challenges, and opportunities for the “nuit blanche” model, and visions for its continued evolution. Informed by this global context, panelists will propose strategies for sustaining an annual “nuit blanche” tradition on the New York waterfront, rooted in the extraordinary potential of the city’s public spaces and creative communities.”

More information: New Museum

More →

Northern Lights.mn and New York Hall of Science Present ReGeneration

Ten artists present their interpretations of cultural sustainability

October 27, 2012 – January 13, 2013

 ReGeneration, a new exhibition exploring the relationship between sustainability and cultural vitality, opens October 27 at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI).

The exhibition includes interactive works by 10 artists that inspire visitors to think about the notion of cultural sustainability through collaborative engagement and futuristic visions built upon the history and traditions of New York’s diverse neighborhoods.

Despite the near ubiquity of the term “sustainability,” there remains significant ambiguity about everything from the actual meaning of the term to overarching solutions to the challenges we face as a community. Technology and behavioral changes including energy production, agriculture, recycling and pollution reduction are all on the table as we work to understand and address the challenge of sustainability.

More →

Tell us about YOUR Northern Spark

Take part in our online survey

More →

Sarah Brumble • Deboarah Carver • Marianne Combs • Lightsey Darst • Zac Farber • Jay Gabler • Tom Horgen and Mary Abbe • Stephanie Kwong • Andy Lien • Jahna Peloquin • Sheila Regan • Joel Schettler • Brittany Trevick • Joel Zimmerman

More →

Northern Spark channel

Northern Spark’s channel on video with more than 20 videos of your favoriate venues and projects. Add new links in the comments section.

More →