Northern Spark 2019 Apprentices

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Since 2011, the Northern Spark festival has created a spirit of adventure and belonging, with the help of hundreds of artists and community partners. The goal of the Festival 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 of how a large public event comes to be, as part of a dynamic team that works together to produce this beloved event. 

For 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 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.

Festival Production Apprentice: This person will be working alongside the Northern Spark Producer to support the production of the overall festival. Read the full job description here. Download description here. Application DEADLINE: Monday, February 1st, 2019

 

The deadline for the positions below has passed.

Outreach and Projects Festival Apprentice: This person will be working alongside the Program Council and Projects Manager with planning and executing neighborhood outreach and managing project deliverables and timelines.
Read the full job description here.  Download description here.

Communications Festival Apprentice: This person will be working alongside the Co-Director/Director of Public Engagement to learn the ins and out of public communications about Northern Spark, including social media, e-newsletters, press releases, and printed content.  Read the full job description here.
Download description here.

Curatorial Content Festival Apprentice: This person will be working alongside the Co-Director/Artistic Director on all aspects of artist interface, including Northern Spark public-facing platforms. Read the full job description here. Download description here.

Download all the apprentice positions here.

A Northern Lights year in review

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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 Spark 2019 Open Call for Artists

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Northern Spark 2019 Open Call for Artists

The application deadline has passed.

Monday, January 14th, 2019 at 11:59 pm CST

Download the call here.

Find all submission forms here. 

Table of Content

SUMMARY
THEME
ELIGIBILITY
SUBMISSION FORM
ARTIST WORKSHOPS
TYPES OF PROJECTS
LOCATIONS
KEY CRITERIA
BUDGET
APPLICATION MATERIALS
SELECTION PROCESS AND TIME
NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT
FAQs

SUMMARY

Northern Spark 2019 is taking place on Friday, June 14th and Saturday, June 15th from 9pm-2am each night.
This is an open call for artist projects for Northern Spark 2019 with the theme We Are Here: Resilience, Renewal & Regeneration. The festival is taking place in Rondo (Hallie Q. Brown Community Center- indoor and outdoor areas), American Indian Cultural Corridor (along Franklin Ave between American Indian Center and All My Relations Gallery) and Downtown East Minneapolis (The Commons). Projects will be presented near the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, the Franklin Ave corridor near All My Relations Gallery, and the Commons Park by the US Bank Stadium.

This call is for projects in the form of participatory installations, stage performances and video screenings.

THEME

We are Here: Resilience, Renewal & Regeneration

“You are here”. We encounter these words on maps all over the world, maybe with an arrow and a dot. They are often found on a kiosk in the middle of a mall or the edge of a park. We find them in both crowded and silent, ubiquitous places where the environment begs for orientation.

What if we change these words to “we are here”? What happens when we decide where we are on the map? When we draw the map? The singular becomes plural, and our identity multiplies.

Claiming space is one of the most powerful actions anyone can take. One can claim space through the art of images, movement, language, music or other creative expressions. 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.

This year Northern Spark celebrates just a few of the neighborhoods in our city that are home to people, cultures, and livelihoods that have stayed resilient in the face of erasure, genocide, and fractures between nature and each other. These beloved communities continue to rise as they renew and regenerate themselves.

Northern Spark has always been about transforming the city, at least temporarily, into a different kind of place. One where creativity and community take over to inspire and disrupt the status quo in the name of voice. In the name of agency. In the name of claiming space…and power.

This year we invite you to raise your voice, to claim your space, and draw your own maps. Tell your stories of resilience, renewal, and regeneration.

Resilience: We bend but don’t break.
Renewal: We survive. We thrive.
Regeneration: We nurture our roots and acknowledge our power within.

What does “we are here” mean to you?

The theme was created by the Program Council. Learn more about how it came together  here.

ELIGIBILITY

This is a call for individual artists, artist collectives, and creative community organizers who are from or connected to cultural communities reflected in Rondo, American Indian Cultural Corridor, and Downtown East Minneapolis neighborhoods.

Anyone is eligible as long as the above conditions apply, with an understanding that the jury will prioritize proposals by applicants who have historically been marginalized.

Applicants living anywhere are eligible to participate, but there is no additional funding available for shipping or travel. Non-profit organizations or companies are not eligible to apply.

Click here for Neighborhood context.

Applicants will be asked to define their cultural connection to the neighborhood where they propose to present their project.  Some examples of cultural connections:

  • As an indigenous person, this is my homeland and the theme of We Are Here is very important to me and my work.
  • My African-American grandmother grew up in Rondo; this neighborhood is where I see my cultural heritage reflected.
  • I don’t live along Franklin Avenue, but the Indigenous-owned businesses and organizations reflect my people.
  • Frogtown, my neighborhood, overlaps with Rondo and this is where I see/feel my Hmong identity and heritage expressed.
  • I grew up going to Hmong New Year at the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis but it’s not there anymore.
  • This neighborhood is where I see and hear my native language being regenerated.
  • I walk through The Commons every day on my commute to work downtown. It is a place where I see people like me.
  • I am Karen, and Rondo is my new home.

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.

Who is a Creative Community Organizer?
A creative community organizer is a community member whose 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.

SUBMISSION FORM

The link to our online submission form will be posted here, as well as on our Opportunities page, soon.

If you are planning on submitting a proposal and would like to receive relevant open call updates, please e-mail submissions@northern.lights.mn.

We also encourage artists to sign up for our newsletter to get the best idea about the kind of work that we program.

ARTIST WORKSHOPS

The workshop series Make it Happen! has past.   

Please join us for an Info Session about the Northern Spark 2019 Open Call on Thursday, January 3rd, from 6:30 – 8 pm at the Rondo Community Library. More details are on the Facebook event.

TYPES OF PROJECTS

We are seeking proposals for multiple kinds of artist projects: participatory installations, videos, and stage performances, which amplify and interpret the festival theme.

Participatory Installation – These are artist projects in any media or form that engage festival-goers in some way.  Some examples from the past include:

  • Performance installation — just breathe. Ananya Dance Theater performed movements inside a plexiglass box as it filled with theatrical fog. Soundscape by tony the scribe. After each set, the audience was invited to write suggestions for clean air in communities of color. Photos here. 
  • Hands-on-artmaking installation — A Buffalo Nation: Creating Community. Festival-goers painted and folded paper buffalo skulls while in conversation about the common and ongoing threats to our environment and cultures. Photos here.
  • Conversational installation — Empathy Economy, Northern Spark 2018. Participants filled out a hand-printed withdrawal slip and presented their request for empathy to the banker to be given a letterpress printed “currency” in exchange. Photos here.
  • Video or other Projection installation — Against the Grain, Northern Spark 2019.  A 9 hour, large-scale, site-specific video projection on the side of the Mill City Grain Silos. Can be a projection of video or light in some way.
  • Sculptural installation — Through the Glass Eyes, lit-up sculpture with episodic performance elements throughout the nights of the festival.

Locations: The Commons, American Indian Cultural Corridor, Hallie Q. Brown Community Center 

Participatory installations must run all hours of the festival on both nights.  For more examples of previous installations, visit northernspark.org. 

Video Screening -Video works with a 5 to 15 minute runtime. 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.

Screenings sites are yet to be determined but will very likely be indoors, on a single screen, with amplified sound.

Applications and work samples are due Monday, January 14th at 11:59pm, if selected, final video works are due Tuesday, April 16th. 

Locations: The Commons, American Indian Cultural Corridor, Hallie Q. Brown Community Center

Performance Stage – 20 minute slot on a stage with basic sound equipment. 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.

The festival will provide: a stage roughly 8 ft x 16 ft and 2 handheld microphones. Audio playback available. Sound reinforcement available (PA system) for acoustic instruments, vocals, and/or DJ equipment. 

Locations: American Indian Cultural Corridor, Hallie Q. Brown Community Center 

LOCATIONS

All projects will be presented in public spaces in the following neighborhoods: Rondo (Hallie Q. Brown Community Center–indoor and outdoor areas), American Indian Cultural Corridor (along Franklin Ave between American Indian Center and All My Relations Gallery) and Downtown East Minneapolis (The Commons).

Artists will be asked to choose a neighborhood for your proposed project, including a description of your cultural connection to that place. Learn more about the neighborhoods here. 

You do not have to live in the neighborhood to propose a project. Your proposal does not have to include a specific site within the neighborhood but should describe the type of site that would be ideal for your project (ex. performed in an alley, installed in a green space, projected onto a light-colored building exterior). Furthermore, we encourage you to propose projects that take full advantage of the city’s idiosyncratic nooks, crannies, and surfaces. If you have a question about sites, email submissions@northern.lights.mn.

We will also have more info about specific sites available at our Artist Info Sessions.

KEY CRITERIA

Every project proposal must relate to the festival theme of We Are Here: Resilience, Renewal & Regeneration. Projects will be evaluated according to these primary criteria:

  • Theme. How does your project relate?
  • Cultural Connection. What is your connection with the proposed neighborhood–its people, place, and history? How is this meaningful to you?
  • Artistic quality. 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 commitment to creativity. Projects that intend to sell art or products are not eligible.

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

Other considerations

  • Sustainability. We encourage artists to consider their carbon footprint and potential waste while conceiving of, creating and implementing their project.
  • Participatory. How will people interact with your project? Participatory elements can range from a hands-on making to sing-a-long to interactive data visualization.
  • Duration. One of the distinctive aspects of Northern Spark is its 5-hour duration each night (two nights). Does your project fill this time? How?
  • Nighttime. How will your project operate at night? How will people see your work?  
  • Crowded. Tens of thousands of people attend Northern Spark. There will be large crowds to appreciate it. How does your proposal account for this?
  • Accessible. Northern Spark welcomes a broad audience with a range of arts knowledge from novice to seasoned practitioner. How does your proposal account for this?
  • Feasibility. Northern Spark is two nights. Installation generally takes place on Friday and deinstallation Sunday morning. Describe how your project is feasible to set up and take down within this time and how it will be protected in the off hours.  
  • Sound. City ordinances prohibit amplified sound in outdoor space after 10 pm.
  • Legal. Projects must meet all necessary city laws, ordinances, and codes. Festival staff will help with these questions after projects are selected.
  • Safety. The festival provides security, but please consider the safety of your audience, yourself and the artwork itself.

Northern Lights.mn will assist and facilitate permitting, electricity, permissions, etc, but artists are responsible for the creation, production and execution of their project.

BUDGET

Selected projects will be funded at these levels. Please be sure that your proposed cost is well justified by your budget.

  • Participatory installation: $5,000
  • Stage performance (20 min slot): $200
  • Video screening (5-15 min video): $100

Budgets should include everything necessary to present the project from construction to installation/deinstallation and artist fees. Stage performances and screenings do NOT need to include stage, costs, sound or projection equipment.  

For installations, Northern Lights.mn will provide electricity and standard permitting, although some elements such as fire and food may have additional permitting costs, which will come out of your project budget.

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.
  • Venue/Neighborhood Explain your cultural connection to the selected neighborhood.
  • Theme Describe how your project fits the theme.
  • Project (no more than 2 pages) Project title, project description, proposal concept, visuals, technical materials, relevance and feasibility (see Key Criteria, above). We encourage you to be as specific as possible about what site, or type of site, you would like to use. The proposal must explain the connection to the theme- We Are Here: Resilience, Renewal & Regeneration, and your neighborhood cultural connection.
  • Artist bios and work samples of past, preferably-related work, with identifying information and/or brief descriptions. (Use format indicated on the submissions site.)
  • A budget that fits within the parameters of the open call and/or clearly identifies and confirms additional resources (max 1 page, pdf)

SELECTION PROCESS AND TIME

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

General Timeline:

  • November 15: Open Calls Announced
  • December 1st: Make it Happen! Crafting a Pitch
  • December 11th: Make it Happen! Project Realization
  • January 14th at 11:59 PM CST: Application Deadline
  • Early February: Artists notified
  • February 26: Festival Artist Introductory Meeting, 7-8:30 pm (Mandatory)
  • March: Site visits and final project descriptions due
  • April: Production
  • May: Project Testing
  • June 14th (morning and afternoon): installation and set up
  • June 14th (9pm-2am): Northern Spark 2019
  • June 15th (9pm-2am): Northern Spark 2019
  • June 16th (morning): Projects dismantled and removed from site by 9am

WHAT IS NORTHERN SPARK?

Northern Spark is a late-night participatory arts festival that lights up the Twin Cities. During Northern Spark, tens of thousands of people gather throughout the city to explore giant video projections, play in temporary installations in the streets, and enjoy experimental performances in green spaces and under bridges. From dusk to 2am on two nights, the city surprises you: friendly crowds, glowing groups of cyclists, an unexpected path through the urban landscape that leads to a night of amazing art experiences.

More information about Northern Spark:

NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT

Read more here.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What technical specifications do you want to see included in my proposal?
We want to see descriptions of equipment you’ll use, dimensions of sets or objects, placement diagrams, any special structures or features that would be needed, etc. Basically, anything that will help us get a sense of how your project would physically fit into the landscape of the festival, and what the major physical components are.

My project will only last one hour, and it will not be repeated. Can I still submit a proposal?
Participatory installations must run during all hours of the festival. If you have a shorter performance, please apply in the category of stage performance.

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 projects must be submitted through the open call submissions form by the January 14th deadline so they can be sent to the jury. Each project is juried through the same process, regardless of its funding needs.  

Is there a set number of projects that will be accepted?
No, there is not a set number of projects that will be accepted, however, this call is competitive and we are working with limited resources.

I live in a country that is not the United States, so my phone number doesn’t fit into the submission form correctly.
No problem. Email submissions@northern.lights.mn.

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.

 

To submit your proposal for Northern Spark 2019, find all submission forms here. 

Northern Spark 2019 Neighborhoods

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Northern Spark is a mobile arts festival that works within, alongside, and for communities. This year, we’re honored to celebrate and investigate the matters of our time with organizations and people from the communities that have welcomed us in. Northern Spark 2019 will be located in Rondo, and American Indian Cultural Corridor, in addition to Downtown East Minneapolis.

Rondo

Rondo is a historically black community in St. Paul that was split in two by a highway in the 1950s. Hundreds of homeowners and small business owners were displaced without equitable compensation, and the community has been impacted ever since. The role of the artist will be to acknowledge the history of Rondo while communicating their vision for the future. Despite the community’s historical impact and geographical restructuring, the spirit of Rondo remains and is embodied in a variety of ways celebrating its African American heritage and new residents.

The site of Northern Spark programming will occur at Hallie Q. Brown Community Center’s indoor and outdoor spaces.

The partners working together to program activities and select artists for Northern Spark in Rondo are: Northern Lights.mn, Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, Visions Merging, Model Cities, and Aurora Saint Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation.

American Indian Cultural Corridor

Through the federal relocation period of the 1950’s and 60’s where the federal government encouraged thousands of American Indian people to leave their reservations and move to cities, Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis became an important gathering place for Indian people. To this day, AICC is the densest concentration of urban American Indian people in the country and features shops, restaurants, galleries, and Tribal offices.

This important history has led to many “firsts” including the development of the first urban American Indian health clinic, the first American Indian preference housing project, and the location of one of the oldest American Indian Centers in the country. In addition, Franklin Avenue is the birthplace of the American Indian Movement, a national protest movement founded in the 1970’s for American Indian civil rights.

The site of Northern Spark programming will occur along Franklin Ave between Minneapolis American Indian Center and All My Relations Gallery.

The partners working together to program activities and select artists for Northern Spark in AICC are: Native American Community Development Institute

Downtown East, Minneapolis

Downtown East is the Mill District, which contains a number of former industrial properties left over from the days when Minneapolis was the flour milling capital of the world.

The site of Northern Spark programming will occur at The Commons, a 4.2-acre public green space in downtown Minneapolis. Spanning two city blocks, the park is an active space for the public to relax and play. The Commons offers a robust lineup of free public programming including a weekly farmers market, music performances, film screenings, poetry readings, fitness classes, and children’s activities. It is also often a venue for large special events including Northern Spark in 2017 & 2018 and the X Games music concerts in July 2017. The Commons is also the site host for the Creative City Challenge.

Download the Northern Spark 2019 Call for Artists here.

To submit a proposal for Northern Spark 2019, find all submission forms here. 

Northern Spark 2019 Theme

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Northern Spark 2019 Theme

 

We are Here: Resilience, Renewal & Regeneration

“You are here”. We encounter these words on maps all over the world, maybe with an arrow and a dot. They are often found on a kiosk in the middle of a mall or the edge of a park. We find them in both crowded and silent, ubiquitous places where the environment begs for orientation.

What if we change these words to “we are here”? What happens when we decide where we are on the map? When we draw the map? The singular becomes plural, and our identity multiplies.

Claiming space is one of the most powerful actions anyone can take. One can claim space through the art of images, movement, language, music or other creative expressions. 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.

This year Northern Spark celebrates just a few of the neighborhoods in our city that are home to people, cultures, and livelihoods that have stayed resilient in the face of erasure, genocide, and fractures between nature and each other. These beloved communities continue to rise as they renew and regenerate themselves.

Northern Spark has always been about transforming the city, at least temporarily, into a different kind of place. One where creativity and community take over to inspire and disrupt the status quo in the name of voice. In the name of agency. In the name of claiming space…and power.

This year we invite you to raise your voice, to claim your space, and draw your own maps. Tell your stories of resilience, renewal, and regeneration.

Resilience: We bend but don’t break.
Renewal: We survive. We thrive.
Regeneration: We nurture our roots and acknowledge our power within.

What does “we are here” mean to you?

 

We Are Here: Resilience, Renewal & Regeneration was generated through responses from community members in the places where Northern Spark 2019 is taking place – Rondo (Hallie Q. Brown Community Center–indoor and outdoor areas), American Indian Cultural Corridor (along Franklin Ave between American Indian Center and All My Relations Gallery) and Downtown East Minneapolis (The Commons).

Every year, Northern Spark creates a theme to push artists’ creativity around cultural and societal issues. In the past, we’ve invited artists to work under the monikers of Projecting the City, Climate Chaos, Commonality, etc., and their interpretations of the themes have produced work such as just breathe, E/x MN, and Through the Glass Eyes. The beautiful productions of these temporary installations exude the contemporary issues of our time.

This year, Northern Lights, along with the Program Council determined new ways of forming the theme for the festival by involving community input. We outreached and engaged with community members during neighborhood activities and events with Hallie Q. Brown Community Center and Native American Community Development Institute to ask people what challenges or celebrations their communities face every day. We received answers from gentrification to a birthday party, health disparity, and food justice. These responses were reviewed and molded by the Program Council into the overarching theme, We Are Here. The subthemes Resilience, Renewal & Regeneration were formed to contextualize the theme, inspire artists, and speak to the common qualities of communities who live, work and identify with this year’s festival locations.

Download the Northern Spark 2019 Call for Artists here.

To submit a proposal for Northern Spark 2019, find all submission forms here.

Northern Lights.mn Newsletter – August 10, 2017

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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.

Creative City Challenge 2018 Call for Proposals

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Creative City Challenge Seeks Creative Proposals for 2018 at The Commons for Second Year

Sixth annual competition for Minnesota artists, architects and designers open until November 17, 2017

The annual City of Minneapolis Creative City Challenge competition will be sited at The Commons, the new 4.2 acre public green space and an anchor in the Downtown East area transformation for the second year. The Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Program of the City of Minneapolis in collaboration with The Commons and Northern Lights.mn and the Northern Spark festival, announce the sixth annual Creative City Challenge based on the theme of commonality.

Entries are being accepted now through November 17, 2017

The Creative City Challenge is conceived as a showcase for local creative talent: Minnesota-resident architects, landscape architects, urban designers, planners, engineers, scientists, artists, students and individuals of all backgrounds to create and install a temporary, destination artwork, which acts as a sociable and participatory platform for 4 months. Three finalists will receive $2,500 to create full proposals. The winning Creative City Challenge proposal will receive a $50,000 commission to execute the project.

THEME: Commonality

In 2018, the Creative City Challenge takes its cue from the site of installation: The Commons. What is a 21st century commons? What do we share when we gather together in outdoor, physical space? Is it possible to share common ideals and goals while acknowledging significant differences in heritage, lifestyle, income and interest?  What do we have in common in a city with significant racial disparities in employment, education and other markers of well-being? Is “common humanity” a hollow phrase or something worth fighting for? Is commonality uncommon? Can there ever be common ground on land that was colonized? What does Downtown Minneapolis have in common with other parts of the city? The suburbs? Saint Paul? Greater Minnesota? What are dreams for the future that we can have in common?

We invite you, the creative sector, to explore through installation and programming how creative placemaking can help invigorate The Commons as a site of commonality. We are particularly interested in proposals that use the space of The Commons to encourage engagement, both individually and as a community.

ELIGIBILITY

The Creative City Challenge is open to any artist living in Minnesota. For teams, the lead artist and at least 50% of the team must live in Minnesota.

SUBMISSIONS

Entries are accepted until 11:59 p.m. CST, Friday, November 17, 2017 (see entrant information below). A committee of stakeholders will select three finalists by November 21. Each finalist will receive a fee of $2,500 to prepare a final proposal. A separate jury will select the winner based on in-person presentations by the finalists on or around February 6. The commission fee for the selected project is $50,000.

Click here to submit your proposal.

The winning Creative City Challenge project will be unveiled and featured at the opening of Northern Spark, an annual dusk-to-dawn festival with tens of thousands of participants, taking place in Minneapolis on June 16, 2018, and will remain in The Commons through October 15.

INFO SESSION

An optional informational session will be conducted on Tuesday, October 17, at 6:00pm at 147 Holden St N, Minneapolis, MN 55405. Enter through the back door. If you would like to get one-on-one feedback about your proposal, please email creativecitychallenge@northern.lights.mn to schedule a 15-minute session between 4pm and 6pm or after the info session on October 17, or 5pm-7pm on November 8.

If you were unable to attend the info session, you may access a PDF version of the presentation here: CCC_2018_Info_Session_Slides

KEY CRITERIA

The Creative City Challenge challenges applicants to create an installation that explores the idea of commonality for Minneapolis, its residents and visitors.

The Commons is actively used by the general public as a place for respite and activity, as well as a location for large special events, such as Northern Spark on June 16, when the Creative City Challenge will be launched, and the X Games July 19-22. The Commons also hosts a range of other events including community gatherings, company picnics, weddings, and events related to U.S. Bank Stadium.

  • Commonality. How does your project relate to ideas of commonality?
  • Sustainability. What materials will you use to create your project? Are they recyclable and or non-toxic? Do you use renewable energy sources? We encourage artists to consider their carbon footprint and potential waste while conceiving of, creating and implementing their project.
  • Artistic quality. The proposed work must be an original piece by the artist in any medium or multidisciplinary. It can be serious or funny, spectacular or intimate, or any combination thereof. Works that are commercialized or are intended to sell a product will be not be considered.
  • Participatory. How will people interact with your project? Participation can be passive such as following dancers moving through space or participatory data visualization.
  • Nighttime. How will your project operate at night? How will people see your work?
  • Safety. This piece will remain in place for 7 weeks, during the opening festival and other large events. Please consider the safety of yourself, your audience and the artwork.
  • Crowded. Thousands of people attend Northern Spark in 8+ hours, and X Games and U.S. Bank Stadium events draw huge crowds as well. Depending on the location of your project, there will likely be very large crowds to appreciate it. How does your proposal account for this?
  • Accessible. Is this project ADA compliant? As a work of public art, there will be a broad audience experiencing your project who have a range of arts knowledge from novice to seasoned practitioner. At Northern Spark the audience moves from project to project frequently. How will your project be understood by the casual observer?
  • Feasibility. Your project must be feasible to run over the course of 4 months, and installation and de-installation on The Commons must be efficient. Describe how your project is feasible to set up and take down within a reasonable timeframe.
  • Sound. City ordinances prohibit most amplified sound in outdoor spaces after 10 pm.
  • Legal. Projects must meet all necessary city laws, ordinances, and codes. Extensive research about city codes is not necessary for the application. Staff will help with these questions after projects are selected.
  • Durability. The piece must be durable, able to withstand wind, rain, sun, and active animal and human engagement.  The Project must be easily maintained and able to endure the whole 2 month term. You must include a thorough maintenance plan and adequate maintenance budget, for stakeholder approval.

We will assist and facilitate permitting, electricity, permissions, and other aspects of the project, but artists are responsible for the creation, production, execution and maintenance of their project, including all necessary permitting, and restoration of the site afterward.

THE SITE

The Commons is Minneapolis’ newest 4.2 acre public green space. Proposals for the Creative City Challenge should be sited in the western block, outlined in blue above.

  • Site 1 – Part of granite “mitten”, Area 1 on attached map. Available site size approx. 40’ x 40’. We strongly encourage that at least the majority of the installation should be sited in this area.
  • Site 2 – Ellipse lawn, close to the corner of 4th Street and Portland Avenue. Area 2 on attached map. Lawn size 92’ x 60’, 4,192 sf. Available site size approx. 75’ x 45’. Note: All site conditions, including the lawn must returned to the original state, and the grass is a special variety, which is expensive to replace.

Other requirements of the site:

  • No footings allowed
  • No penetrations of granite gravel and/or porous paved surfaces; any penetration of the lawn must be minimal and completely repaired
  • Able to withstand any weather
  • Fully engineered for climbing, wind loads, etc.
  • Able to be cleaned with hose
  • No obstruction to any pedestrian passage
  • Awareness of nearby residents and their sightlines, park use and noise restrictions
  • No directional or overly bright illumination
  • Sound – must be at ambient levels, silent from 10 pm to 7 am, and able to be “turned off” for special events
  • Able to withstand daily water spray from irrigation system.
  • Available power – Dedicated 20 amp circuit power outlet located +/- 30’ away. Line to be cable ramped for installation term.

Budget

The commission for the Creative City Challenge is $50,000. A design fee of $2,500 will be provided to the finalists. Budgets should include everything necessary to present the project from construction to permits to installation/deinstallation to artist fees.

Past Creative City Challenge Winners

Information about 2017’s winning project ORBACLES can be found here and 2016’s winning project Wolf and Moose here. The Creative City Challenge was developed as a project of the Minneapolis Convention Center in 2013, its inaugural year, the Creative City Challenge selected the Minneapolis Interactive Macro Mood Installation (MIMMI) as the winner, Balancing Ground in 2014 and mini_polis in 2015.

APPLICATION MATERIALS

Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m. Central time on Friday, November 17, 2017. Click here to submit your proposal.

If materials are needed in an alternative format, call at (612) 673-2488 or email Gulgun.Kayim@Minneapolismn.gov. Deaf and hard of hearing persons may use a relay service to call Minneapolis 311 agents at (612) 673-3000. TTY users may call (612) 673-2157 or (612) 673-2626.

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

  • Primary contact information
  • A brief bio and relevant experience (max 1 page for each primary artist)
  • Project concept (no more than 2 pages), including how the project relates to the theme of commonality and where it may be sited and consideration for the surrounding neighborhood
  • Supporting materials that help us understand better your proposal and that it is feasible. This can range from a sketch on a napkin to CAD drawings, from a photo with a drawing superimposed to a video flythrough. If there is a technical component to the project, make sure to explain it. To the extent possible, give us a sense of the size and footprint of the project. If you have a specific site in mind, state it. Otherwise, what are the characteristics you are looking for, which are important to the project?
  • Samples of past work (Images, video or audio files).  We ask for up to 10 images and 2 videos or audio of past, preferably related work.
  • A budget for the total amount you’re requesting for your project. (max 1 page) Note: We will not be evaluating whether you have the best price for the right amount of materials; we want to see that the major budget needs are reasonable.

SAMPLE PROPOSAL
Balancing Ground by Amanda Lovelee, Christopher Field, Kyle Waites, and Sarah West
Please note: This sample proposal responds to different project requirements (theme, location, etc.) and is provided to give you a general sense of a winning proposal. You should create your proposal based on the guidelines outlined above.

TIMELINE

Friday, November 17, 9pm CT – Proposals due
Wednesday, November 29 – Finalists notified
Monday, January 22 – Finalists’ proposals due
Tuesday, February 6 – Finalists’ presentations to jury
Thursday, February 8 – Winner announced
Saturday, June 16 – Project launches at Northern Spark

Email creativecitychallenge@northern.lights.mn with additional questions.

ABOUT THE ARTS, CULTURE AND THE CREATIVE ECONOMY PROGRAM, CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS

The Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy program is an initiative of the City Coordinator’s office to leverage the creative sector towards strengthening social and economic growth in the City of Minneapolis. The goals of the program are to provide arts and culture services to City Departments, promote local arts and culture, develop frameworks for 21st century arts economies and collaborate on arts based community development initiatives such as ‘creative placemaking’.

ABOUT THE COMMONS

The Commons is a new 4.2 acre public green space in the heart of downtown Minneapolis.  Spanning two city blocks, the beautifully landscaped and actively programmed park offers experiences to welcome and engage the community at large. The Commons is located at 425 Portland Avenue S in Minneapolis, across from U.S. Bank Stadium and steps from the Light Rail Train station.

ABOUT NORTHERN LIGHTS.MN/NORTHERN SPARK

Northern Spark is a one-night, all-night participatory arts festival taking place on Saturday, June 16th, 2018 from 8:59 pm – 5:26 am. During Northern Spark, tens of thousands of people gather throughout the city to explore giant video projections, play in temporary installations in the streets, and enjoy experimental performances in green spaces and under bridges. From dusk to dawn, 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 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.

Find out more:

Online: https://northern.lights.mn/ and http://www.minneapolismn.gov/coordinator/arts/acce

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NorthernSparkMN

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/northern_spark

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/northernlights.mn/

On Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/northernspark and http://www.flickr.com/photos/northernlightsmn

On Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/northernspark and https://vimeo.com/northernlightsmn

MEDIA CONTACT

For media inquiries, please email press@northern.lights.mn.

Northern Lights.mn Newsletter June 14th

Written by

Highlights from the night

The Commons, Northern Spark 2017, photo: Bethany Birnie

Wow – what an amazing night!
From downtown to Lowertown and back, we engaged our way through the cities to experience creative conversation about the climate in neighborhoods both new and familiar.

Here are a few highlights from our staff:

After a rousing send off by J.D. Steele and the MacPhail Community Youth Choir, The Commonswas active with robot librarians, alien technologies, water protectors, idling monsters and more. Don’t forget to come back to see the birds inhabit the ORBACLES — onsite through the end of July.

“Minneapolis’ new green space truly felt like a space for everyone on Saturday night.”– Steve Dietz, Co-Director.

Cedar-Riverside/West Bank, Northern Spark 2017, photo: Bobby Rogers

The West Bank broke through borders as people gathered in the streets for a night of unity, reflection and sharing. Hundreds of people broke fast together after a call to prayer, and marigolds and electronic sounds were given as gifts, 1,000 prayer pockets were offered. People played games about food and systems, sat in a glowing dome, sat in a glowing aqal, and watched the world’s borders literally grown over by green plants.

“Watching the Unity Iftar get organized in 3 days to join forces with the Ancestry Story Circles was an amazing feat. Seeing everyone out in the street for the call to prayer was beautiful.” —Teeko Yang, Outreach and Partnership Coordinator

Tin foil capes, lawn-a-looming, human hamster wheel running and interactive sound/projection kept the Weisman Art Museum bustling with activity on the East Bank stop. And of course, owls.  “After 7 years of working on this festival I finally got to see the owls! I love this tradition of the raptors appearing at Northern Spark.”  – Sarah Peters, Co-Director

Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of University Ave, Little Africa was cozy yet active. The outdoor cinema of the Little Africa Film Fest screened documentaries and short films alike, while nearby people stood mesmerized by a wondrous miniature world. Participants created a new vision for the Earth and reflections on water, declared promises toward a petrol-free future and adopted nearly 200 trees to be planted in yards throughout the cities.

“I arrived to Little Africa around 3:30am, and it was the best place to spend the last hours of my festival night. I found myself lying down inside the intimate Relative Water Liquid Spirit Healing Art Structure by Million Artist Movement, staring at the stars and contemplating my relationship to water, as well as the people around me.” — Leslie Barlow, Social Media Goddess and Admin Assistant

tony the scribe and Ananya Dance Theater, just breathe, Northern Spark 2017, photo: Caleb Timmerman

Rondo rocked it with all-night participatory drumming, reflective shadow puppets, historic drawing and powerful performances from awesomely celebratory praise dance to a rotating schedule of contemporary movement and soundscape that brought the very real issue of air pollution in communities of color into emotional resonance. Students from High School for Recording Arts kept the parking lot dancing.

“Through sound, dance, and spoken word, the projects in Rondo evoked both the urgency of environmental justice and the hope that carries us toward a more just future.” — Ady Olson, Northern Lights.mn Projects Manager

After the delicious and spectacular Little Mekong Night Market came to a close at midnight, Northern Spark artists kept the Western Ave plaza a-glow with words, poems, stories, and symbols. Letters to Earth written on handmade paper were broadcast on the radio, dandelions and other living things memorialized the humans, we learned about traditional Hmong symbols for our temporary tattoos, we learned the word for water in many different languages, and ongoing performance linked Asian identity and culture to earth and climate.

“Little Mekong invited us to lean into stories. To listen to the powerful stories of how we got here, and to imagine the poetic beginnings of new stories. To re-wild our individual and collective mythologies.” – Elle Thoni, Assistant Curator

Lowertown was for walking, from installations at the M and tpt to a secret green alley market to Union Depot, where the bees live, to a fair wage sewing factory, flamenco dancing climate displacement, land raft, au revoir to biomes (they’ll be back if we #act), and much more in and around the Farmers Market.

“To me, Lowertown was about spaces for reflection, what we want around us, where we came from and where we want to go and what kind of world we want to create.” — Sara Shives, Producer

Areca Roe, Goodbye Biome, Northern Spark 2017, photo courtesy of the artist

View more photo highlights of the night on our flickr.

 

Northern Spark by the Numbers

Attendees: More than 45,000
Artists: 415
Projects: 63
NorthernSpark.org page views: 201,161
Free rides using Metro Transit’s downloadable pass: 33,000
Media hits: 90+ 
#northernspark images on Instagram: 6,779
Time trending on Twitter: 11 hours
New Facebook Page Likes during the festival: 129
Second-hand water bottles given away: 700
People who said goodbye to their biome: 921
Prayer pockets hung: 1,000
Line still going strong at 5:30am: The Night Library
Trees adopted: 190 
Google Cardboards distributed: 800

How was your night?

We’d love to hear your story!  Tell us about you and your experience using the post-event survey. Your feedback gives us valuable insight that helps us make Northern Spark better each year.

How does Northern Spark happen?

Northern Spark 2017 was the largest festival we’ve organized yet. This was possible thanks to the hard work and generous support of a number of different groups. Northern Spark has always been a feat of collaboration; this year more than ever. We extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our sponsors and foundation funders; our Advisory and Steering Committees; the first-ever Northern Spark Program Council; our Neighborhood Partners and Presenting Partners, all of whom worked for more than a year in advance to put all the pieces of the festival in place.

Our considerable gratitude and many high-fives go to the 130 amazing volunteers who worked day and night-of the event and to our 24 crew members who sweated their way through a humid set-up, kept cool throughout the night and then packed up before the Sunday’s thunderstorm hit. We could not do this without you!

And finally, immeasurable thanks to the Northern Spark staff. We had an incredible team who took on this challenge of organizing 7 festivals in 7 locations on one night with grace, humor and expert skill. We learned so much from all of you. Kudos to historic success!

–Sarah Peters and Steve Dietz, Northern Spark Co-Directors

…and you!

Many people who attend Northern Spark don’t know that it’s actually a program of Northern Lights.mn, a Twin-Cities-based non-profit organization with just 3 year-round staff! Competitive grants — both private and public — pay for 90% of the festival. But the last 10% of support for Northern Spark comes from people just like you, giving their time and money to keep it homegrown and free for all to attend.

Please take a moment now to pitch in whatever you can: nspk.mn/donate. As of now we’re still working on that last 10%, and will be doing so until June 30. Your support will go directly toward helping us bring the festival back in 2018.

 

Northern Lights.mn Newsletter June 9th

Written by

We’ll see you tomorrow!

The weather on Saturday is forecasted to be very hot and clear.  Get ready for your night-time journey!

  • Charge up your phone to play Collective Action! and experience Chaos on the Green Line
  • Wear comfortable shoes.
  • Don’t be fooled by hot weather during the day — bring layers for cooler middle-of-the-night temps.
  • Pack a filled water bottle to re-fill at Tap Mpls and Anthropocene Water Stations. Stay hydrated!
  • Download a free METRO Transit pass.
  • Decide which of the 7 sites you’ll begin your adventure, and once you’re there, make your way to the Info Tent, pick up a festival Map and off you go!

Northern Spark Launch Party 2016, photo by Dusty Hoskovec

Didn’t get tickets to the Northern Spark Launch Party? No problem! Buy them at the door! Party is from 7-9 pm at Thresher Square, 708 S 3rd St, Minneapolis, MN 55415

Curious about what you’ll find at the party?
A newsletter-only sneak peek of the delicious Launch Party food includes: Salmon Rillettes from Red Stag, chilled sweet pea soup with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and Brioche from Alma, green tomato and melon gazpacho from Eastside, chocolate buttercream cake from Cafe Latte, and three types of cider from Sociable Cider Werks!

 

With the climate chaos of a record-breaking 97 degree day forecasted on Saturday before the sun goes down, we ask everyone to take care of yourselves during the day to be ready for a night of fun and safe exploration.

In light of everything else heating up in our world, we want to take a moment to say that Northern Spark has always been for everyone. We welcome people of all ethnicities, genders, abilities and beliefs. We do not tolerate violence or harassment in any form.

See you on the METRO Green Line for a peaceful and curiosity-filled night!

 

Congratulations Piotr Szyhalski

Northern Spark 2017 project 3600 cuts, courtesy of the artists Piotr Szyhalski and Pramila Vasudevan

The Minneapolis College of Art and Design, on behalf of the McKnight Foundation, has announced the eight recipients of the 2017 McKnight Fellowships for Visual Artists. Congratulations to Piotr Szyhalski, long time Northern Spark artist and co-director of Art(ists) on the Verge, for being a McKnight Fellowship recipient this year! As a part of the award, Szyhalski will receive a $25,000 stipend, public recognition, professional encouragement from national visiting critics, and an opportunity to participate in a speaker series.

You can view his project 3600 cuts at Northern Spark on Saturday! Collaborating with Pramila Vasudevan in this interdisciplinary performance, 3600 cuts explores the endless quest for “higher resolution” — the technological obsession of achieving finer grain and more detail—and how this sometimes illuminating, sometimes destructive phenomenon connects to the parallel quest for understanding human ecology. View a preview video of 3600 cuts here.

3600 cuts will also be presented tonight, June 9th, 2017. A range of ticketing options can be found at southern.ticketworks.com.

Northern Spark media coverage now on our website!

The Growler June cover by Leslie Barlow

Excitement for Northern Spark is ramping up! Read all of our features and interviews in the press from The Growler, the Star Tribune, the Pioneer Press and more on our website’s Media Coverage page, and look for upcoming interviews on MPR, WCCO, and Fox News in the next few days!

And follow regular updates and news through our social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

 

Northern Lights.mn Newsletter June 6th

Written by

Get Ready!

Northern Spark Bike Tour 2015, photo by Shawn Orton

Summer weather has arrived and Northern Spark is this Saturday! Get ready for all-night on the town with this festival prep checklist:

Food Highlights of this Year’s Festival

Northern Spark is a multi-sensory experience – and taste is no exception. Come to Northern Spark ready to savor the flavors of this year’s festival, as distinct as the neighborhoods they’re in.

iftar meal.jpgMNIPL’s Interfaith Iftar and Warm Conversations at Northern Spark 2016

Break the Ramadan Fast at Northern Spark

Ramadan Mubarak!
Northern Spark falls during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. For the second year, we’re partnering with Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light to host a community break the fast Iftar in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

After a poetic Adhan (call to prayer) from the roof above the Cedar Community Plaza, local Muslim-owned restaurant Ghandi Mahal will offer a full meal to ticket holders. Delicious dates will be distributed to all. Click here to reserve your free tickets. Everyone is welcome and invited to fast if you are able and so moved. Click here for more resources on fasting.

Little Mekong Night Market

The Little Mekong Night Market returns for its 4th year – this time at Northern Spark! Arrive in Little Mekong before midnight to enjoy the unique sights, sounds and tastes of this vibrant community celebration. If you haven’t gotten your fill by the end of Northern Spark, come back on the eve of June 11th for a second helping of the Night Market.

Refresh with a Fulton at The Commons

For 2017, Minneapolis’ own Fulton Brewing will host Northern Spark’s first-ever beer garden! Refresh your night with a Fulton as you take in the art and adventure at The Commons. Open until midnight only!

19145760050_3648f5cd26_o.jpgLaunch Party, Northern Spark 2015, Photo by Kory Lidstrom

Sample the City’s Best at the Launch Party

Satisfy your palette at Northern Spark’s 7th annual Launch Party from 7 – 9 pm at Thresher Square. Before the festival kicks off, start your night with artful food created by 8 amazing local restaurants, and the Northern Spark 2017 specialty cocktail “Spark 75” crafted by Crooked Water Spirits. ZULUZULUU, voted Best Local Newcomer 2016 by City Pages, and awarded the best-of-2016 Minnesota album by the Star Tribune. After all of this, you walk outside to a sparkling sky and find that Northern Spark has begun. What could be a more exciting way to support the festival you love?

Alma, Cafe Latté, Eastside, French Meadow Bakery & Cafe, Handsome Hog, Mercy, Red Stag Supperclub, and Silhouette Bakery & Bistro are preparing some incredible bites to start the night right. Mouth-watering, colorful, creative, and unusual: these bites will showcase the talent of the chefs and their teams. Come see what they have imagined especially for the Launch Party.

Get your tickets today!

 

Northern Lights.mn Newsletter June 1st

Written by

A Response from Northern Lights.mn

Climate change is science, but what do do about about it can be political. Individual changes alone, while important, will not affect what needs to be done. It is therefore disturbing news that the U.S. government has decided to abdicate any responsible role in this global crisis by withdrawing from the Paris Accord with the ironic logic of “protecting American citizens.”

Northern Lights.mn is committed to enhancing awareness, supporting a robust conversation, and above all encouraging immediate and ongoing actions about the effects of climate change and what we can do individually and together to mitigate and adapt to those changes. In the end, success will be as much about people rising as temperatures. We encourage you to join us and the 66 climate-themed artist projects we will be presenting with our partners at Northern Spark on June 10, and we encourage you to engage with all the systems you interact with: watershed districts, school boards, city councils, state representatives, utilities, corporate America, government bureaucrats, and the President to impart to them the depth of your concerns and the urgency to address climate change responsibly and honestly. Climate Chaos | People Rising. #act

The 2017 Northern Spark Team

Travel the festival by train, bus, bike, or foot.

Northern Spark Bike Tour 2015, photo by Shawn Orton

With 7 sites to see, we recommend planning your transportation to and around Northern Spark this year. All festival sites are walkable from METRO Green Line stations. Some contain compact programmed areas, and others are more spread out. Get ready to ride and walk!

Here are some things to do in advance to make festival navigation easy:

1. Plan your route!
Take a look at the festival areas using our zoomable maps. Make a customized list of the projects you want to visit with our My Night feature.  Or stop at any festival Info Tent and pick up a paper map!  As long as you find your way to the METRO Green Line, you’ll find the festival.

2. Download a free pass for use on all Metro Transit light rail and bus lines. 
Riding the train is easy!  Either print out the downloadable pass or be prepared to show the digital version on your smartphone to a Metro Transit operator if asked.

Free passes are viable from 8 pm – 6:30 am. Service on the METRO Green Line runs regularly until 1 am, then every half hour until 4 am.

Ticket machines are located on each train platform if you forget to download a pass or your phone runs out of juice. The Northern Spark Festival Map also functions as a free pass for the METRO Green Line ONLY.

PLEASE NOTE that only the METRO Green Line service runs 24 hours. METRO Blue Line and bus routes end at varying times. Need help planning your trip? Use Metro Transit’s Trip Planner or call 612-373-333, TTY 651-291-0904

3. Park and ride (or walk or cycle).
Drive close to the METRO Green Line, park and ride, walk or cycle your way through the festival.

Tune up your bike and get between festival sites on two wheels Don’t forget a bike lock, light and helmet. Find Nice Ride stations near some festival locations at niceridemn.org.

If you plan to drive a vehicle to the festival, be aware of these street closures: in Lowertown: Broadway St. between 4th St E and 5th St E.  In Little Africa: Sherburne Ave between Snelling Ave and N Asbury St. In Minneapolis at the Commons: Portland Ave between 4th St and 5th St.

Street closures take place beginning at 9 am on Saturday June 10th through 9 am on Sunday, June 11.

4. Charge up your phone!
Some Northern Spark projects require the use of a smartphone. Make sure yours is charged and ready to play!

5. Bring a water bottle, or if you forget…
Northern Spark food vendors will not be selling bottled water.  Fill up your reusable container or get a one-of-a-kind recycled (washed and sanitized) water bottle at festival Info Tents. Find Tap Mpls stations in Minneapolis and Anthropocene Water Stations in St. Paul.

6. Weather reminder: Northern Spark happens rain or (star) shine.
Visit northernspark.org and follow us on social media for night-of changes due to weather.

 

Get on the inside with Northern Spark at our awesome pre-fest Launch Party!

7pm-9pm Saturday, June 10 — $100/$50 — live music, great food and drinks, cool community vibe

Kick off your night at the beautiful Thresher Square building with the people who make Northern Spark happen! Eat, drink, dance and get the inside scoop on projects you won’t want to miss, all while you hang out with other people who love Northern Spark as much as you do. And the best part? Having all this fun actually makes Northern Spark happen again next year!

Along with a show from jazz-funk-soul explorers ZULUZULUU you’ll enjoy food and drinks from:

Mercy // Cafe Alma // Eastside // Red Stag Supperclub // French Meadow // Handsome Hog // Silhouette Bakery & Bistro // Cafe Latté // Fulton Brewing // Crooked Water Spirits // Barefoot Bubbly // Sociable Cider Werks // Peace Coffee

The Launch Party isn’t just a celebration of Northern Spark. It’s a celebration of the things that make our cities vibrant. During our only fundraising event of the year, we raise the support that keeps Northern Lights.mn glowing and the Northern Spark festival free each year. We simply can’t do it without you, so come party with us!

Get your tickets before they’re gone!: nspk.mn/launch

Special thanks to our event sponsors Sherman Associates, Barbette, Bittercube, and RadissonRED for their support.

Launch Party 2016, photo by Dusty Hoskovec

Follow Us on Social Media!

Repost from artist Monira Al Qadiri, Mizna, and the Soap Factory. Behind-the-scenes photo from Northern Spark project Alien Technology II

Postings about Northern Spark are increasing between now and the festival, and we don’t want you to miss out on any of the fun! Search the hashtag #NorthernSpark on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to find behind-the-scenes and in-progress photos from Northern Spark artists and their projects, or follow our pages for the latest festival updates and news.

Northern Spark Instagram | Northern Spark Facebook | Northern Spark Twitter

Join us on Saturday for the Opening of AOV8

Installation in-progress, Sarita Zaleha, AOV8 fellow

Join Northern Lights.mn and the Art(ists) On the Verge 8 fellows, Kelsey Bosch, Jess Hirsch, Dylan Redford, Fue Yang, and Sarita Zaleha, on Saturday night for a celebration of the opening of their exhibition at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery.

Art(ists) On the Verge 8 Opening Reception
Saturday, June 3, 7-11pm
Katherine E. Nash Gallery
Regis Center for Art, University of Minnesota
405 21st Avenue South

The exhibition is open now through June 15. Gallery hours: 11 am to 7 pm, Tuesdaythrough Saturday. A public artist talk will be held on Saturday, July 8, 2-4pm at the Nash Gallery.

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

Northern Spark is made possible by many people…

Northern Spark 2016, photo by Jayme Halbritter

…but especially YOU! When you volunteer, when you buy tickets to the fabulous Northern Spark Launch Party, and when you show your love for art that helps us imagine a different way of being in public space, together, with a donation in any amount.

Your $10 or $20 (or $200 if you’ve got it!) is vital to keep this amazing event going year after year. If you value Northern Spark, now is the time to pitch in.

Northern Lights.mn Newsletter May 25th

Written by

Art(ists) On the Verge 8 Exhibition Opening June 3

Sarita Zaleha, AOV8 fellow, Finding Time (in Iceland) 

Art(ists) On the Verge 8 fellows Kelsey Bosch, Jess Hirsch, Dylan Redford, Fue Yang, and Sarita Zaleha will present their work at an exhibition at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery from June 1 until July 15.

Technology has become the sea we swim in. It is no longer distinguishable, it seems, from nature or culture. It is just real. And unreal. Each of the artists in the 8th edition of Art(ists) On the Verge, Northern Lights.mn’s year-long mentorship program recognizes the ubiquity of technology and even embraces it as something necessary to reckon with, perhaps to enjoy, and certainly to manipulate. At the same time, they acknowledge and struggle with the truth that it’s not all roses in the world of silica and code. There is a dark side that threatens to undermine our humanity. Or overwhelm it. Or both.

Kelsey Bosch is fascinated by the threshold where experience transmogrifies from one thing to another. Push at it and ideas transform too. Will the world follow? Jess Hirsch is also interested in transformation. Merging flora and phones as a pathway to self-healing. 911 for the soul. Dylan Redford is anxious. An understandable response to the treachery and terror around us. Like a hydra-headed monster, this anxiety is fed by the media. Like a colonizing parasite, it takes over our gut, our instincts despite our best natures. Is foresight and planning a balm or a cancer? In a world of Facebook likes, Fue Yang is seeking connection that does not shy away from the telematic but is not circumscribed by it. What does it feel like – and mean – to breathe together? For Sarita Zaleha, climate change, the result of centuries of technological transformation, is like a low grade fever; constantly there, not necessarily requiring bedrest but breeding anxiety that seems to come from nowhere and everywhere. Making it visible, marking it, identifying it, is the first step to a cure.

Art(ists) On the Verge 8 Exhibition
June 1 through July 15, 2017
Katherine E. Nash Gallery
Regis Center for Art, University of Minnesota
405 21st Avenue South
Gallery hours: 11 am to 7 pm, Tuesday through Saturday

Join us for an opening reception with the artists on Saturday, June 3, 7-11pm.

A public artist talk where the artists will discuss their work and their AOV experience will be held on Saturday, July 8, 2-4pm at the Nash Gallery.

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

Journey Down the Green Line, Part 2

Photo captured by Mike Plamann, winner of our #catchatrainNS photo contest

In our most recent newsletter we presented a virtual journey through a little over half of Northern Spark’s METRO Green Line offerings. (Missed it? Read all about it here.)

Rondo
Let’s get back on the train and ride to Lexington Pkwy. Exit the train platform and walk down the block to join the festivities in the historic Rondo neighborhood. Artist projects and vendors take over the parking lot and interior spaces of the High School for Recording Arts. Sit in on an all night “poetry gumbo” open mic and artist showcase; let your hope rise with dance, song and praise; witness bodies dancing in a claustrophobic environment of fog to draw attention to environmental injustice in communities of color. Stay tuned to the Art & Events page (and filter by the Rondo neighborhood) to see more projects by Roots of Rondo artists as they are added!

Little Mekong
Next stop: Little Mekong at Western Ave, the site that Northern Spark is privileged to share with the beloved Little Mekong Night Market on June 10th.  Running 5 pm – midnight, delights in the form of food, performance and visual art celebrating Southeast Asian culture take over the street. (LMNM happens again on Sunday, June 11th, 5 – 10 pm.)

When the festival officially begins at 8:59 pm, Northern Spark projects will spring to life and carry through until dawn. You’ll find a celebratory memorial to the human species hosted by dandelions; a river of stories from Southeast Asian artists exploring complex relationships to water; a poet who’ll construct words just for you; words, words and more climate-change words printed on a rolling letterpress; a performance installation in a storefront window about water as a life force; an interactive exhibition of Hmong tattoos, and an opportunity to write a love letter to the earth, to be broadcast on Frogtown Radio – WFNU locally and online. Listen to Northern Spark from anywhere in the world!

Water flows as a theme at Little Mekong, so before you go, stop by the Northern Spark Info Tent to pay-what-you-can for a recycled water bottle and then head over to the Anthropocene Water Station to get a taste of waters from around Minnesota. (Also presented in Little Africa and Lowertown.)

Lowertown
Don’t forget to leave time for Lowertown! The METRO Green Line’s St. Paul terminus neighborhood hosts festival activities in 7 venues. From Union Depot station head west up to the Minnesota Museum of American Art, where an exhibition of upcycled sculpturesis perfect for a night at a museum; walk back along 4th and stop into Twin Cities PBS where MNOriginal presents speculative biomes of the past, present and future. Back on the lawn of the Union Depot, immerse yourself in a performance installation of migration stories and water protection;  and watch a live feed from the bees that call Union Depot’s roof home. Continue east on foot, stopping to power down at the Phone Valet — a curbside service exchange, and then on to Studio Z to experience an electronic and acoustic planetary prayer; and while you’re there and if so moved, sing with the Sacred Harp in the Baroque Room. Swing downstairs into Golden’s Lowertown to watch a slideshow of climate change photographs from around the globe. Just outside in the alley behind Golden’s add your climate commitment to the grove of life. Under the St. Paul Farmers Market find a pop-up garment factory and get an equitably hand-sewn festival t-shirt; pitch in to keep our land afloat, and catch a wandering performance of the climate-displaced. See enough yet? But wait, there is still a Transparent Spirit Elevation Chamber (to relieve your eco-anxiety); a game to explore and conquer the climate chaos attacking our planet; and a selfie station to say goodbye to your favorite migrating Minnesota biome.

And an interactive installation where a predatory corporation enters our cultural ecosystem created by artists in the Lowertown community.

And pssst, did you find the back-alley green market from the future?

Whew. Perhaps by now it’s dawn, and the light feels bright as noon by 5:26 am. Wander slowly as the flower vendors set out trays of coleus and petunias under the awnings and end your night with a hearty breakfast at Black Dog — open an hour early at 6 am.

 

Doesn’t this sound like an incredible night?

It’s all made possible by our awesome artists, partner organizations, dedicated community members, creative local businesses, generous funders, and YOU!

Every year we stretch the budget to bursting and this year is no exception. We need your help to make sure Northern Spark breaks even so we can plan on next year, too.

Don’t wait — Give today: $20, $50, or whatever amount you can. That magic feeling of Northern Spark? That’s made by all of us, together, pitching in and showing up.

 

Art + Action with the Climate Rising Collaborations

Image courtesy of Craig David with Roger Neiboer and lesser mortals, Arboreous

At Northern Lights.mn, we believe that in order to develop realistic and hopeful maps for a climate-changed future, artists, scientists, policymakers and activists will need to collaborate. One way this is happening is the Climate Rising Collaboration, an initiative funded by the McKnight Foundation that pairs festival artists with organizations working directly on climate issues through policy, advocacy and community organizing. Five organizations are lending climate data, volunteer ranks, networks and wide-ranging powers of expertise and knowledge to artists whose project take on subjects ranging from trees to water protectors to the many forms of migration.

For TakeAction Minnesota, working with Wavelets Creative on iNMiGRATiON is an opportunity to integrate art into their organizing in an intentional way and to give their volunteer base an artful way to get active. For Climate Generation, whose knowledge about the effects of climate change on trees is informing Roger Nieboer and Craig David’s Arboreous, being part of Northern Spark affords the opportunity to get their core message out to broader audience.

On festival night look for some of the CRC organizations at the Northern Spark Info Tents where they’ll be sharing table space.  Stop by for a festival map and learn about ways to get more deeply involved in climate action.

McKnight is also generously supporting Northern Spark’s festival-wide game, Collective Action!

 

Get ready to play Collective Action!, Northern Spark 2017’s festival-wide game

Create your own Collective Action! avatar, designed by Sara Fowler, to track your progress throughout the night.

Assistant Curator Elle Thoni sat down with Sara Fowler, Ben Moren and Tyler Stefanich, the artist team behind Collective Action!, Northern Spark 2017’s festival-wide game.

ELLE: So, to begin, your team is coming to the game designing table from a variety of artistic backgrounds. What are they?

BEN: Well, I come from visual arts and multimedia art, combining filmmaking, performance, software development… so kind of all the pieces you would need. I do lots of work that centers on interaction, but not necessarily with the classic parameters that make a game a game.

SARA: I’m trained and work professionally as a graphic designer and an illustrator. I’m a freelancer and do most of my work within the arts in some capacity. I also like to give some of my practice to activism, supporting environmental efforts with my professional background.

TYLER: And I come from visual arts as well, doing installation as well as performance. I’ve worked for awhile in design and more technical web design for nonprofits. Now I manage an experimental game lab in Los Angeles.

ELLE: When you came together to design a game, what was important to you? What kind of experience did you want people to have?

SARA: So awhile ago, Ben and I stumbled upon these amazing books. They were written by Stewart Brand – one of the major forces behind the Whole Earth Catalog. The books were an encyclopedia of games from the New Games Foundation. They are group games, essentially, but a lot of them are non-competitive and have a strange performativity to them. Thematically, they’re very geared towards anti-war, because that was a major cultural sentiment at the time of publication, but overall the focus of these games is problem solving together. These game encyclopedias were a major influence for us in thinking about a Northern Spark festival-wide game.

ELLE: So with that, describe the game, Collective Action!

SARA: (Laughing) We need an elevator pitch!

BEN: I’ve got it. So the game, Collective Action!, invites you to visit one of the six game stations around the festival. When you arrive, you log in to the Collective Action! website on your smartphone, which puts you into a digital queue with other potential players at a game location. When you get to the front of the queue, you and other audience members will be called up into the play area to perform some kind of action together, which will give you, your team and your festival neighborhood points.

There’s lots of different actions for each location, some of them might relate to water rights, some of them may relate to environmental justice or other Climate Chaos I People Rising topics. For example, you and others from the audience might be invited up to be a rainstorm or imagine what a future water filtration system might look like. Be a glacier that’s calving off into the sea and become icebergs and drifting away from each other. So the actions are meant to be thematic but open, so that you and other people can come together and figure out how you might embody them together.

Read more of the artist interview here on our website and visit http://www.collectiveaction.info for a game sneak preview.

Not just a Launch Party – our only fundraising event of the year!

Yes, Let’s!, Climate Carnival, Northern Spark 2016. Photo: Dusty Hoskovec.

It is easy to see how this year’s Northern Spark projects are going to enchant and inspire you. They’re the reason we have a Launch Party fundraiser: to make all of this art possible. So join us at 7pm on June 10th for Northern Spark’s only fundraising event of the entire year, and support Northern Spark while you get the night started with a great party!

You’ll dance with ZULUZULUU, eat some of the most artistic bites of the summer, and sip on our specialty cocktail, the Spark 75! If you are inspired now, have been in the past, or wish to be in 2017, your Launch Party tickets are waiting. Find them at nspk.mn/launch.

In the News

Northern Spark was recently featured on the Strong Towns podcast! Take a listen here. In the interview, Rachel Quednau chats with Sarah Peters, the Co-Director of the Northern Spark festival, to find out how the event got started, how it has engaged the Twin Cities community, and how the ideas behind Northern Spark can be replicated in other cities to encourage their communities to think creatively about place and use of space.

  

Northern Lights.mn Newsletter May 11th

Written by

Down the Green Line: A Northern Spark preview, Part 1

It’s the time of year when the sky stays bright a little later each night, reminding us of the summer season ahead. For Northern Spark staff and artists, it’s a time of projection tests, rehearsals, outreach and chocolate restoratives.

As you begin to consider your journey on the night of June 10th, here’s a linear preview of what’s to be found down the line at Northern Spark.

The Commons
Let’s begin at The Commons, the western-most edge of the festival and downtown Minneapolis’s new green space. At 8:30 pm, Mayor Hodges talks with MINN_LAB artists about ORBACLES, this year’s multi-sensory Creative City Challenge winner. Listen and wander among the lights, sounds and smells of speculative infrastructure for the futures of bird populations in a climate-changed Minnesota.

After the Opening Ceremony, stick around to play in a carnival of climate games; visit the 3rd iteration of the Night Library to outwit overlord robots; watch an interactive superhero action flick from a carbon neutral traffic jam; interact with underground tree networks; marvel at a pearlescent sculpture; paint a mural about water protectors; and take a string survey to draw your opinions on climate change in correlation with others.

We’ve just begun, but maybe you already find yourself with a desire for connection and play. Find the station for Collective Action! — Northern Spark’s festival-wide game of acting together to solve climate change. Make yourself a unique avatar on your phone; wait until you’re called up to the stage and go! Find a Collective Action! station in each festival zone (except East Bank).

And lastly, don’t forget to swing by the Fulton Beer Tent for a sip before heading on your way.

West Bank
Next stop: West Bank.  Climb the stairs from the Cedar Ave exit and choose right or left. Right takes you to the Southern Theater, where you can hone your debate skills with a sidewalk climate denier; or sit for a spell as 3600 seconds of multimedia movement are performed eight times over the course of the night, prompting the consideration of the vast effects of climate change in relationship to the minutiae of everyday life.

Choose left and travel down Cedar Ave to find pockets of interactive installations throughout the neighborhood. In the plaza in front of May Day Books, find a game arenato play a series of activities linking drought, traditional food ways and feminism. Then cross the street, remove your shoes, walk the carpet and visit a dome of light, sound, and video that challenges progressive discourses on climate change.

Wander down to the Cedar Community Plaza, where–if you arrive by 8:59 pm— you’ll hear the call to prayer, the traditional end the day of fasting during Ramadan. Take a seat at an interfaith Iftar and storytelling circle to share about your environmental ancestry. Stop off at the Northern Spark Info Tent to grab a recycled water bottle to fill at a Tap Mpls station and continue across the street to find a market of gifted experiences and a ritual / installation that calls us to reflect on the urgency of environmental genocide through the voices of immigrants and people of color.

Continue to walk and wander all the way to Currie Park to witness the intergenerational building and unbuilding of an aqal, the traditional Somali nomadic home. Weave your way back to the small park behind the Cedar Community Plaza and find a garden, tended by neighbors, growing greenery to blur the borders. Stay for awhile and drink tea with a gathering of Somali elders sharing stories of an ancient nomadic life.

East Bank
Over the mighty Mississippi, near East Bank station, sits the Weisman Art Museum, host to six projects aglow on the grass. Travel a tunnel timeline of rising temperaturesconstructed by U of M students in the Making Sense of Climate Change class; add your own image to a magic lantern carousel; re-visit the Backyard Phenology trailer that first appeared at Northern Spark 2016 to hear everyone’s stories; weave waste into an epic trash tapestry; and pause under the entrance to WAM to crowdsource some electronic sonatas that chronicle the states of our planet’s evolution from geological to technological. 

Or, if nocturnal birds of prey are more your thing, time your visit to occur in the 11 pm hour to join the meet and greet with owls from the U’s Raptor Center.

Little Africa
Get back on the train and take a load off for a while, traveling down the line into Saint Paul. Exit at Snelling Station and walk 1 block north into Little Africa where Sherburne Ave becomes an outdoor cinema, festive eatery and interactive installation hub. Check out wireless headphones and settle in to watch films about economy, ecology, and environmental justice at the inaugural Little Africa Film Fest. Express your commitment to extricating yourself from petrochemical culture; watch sculptures and paintings animate global warming; join others in a circle where water brings connection, healing and creativity; and take a personal journey towards a tree sapling chosen specifically for you.

Perhaps all this leaves you a little hungry? Fuel up! We’re only half-way through the night. Little Africa’s staple eateries Fasika Ethiopian and Ghebre’s Restaurant will be open all night for necessary nourishment along with neighborhood-related food trucks and tents.

Stay tuned for Journey Down the Green Line Part 2 in the next newsletter. Or, don’t wait for us. Plan your night by reading about all festival projects on our Art and Events page!

Donate to Northern Spark!

Words for Winter, photo by Max Haynes

Pre-festival Events and Wolf and Moose by Christopher Lutter-Gardella, Northern Spark 2016, photo by Jayme Halbritter

Northern Spark is getting closer, and so is the end of our fiscal year.  Help close the last gap in our 2017 budget with a donation in any amount — $10, $25, $50 or however generous you can afford to be.

All year long Northern Lights.mn delights and surprises you with art in public places throughtout the Twin Cities — from wintry poems on Nicollet Mall to this summer’s Northern Spark along the METRO Green Line. Your support is essential to making these projects happen.

Make your contribution here by the end of May, then celebrate with us on June 10th at the biggest and most exciting Northern Spark yet!

 

Art(ists) on the Verge 8 Exhibition Opens June 1st

Kelsey Bosch, Hyperbolic Soundscape

Art(ists) On the Verge 8 fellows, Kelsey Bosch, Jess Hirsch, Dylan Redford, Fue Yang, and Sarita Zaleha will present their work at an exhibition at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery from June 1 until July 15.

Art(ists) On the Verge 8 Exhibition
June 1 through July 15, 2017
Katherine E. Nash Gallery
Regis Center for Art, University of Minnesota
405 21st Avenue South

Gallery hours: 11 am to 7 pm, Tuesday through Saturday

Join us for an opening reception with the artists on Saturday, June 3, 7-11pm.

A public artist talk where the artists will discuss their work and their AOV experience will be held on Saturday, July 8, 2-4pm at the Nash Gallery.

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

Announcing the Northern Spark Launch Party specialty cocktail


Exclusive to the Northern Spark Launch Party on June 10th, the Spark 75 is a dazzler of a cocktail: Crooked Water Sun Dog Gin, Lemon, Cherry Frost Tea Syrup, Bittercube Cherry Bark Vanilla Bitters, and Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée.

Try this festive twist on the classic French 75 with your Launch Party friends, at either of the ticket levels: Adapt or Sustain. Cheers to Crooked Water Spirits, Barefoot Bubbly, and Bittercube for their support!

Our toast is to you, Launch Party ticket holder, because your support is truly what makes this night come alive!

nspk.mn/launch

Beyond Just Breathing: NS Artist tony the scribe in His Own Words

Image courtesy of the artist

Northern Lights.mn’s Assistant Curator, Elle Thoni, sat down with tony the scribe to discuss his upcoming Northern Spark project, environmental injustice and the need for caffeine.

Elle: So, Tony, you’re known around the Twin Cities primarily as a rapper?

Tony: Yes, I think rapping is a really important art form and it’s one that I connect to really well. And increasingly I’ve realized that it’s such an inclusive art form as well. Hip hop is made for hybridization in a lot of ways, so you can do a lot of really interesting cross-genre, interdisciplinary stuff with it. That’s one of the reasons that I wanted to start pushing those boundaries a little bit and see what other mediums I can work in.

Elle: What enticed you to move in a public art direction?

Tony: I’ve always been fascinated by the way that physical space changes when art is made in it. Thinking about the times that I’ve performed music live and the way that a roomful of people moving feels. It feels different than sitting on the bus alone with your headphones in. And then I started thinking about performance art and rap and where they intersect. They both seek to transform physical space, right? So I wanted to figure out exactly what that looks like.

Elle: So what does that look like with your Northern Spark project?

Tony: just breathe is an installation that I’m collaborating on with Ananya Dance Theater. It is basically a project about environmental injustice in cities. Environmentalism traditionally has talked about a lot of problems like air pollution and water contamination – those sorts of things – but the lens that’s missing a lot of the time is talking about racism and the way that systemic racism functions within that, right? My experience is mostly doing political organizing work on the North side. That area has the highest asthma hospitalization rates in the entire state. It has the highest lead contamination rates. The lack of thinking about sustainability and environmental justice in where we locate all of our infrastructure has resulted in literal death over there. And the same is true, by the way, over in Saint Paul. Highway 94, which Northern Spark runs parallel to this year, is infrastructure that was constructed so that people could move from the suburbs to downtown Saint Paul without ever having to pass through black neighborhoods. That’s why Rondo, which was the most prosperous black community in MN, was destroyed to build 94 through it. The effects of that and the pollution that comes from 94 still affects the community today. So, what we’re really trying to do with just breathe is take that ongoing violence and that ongoing trauma and put it in a physical context, for people to have to interface with people of color just trying to breathe. I don’t want to give too much away – but the installation is going to involve dancers trying to fix that unjust history in a physical space.

Read more of the conversation here.

Connect with us on Social Media!

As the festival draws nearer and nearer, our social media channels have been increasingly flooded with great behind-the-scenes content to keep you in the know about all things Northern Spark!

Are you following us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? If not, click those links and “like” or “follow” us to get instant access to amazing content like…

Post on Twitter on May 7th, 2017 @NL_mn

French Meadow @FrenchMeadow the nation’s 1st certified organic bakery will be at the#NorthernSpark Launch Party! http://nspk.mn/launch

Post on Facebook on May 7th, 2017 @NorthernSparkMN


Check out this awesome behind-the-scenes video with Kim Loken and her students at the University of Wisconsin-Stout gearing up for their Northern Spark 2017 project Mycorrhizae!

Post on Instagram on April 26th, 2017 @northernlights.mn 

We’ve partnered with Metro Transit to commission a spectacular full-color train wrap created by artist Andrea Carlson, which can be currently seen on a METRO Green Line train all the way until June 10th! Have you caught a glimpse of it yet??
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AND Metro Transit is taking care of your transportation for the Northern Spark festival! ?You can ride the METRO Green Line, including the Northern Spark-wrapped train, for FREE on the night of Northern Spark when you download a free pass from the Metro Transit website!
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Passes are also included in the Northern Spark festival map the night of.
#NorthernSpark @metrotransitmn

We’re Hiring!

We are looking for several individuals to join our Northern Spark 2017 Production team as Production Assistants! Production Assistants work with the Production Coordinator and Producer to support all aspects of outdoor festival production. Read more on our website here, and apply by sending a resume and cover letter to jobs@northern.lights.mn.

Do you have a knack for nighttime photography? We are looking for professional photographers and videographers to join our documentation team to capture images of Northern Spark all night long. Must be able to work in very low-light environments. Read more on our website about the photography or videography calls, and apply by sending an email to photos@northern.lights.mn with an email explaining your interest and a link to your portfolio.

Volunteer With Northern Spark

Northern Spark 2015, Photo by Kory Lindstrom

With just under one month left until our most ambitious Northern Spark ever, we still very much need your help to make it happen!

Sign-up is first-come-first-served, and earlier shifts go quickly. If you are a night-owl, consider attending the festival and volunteering for one of our short late shifts. At only two hours long, they are quick but mighty additions to your Northern Spark experience!

Interested in something extra awesome? Consider our Social Media Volunteer roles – applications are due next week, so act fast!

 

Open Position: Northern Spark Videographer

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Northern Lights.mn is a collaborative, interactive media-oriented, arts organization from the Twin Cities for the world. We create platforms with and for artists, audiences, and partners to experiment with and experience innovative art in the public sphere.
Northern Spark is an all­ night arts festival that lights up Minneapolis on the second Saturday of June. Now in it’s 6th year, Northern Spark will take place on Saturday, June 10, 2017. For more information, visit northernspark.org.

 

Job Description: Videographer

Deadline to apply: Friday, May 19th

Send an email stating your interest and a link to your portfolio to photos@northern.lights.mn by xx.

Festival time: 8:59pm on June 10 – 5:26am on June 11

Fee: Range dependent on experience and length of time shooting on the night of the festival

 

Required Meetings:

  • Wednesday, May 24, 6 – 8pm: Project Preview Night
  • TBD: Pre-festival documentation meeting

 

Required Skills and Equipment:

  • Experience shooting in low light conditions.
  • Experience documenting public events.
  • Experience documenting interactive artworks preferred.
  • Must have own camera with any necessary lighting.
  • Must provide own transportation. Free passes for Metro Transit’s Green Line will be provided.