Made Here is an ongoing street art festival sponsored by Hennepin Theatre Trust and Andersen Windows. It launched Friday night (July 11) with performances, great food and a tour of visual art stationed around downtown Minneapolis. As a lover of street art, I think it’s fantastic. Street art gives people an opportunity to stop and pay attention. It spurs conversation. In a climate where we run from our car to the building to car because it’s too cold to stop, it’s fun to have an excuse to get out of the car, to visit downtown and to dawdle on the way to a meeting or appointment.
I went with my favorite 10 year old. We were early, which meant we unknowingly crashed the VIP party at the Parklot. We’re going to be early more often. There were tastes from various Minneapolis restaurants. The caramel corn from Candyland was totally worth jeopardizing the work of a morning spent at the dentist. The Parklot is an empty lot that has been outfitted with a stage and seats and is ripe for pop up performances. Another good idea. Nothing comes from nothing and often empty lot quickly becomes an unsavory space. Just a little priming and the space opens up to possibilities. Same with the mini-galleries hosting the visual art.
We didn’t visit all of the art on Friday but I’m sure we will over the next few weeks. We did see a good range of cute and clever, educational and simply amazing art.
There were fun colorful cartoons that took a skewed view of pedestrian life. The fire hydrant splashing the dog was a big hit with the 10 year old. OK, I enjoyed it too.
The Somali Museum of Minnesota has an exhibit in the Burd Building (319 N. 1st Avenue). If you visit, be sure to walk all the way to the back. They have tents set up and murals depicting Somalia. The construction of the tent is amazing. Check out the branches that serve as scaffolding. We learned that the jugs in the tent will keep milk fresh for weeks. There were some lovely older Somali women with limited English who were showing off the tent. Art and a personal introduction can bring a culture to life so effectively.
Finally we visited Proprioception by Hannah Quinn Rivenburgh at Happy Days Market (20 N. 4th Street). She is a performance artist; this foray into visual arts was a first. She is on my short list of people to learn more about. Proprioception is the sense that helps us know where our bodies are in context with other physical objects. It helps us gage how far to lift our feet to climb stairs or how to touch our nose with our eyes closed. The art from a distance is a person floating in space. Up close it is very detailed, close up view of cells and pages from Grey’s Anatomy featuring body parts – such as a cross section of a skull. Spectacular work!
Coverage of issues and events that affect Central Corridor neighborhoods and communities is funded in part by a grant from Central Corridor Funders Collaborative.
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