Mission Statement: To catalyze the innovative spirit of artists through generative community arts development.

Recent activities, accomplishments:

  • Voted #1 Best Arts District (two-years running) nationwide in the USA Today 10Best Readers Choice travel awards in 2022 & 2023, also 2015 and 2nd place in 2021.
  • “Chroma: A Spectrum of Beauty” exhibit spanning the five cases of Concourse C Gallery at the Minneapolis & Saint Paul International Airport promoting the fine art and craft of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District will be up until December 2022. This is the second time we’ve exhibited at the airport.
  • Formed a Land Trust Task Force and received recommendations for preserving land in the district for arts uses in a study report through Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Capstone report is pending illustrating how various publics value the Arts District.
  • Helped launch NE Sculpture | Gallery Factory, which is assembling public sculpture trails.
  • Continuing to produce the popular annual Northeast Calendar.
  • Held candidate forums for District 60A, First Ward and Third Ward.
  • Producing the e-newsletter Arts District News monthly for Arts District followers.
  • Producing the monthly Arts Insights page in the Northeaster newspaper.

The Northeast Minneapolis Arts District (NE-AD) was officially designated an arts district December 13, 2002 by the City of Minneapolis. NE-AD’s Board of Directors was established in 2014.

On December 30, 2020 we merged with Northeast Community Development Corporation, enhancing  the preservation and defense of the Arts District’s geography for use by artists and arts related businesses.

The Arts at Work

Our Goals

    • Our mandate is to protect, nurture and grow the official Arts District as a citywide asset.
    • Our goal for the organization is to build leadership capacity.
    • Our goal for the community is to engage all stakeholders to bring more artists, arts organizations and businesses who relate to arts, to the Arts District.
    • NE-AD is the VOICE of the Northeast arts community.