It was a beautiful afternoon on the back lawn of the California Building for a celebration that marked the return of the pre-pandemic tradition of gathering in the summer, typically around the time of the solstice. Community members, artists and local politicians came together on July 20th to celebrate our recent back-to-back, second year in a row victory in being named Best Arts District by the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards.
The well attended event had plenty of food to go around, a steady stream of artists and community members coming through to celebrate the win, making the evening quite enjoyable. As artists we often have busy schedules and we do not get to connect with our peers nearly as often as we’d like to. Open studio hours between buildings tend to overlap, so it’s hard to keep up with our peers and their work.
It was great to reconnect with other artists in the District and hear what projects they are working on and to make connections for possible future collaborations. After all, part of what makes us the best Arts District is the community and the people in it. Any chance we have to get together as a community like this is welcomed. Ben Owen, Director of the Arts@MSP program of the MSP International Airport Foundation, joined the group and chatted with public-art sculptors and others.
Local politicians attending included Mayor Jacob Frey, council members Elliott Payne and Michael Rainville, and former council member Kevin Reich who now heads the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. Representatives from most of the studio buildings throughout the district attended along with sponsors who have helped with fundraising efforts throughout the year.
Mayor Frey gave a speech to help us celebrate the win “there is no where else in the entire world like the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District.” Noting that the caliber of artists in density and proximity, in addition to the numerous studio buildings and live/work spaces in the district are unmatched anywhere else in the world. He went on to say that we need to make this win a yearly thing.
Council member Elliott Payne also took to the microphone. He noted that the Arts District is an amazing asset describing it as an epicenter of transformation through art. Margo Ashmore thanked all the people who helped make the win possible, and Josh Blanc concluded the speeches with a reminder that when we do things collectively, big things happen; like getting the council members and the mayor to show up and join in the fun.
If you’d like to show your support of the District, bumper stickers are available at Clay Squared or the California Building. We also have the updated 2023 best of graphic available for you to download. (See below)
As Mayor Frey said when he concluded his speech, ‘let’s hear it for another year of incredible art, creativity and another first place trophy!”
Article by Lisa Roy
You can download a web-sized version of the the WIN logo here.
If you need a print-sized version, click here.
