Two Calls for Artists

Artist Neighborhood Partnership Initiative (ANPI)

CURA’s Artists Neighborhood Partnership Initiative (ANPI) provides small grants to artists of color and Native artists working in neighborhoods in Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding suburbs. ANPI grants recognize the valuable role that artists and the arts play in neighborhood revitalization efforts and are intended to support the leadership of artists in community revitalization efforts. This grant program is particularly focused on directly funding individual artists or groups of artists who are working to build a more equitable Twin Cities.

The goal of the program is to identify and support compelling projects that artists have developed in response to their community’s specific challenges and opportunities. They are now accepting proposals for one-year support of artist-driven projects. For more information, visit HERE.

Minneapolis Convention Center Exhibit

Art Force, a Ward One-based artwork services provider, is requesting submissions of original two-dimensional artwork for their SmartArt Rotating Art Program for exhibition at the Minneapolis Convention Center. They are seeking large scale pieces, 40"X60" or larger, from artists who live and/or work in the City of Minneapolis. The goal of the exhibit is to showcase the varied visual art talent created by local artists. Consideration will be given to artists with a cultural or geographic perspective that is unique or appropriate to Minneapolis and artists who could be considered emerging in their development.

The deadline for submission is February 24, 2017. For further information and submission details, contact Mary Skaden at mskaden@artforce.org.

Volunteer for Art-A-Whirl

Have you ever wanted to be a part of Art-A-Whirl? NEMAA is looking for volunteers to fill shifts at the information booths, support the Art-A-Whirl Art Silent Auction fundraiser, ride along with the trolley as a Guide, and more. A variety of shifts are open leading up to the event in April and throughout the weekend of Art-A-Whirl, May 20-22. For more information about this opportunity, visit http://nemaa.org/, email volunteer@nemaa.org or phone 612-249-1883.

Council Member's Message

2015 was an eventful year for the City of Minneapolis on a number of fronts and I am pleased that some of the initiatives and improvements launched over the course of the past year will have positive impacts on our community and our environment far into the the future:

• Organics recycling was launched in August of 2015 and will be expanded citywide in 2016. This initiative, combined with the one sort recycling that was rolled out 2012/13, represents a significant step in moving closer to the City's Zero Waste goals.
  
• The Minneapolis Clean Energy Partnership Board, of which I am a member, completed its first year of work toward helping Minneapolis achieve its clean energy goals.
• In September the Council approved the Percent-for-Art Ordinance that I authored with CM Glidden to dedicate 1.5% of City-issued net debt bonds annually to public art funding. This ordinance will ensure stable and predictable funding for public art and reinforces our commitment to the creative vitality artists generate in the First Ward and our City as a whole. Click HERE to read more about the ordinance.
• The City's Regulatory Services department rolled out a tiered rental license system that is designed to align costs and inspections to bring more resources to bear on problem rental properties.

2015 was an especially productive year for the First Ward. Many items that have been top priorities for me and for our community came to fruition in a big way, including the sale of the Hollywood Theater and the return of a ladder truck to Station 15. Read about some of the highlights below; we have much to celebrate!

City of Minneapolis Issues Call for Artists

Ward One Update

City Council Member Kevin Reich

350 S. 5th Street, Room 307, Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 673-2201 · kevin.reich@minneapolismn.gov

City of Minneapolis issues call for artists for four Nicollet Mall projects

The City of Minneapolis is seeking artists for four projects as an important part of the redesign and reconstruction of the city’s downtown Nicollet Mall. The Nicollet Mall Project encompasses the complete reconstruction of the street and sidewalks along the 12 blocks of the mall from Washington Avenue to Grant Street. The redesign project is being led by New York-based landscape architects and urban designers James Corner Field Operations in partnership with local firms Snow Kreilich Architects, Coen + Partners, and SRF Consulting Group, Inc. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2017.

The City of Minneapolis seeks to commission and integrate new works representing a diverse range of public artists into the new mall design.

The project’s goals are to develop new works of art which:

• Are stimulating and contribute to the mall’s reputation as a national destination,

• Engage adults and children at both large scale and detailed (intimate) levels,

• Contribute to mall’s vitality and ability to attract visitors,

• Represent the best creative ideas and the range of cultural communities in the city,

• Are compatible with the mall design, the current art collection and the needs of the businesses and residents, and

• Are durable and can be maintained in Minneapolis’ climate and urban environment.

The call includes opportunities for artists to:

• Lead a team of local and emerging artists to create series of small lanterns ($200,000)

• Create a large-scale iconic artwork ($500,000)

• Design a key feature in the overall mall design ($225,000)

• Curate/integrate all public art into overall mall design ($75,000)

The project is open to artists or artist teams who reside within the United States. An informational meeting for artists is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at Minneapolis Central Library, room S-275, 300 Nicollet Mall. The presentation from that meeting, along with questions and answers, will be posted on the City’s website by Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. The deadline for submissions is midnight (MT) on Feb. 27, 2015. The City expects to select artists by mid-April and to install the new artworks as the mall is reconstructed in 2016 and 2017.

Information about how to apply can be found on the City’s website at or by contacting Mary Altman, Public Arts Administrator.

Watch City Council meetings on Minneapolis 79, the city’s website, or on
your smartphone: www.minneapolismn.gov/tv/79

CONNECT WITH THE CITY
   

NE Green Light Project Unveiled

Community partners, representatives from MPS, elected officials, students and neighbors gathered on a chilly day in early November to celebrate the unveiling of the NE Green Light Project. This Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) “Art as Energy” project offers a tangible sign of a community effort toward sustainability. The Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association (HNIA) and CEE are working with the surrounding community to enroll residents in energy audits and energy conservation improvements with the goal of saving an amount of energy equivalent to the amount needed to power Edison High School. As energy savings increase, the lights embedded in the sculptures will shift from orange through the color spectrum, with the goal of reaching green.

Call for Northeast Artists

Our recently renovated Northeast Library will be installing a new public art project that celebrates the artists living and working in Northeast Minneapolis. The installation will consist of a 40X4 foot horizontal frieze displaying a montage of photographs representing the work of our artists. I have attached some information about the process for submitting your work for selection, but here are a couple of key dates to keep in mind:

Thursday, Sept. 5

Artists Informational Meeting, Northeast Library, 6:30 – 8 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 27

Deadline for submission of up to three images and related materials.

This public art project is open to all artists currently living or working in Northeast Minneapolis. Check out the attached PDF for further details about the project and the submission procedure.

• Northeast Library Call for Artists (2).pdf

New Public Art Sculpture in Holland

The Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) has commissioned Northeast Minneapolis-based sculptor James Brenner to create a public art installation that will educate the community about energy conservation. The Northeast Green Light Project will be located at the corner of Quincy Street and 22nd Avenue, adjacent to the Edison High School parking lot. Conceived as a group of light sculptures fabricated from Cor-ten steel, sculpted glass and led lights, the installation will be connected to a wireless data management system and will change color from red and orange to green and blue in correlation with energy savings achieved by the surrounding community through CEE energy audits and programs. The ultimate goal is to realize energy savings in the Holland neighborhood equivalent to the amount of energy required to power Edison High School.

Brenner conceives of the project’s mission as “a visual representation of how an active and intentional community can educate the public in energy awareness and conservation. The installation operates as both a beacon to draw in and educate the larger community and as a catalyst to spur that community to action.” The Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association (HNIA) is a partner in the project and their current Medallion Public Art Connector (MPAC) Initiative will both raise funds for a future phase of the project and serve as a conduit for information about CEE’s energy conservation programs. Edison High School will also partner in the project, with students assisting in the energy usage data collection and analysis. The Northeast Green Light Project will offer a unique opportunity for practical, hands-on science education. An informational kiosk and Q-Reader at the site will offer members of the public an easy way to learn more about the project and follow the energy conservation process.

This project will be an exciting complement to the water quality projects being initiated by Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) on the Edison campus this summer. Data on stormwater capture and re-use rates will also be tracked by the data management system and analyzed by Edison students. The light sculptures will also be aesthetically related to the public art installations already in place on the Green Campus, including Innovation Backstop, In Flux, Double Flux and the Edison School sculptural sign.