Water Bar Winter Social: December 3

In the past year many of you have had the opportunity to drop by the Water Barhttp://www.water-bar.org on Central Avenue in the Holland neighborhood to learn more about their work around the intersection of water sustainability and art, taste some water or participate in a workshop, art exhibit or public program. Local artists Shanai Matteson and Colin Kloecker have welcomed the community into the Water Bar and also taken their work out on the road, serving and talking about water with over 30,000 people across the United States.

Now it's time to celebrate the work they and their partners have done over the past year in concert with the community. Water Bar is hosting a Winter Social and Dance Party on Saturday, Dec. 3, 6 p.m. to midnight to thank friends and supporters and introduce new partners and projects for 2017. The event will feature family-friendly art activities from 6 - 7:30 p.m., followed by a program introducing the partners and talking about what's planned for the upcoming year, and ending with live music and dancing. For more information about this fun free event, visit http://www.water-bar.org/calendar-2/2016/12/3/winter-social.

Edison Green Campus Phase II Unveiled

Project partners MWMO, Minneapolis Public Schools, Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association, City of Minneapolis, James Brenner, AWH Architects and Lazor.

Phase II of the Edison Green Campus was unveiled on September 9 shortly before Edison's first home football game. This phase of the multi-year sustainability initiative includes a new grand entrance to the Edison athletic field, a concessions building, greenhouse, community garden and underground storage tanks that will hold stormwater runoff collected from the gym roof, plaza, field and parking lot. Project partners, students and community members gathered on the new plaza to celebrate the completion of another piece of an initiative that has truly made Edison High School the greenest school in the state. Later this fall a solar canopy will be installed over the plaza that will generate enough energy to power 53 homes per year, offsetting 40 percent of the school's electricity needs. Other highlights of the Green Campus include a stormwater re-use system with the potential to store up to 110,900 gallons of captured rainwater, which will be used to irrigate the athletic field and a redesigned parking lot that can capture and treat more than 47,000 gallons of polluted stormwater runoff at a time. The greenhouse and student-created community garden will offer Edison students hands-on urban agriculture opportunities, while the entire Green Campus will function as an outdoor classroom and laboratory. The many partners involved in this project include Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, Minneapolis Public Schools, Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association, City of Minneapolis, LISC, Minnesota Vikings, Spark-Y, AWH Architects, Stantec, and Lazor Office.

Edison Plaza Greenhouse

Hydro-Illuminata Lights Up the River on October 1

Torches create pinpoints of light in the darkness. Dancers weave in spiraling lines down the banks of the Mississippi. Flaming boats trail glowing lines of molten light across the river. The water itself appears transformed into liquid fire. These dramatic images are the culmination of Hydro-Illuminata, a three-month long community conversation about water sustainability.

Join local sculptor James Brenner and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization for a public water and fire spectacle on the banks of the Mississippi as small, fire-filled boats are cast adrift on the water, giving tangible form to a community conversation about water sustainability:

When: Saturday, October 1, 2016, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.

Where: MWMO Stormwater Park, 2522 Marshall Street NE

What: Spectacular free public event that includes an iron pour performance, music, choreography and projections.

Who: Participants and partners include artist James Brenner, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association, Walker Art Center, Homewood Studios, Minnesota Waldorf School, City of Lakes Waldorf School, Rhythm of the Saints and members of the Macalester College Pipe Band.

For more information, visit www.hydroilluminata.com.

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.

NE Green Light Project Unveiling

The Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) and the Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association (HNIA) invite all to attend the launch of CEE’s 2013 Art as Energy project on Thursday, November 7, at 3:30 p.m. at the Edison High School parking lot, 700 22nd Ave NE.

The NE Green Light Project, six light sculptures commissioned by CEE and created by James Brenner, will be unveiled, the Edison band will provide entertainment and treats will be served.

This project is the visual symbol of a unique collaboration between CEE and the Holland neighborhood that will serve as a catalyst for energy conservation and sustainability.

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.

Getting Better Connected

This June, the Logan Park Neighborhood Association (LPNA) and the Holland High Rise, located at 1717 Washington Street NE, celebrated their new computer training center. LPNA partnered with Computers for Schools, City of Minneapolis IT Department, Lakota Institute, USI Wireless, Hoff Auctions, MPHA and the Resident Council at Holland High Rise to close the digital divide for these residents. Thanks to free Wi fi access, reconditioned laptops and computer classes through the Lakota Institute, the Holland High Rise is now connected. The celebration included a community sing-a-long and live accordian music from local musician Dan Chouinard.