creative economy : Development News

The Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, which was established to recognize a vibrant local arts scene, took on formal boundaries in 2002 after various community leaders combined forces with the city and the McKnight Foundation.

Since then, the district has taken off, especially in the last couple of years, and many community members want to build on that, according to Susan Wagner Ginter, who chairs the board for the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA).

To do so, it’s taking part in the first-ever “State of the Arts District” forum on April 12 at Chowgirls Parlor, organized by the Northeast Community Development Corporation, the Northeast Chamber of Commerce, and the participating speakers.

The event capitalizes on the fact that, “NEMAA is stronger and the arts district is a reality,” Ginter says.

For example, its annual arts crawl, titled “Art-a-Whirl,” brings 50,000 people to the area, she says, adding that the event's business impact is huge.

The question is, “How do we keep the momentum going and keep a stream of people coming into Northeast and discovering the amazing resource that we have?”

Hopefully the forum will help the community plan its next steps. “It’s about how to integrate the arts into the community and keep it vibrant,” she says.    

At the forum, Josh Blanc, who co-owns Clay Squared to Infinity with his wife, Layl McDill, will talk about their experience with a downtown pop-up art store, which they ran in a vacant space over the winter.

“They took a risk and they did really well selling their artwork,” Wagner says.  

Further, it’s a good example of artists getting out of their studios and into the community, a move that has a lot of potential, she says.

She hopes that the forum will bring together community leaders who’ve been instrumental in setting up the district, along with others who want to get involved.

Source: Susan Wagner Ginter, president, NEMAA board
Writer: Anna Pratt 

The Smack Shack food truck, which specializes in New Orleans-style “po’ boy” seafood sandwiches, is adding a permanent space in downtown Minneapolis’s North Loop neighborhood.

It’s going into the one-story brick building that previously housed Holden Graphics Service, according to Josh Thoma, who co-owns the restaurant along with his business partner, Kevin Fitzgerald.

As far as he knows, it’s the first food truck in the Twin Cities to open a restaurant. “For a lot of people starting food trucks, that’s the goal,” he says.

Starting out with a food truck is a good testing ground, according to Thoma. With a permanent space, “Obviously there’s a lot more build-out and overhead with it.”

The restaurant will have a relaxed, coastal feel, he says.

“Picture a cottage or a cabin on Cape Cod,” he says, adding that the place will feature a lot of whitewashed reclaimed wood.

Among the building’s unique architectural features are “gorgeous wooden trusses” that support the roof, 26-foot ceilings, and exposed brick walls, he says.  

In the past, farm equipment got loaded through the large sliding train doors in the one-story building, according to Thoma, who adds that the doors will soon open onto a 60-seat patio. Even in the 115-seat dining room, “It’ll have an open-air feel,” he says.  

A lobster boiler will be a prominent design feature, along with a bar that lets patrons see food being prepared.

Lobsters will be kept in green fiberglass fish tanks, like those that can be found in a typical coastal eatery or a local bait shop.   

The Smack Shack will also continue its relationship with the 1029 Bar in Northeast Minneapolis. The bar is screening the April 9 episode of “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” which features the restaurant.

About its new digs, which will be ready in late June, Thoma says, “I think it’ll have an impact on the Twin Cities."

Writer: Anna Pratt
Source: Josh Thoma, co-owner, Smack Shack

The third annual “30 Days of Biking” event encourages community members to bike somewhere every day during the month of April.

It’s hosting a number of “group rides” and other events to keep the momentum up and introduce participants to each other, according to information posted on its website.   

So far, 1,900 people have signed up for the local challenge, according to the site. Patrick Stephenson, a spokesperson for the group, expects that figure to increase to 4,000.

Over the past several years, the event has gotten bigger and bigger, which is a trend that he’d like to see continue.

In 2010, 600 people joined in the first 30 Days. “It’s a city that’s really excited about bikes,” and the infrastructure is there to support this type of program, he says. There are a number of bike paths in place, “which is probably the reason why Minneapolis has taken hold of it.”

This time around, 30 Days of Biking is hosting a story contest. It’s asking for brief essays about a moment that stands out during the biking month. “Any life-changing epiphanies? Spiritual awakenings? Fun times with friends and family?” the project asks on its website.

It’s also asking people to share their stories via social media. “I really like the grassroots flavor,” Stephenson says. “We’re trying to make it as fun and popular as we can.”

Looking ahead, he’d like to see the event “get more legitimate,” and that “we get better at doing it” and put more time into it. Hopefully it’ll have “more things that people can share.”  

Source: Patrick Stephenson, 30 Days of Biking
Writer: Anna Pratt

Anne Damon has long considered opening a Mexican folk-arts shop, so when a Southwest Minneapolis space became available earlier this year, she jumped at it.

She plans to open Zinnia Folks Arts at the end of April, and the grand opening is scheduled for May.

Zinnia Folk Arts will be a cross between a gallery, gift shop, and folk art store, she says.

Kurimay Upholstery had occupied the space at the corner of 46th and Bryant Avenue South for 40 years, according to Damon.

Damon spruced up the space, making only slight changes, swapping out the lighting, painting, and doing minor repairs, she says.

To show off the brightly colored items, the walls will be painted in neutral shades. The place will have a “clean, contemporary aesthetic."

In the past, Damon, who has collected Mexican folk art since she was in high school, had pop-up sales in her house and later, an interior design studio. For a while, she also shared a space with seven other shop owners who are part of the Guild Collective in St. Louis Park. At the same time, “I always wanted my own space," she says.

At Zinnia, she plans to feature “beautiful items you don’t often see in the Midwest,” including home goods, jewelry, ceramics, textiles, gifts, and more.

The idea is to give people a taste of Mexican folk culture.

Too often, these kinds of objects get put in storage in museum collections, she says. “I hope to not only show people these incredible handmade pieces, but also educate people about the artist and process.” She adds that she buys objects directly from artisans working in non-tourist-y areas.

Source: Anne Damon, owner, Zinnia Folk Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt

The eight-minute documentary “A Fistful of Public Art,” plays off of the title of the 1964 spaghetti western A Fistful of Dollars but celebrates creativity rather than crime.

Deacon Warner, youth program coordinator at IFP Center for Media Arts, a St. Paul-based nonprofit, worked with a seven-member group of students from Avalon High School to create the film.

The opportunity came from Forecast Public Art, “which was interested in doing something with IFP and youth to promote public art, to raise awareness,” says Warner. It made sense because Warner was already doing a residency with the nearby school.

The students, with Warner’s help, shot the film over the winter, for $2,000.

They focused on five works in Minneapolis and St. Paul, including a large-scale piece titled "P.S.--Wish You Were Here," by Stanton Gray Sears, and Lisa Elias’s stylized bus bench “Forged Roots."

Students interviewed the artists behind the artworks. Afterwards, they used the works as a backdrop for surveying people in the street--with a catch: the filmmakers concealed the works with tarps, then grilled passersby about what they thought was under wraps. Many people couldn’t recall that a piece of public art had been covered up, but for the most part, interviewees were positive about public art, once the point of the exercise was explained to them.

Warner hopes that viewers will take away an appreciation for public art, which “helps create an identity as a community, creating something of meaning that’s lasting.” It's a function, he says, that can be overlooked at times.

The filming seemed to create meaning for the young crew as well. "What’s most exciting about the project and working with the youth is seeing their voice emerge and the project develop,” Warner says.

The movie started out with talking heads-- “something staid, but then they introduced the idea of ‘Men in Black’ kind of raids on art,” which “made it much more engaging,” he says, adding that even a pigeon plays a an amusing role in the movie.

Source: Deacon Warner, IFP Media Arts
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis recently updated its self-guided audio tour of the building, which allows people to learn more about the theater at their own pace.

It’s accessible via smartphone, iPod, or other listening device, and devices can be checked out from the theater, according to Guthrie spokesperson Quinton Skinner.

The 40-minute tour takes people through various levels of the building, starting with the main lobby. Users can get behind-the-scenes details about the structure's architecture and history, including its auditoriums, artwork, lobbies, cafes, and meeting spaces.

A highlight is the cantilevered “endless bridge” that reaches toward the Mississippi River.

From level nine, people get a chance to take in “one of the best views of the city,” Skinner says.

The tour goes on to describe the building’s shiny blue facade, which is decorated with images of  playwrights who have special ties to the theater, he explains.

One benefit of the tour is that it's self-guided, so that “if someone is really entranced by a view, they can pause and reflect.”

When starting out, listeners get to choose between six different narrators: St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, WCCO-TV news anchor Angela Davis, performer and writer Kevin Kling, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Cities 97 radio personality Brian (B.T.) Turner, and actor Sally Wingert, according to Guthrie information.

The idea behind the tour is to “remind people that the Guthrie is...[a] community treasure that’s open to the public everyday,” even when shows aren’t happening, Skinner says.

He admits that “it was a lot of hard work, working on the script and recording it and editing it and making it user-friendly,” but he hopes that the result is something that appeals to both out-of-towners and locals who are curious about the theater.  

Source: Quinton Skinner
Writer: Anna Pratt

Frogtown Farm and Garden announced on May 5 that the Trust for Public Land made a successful bid on a 13-acre parcel to help make the urban farm possible.

The Trust, a national nonprofit organization that conserves land for parks, gardens and other natural places, recently struck a deal to buy the land for $2.2 million from the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, according to Frogtown Farm information.

Wilder is a nonprofit health and human services agency that was previously headquartered at the site.    
Frogtown Farm, which a number of community members have been working on over the past several years, would bring an urban demonstration farm, recreation area, and nature sanctuary to a neighborhood that the city has identified as lacking in green space, according to farm information.

Farm organizer Tony Schmitz says, “It’s exciting news. We’re extremely grateful that the Trust has stepped up and pushed the whole issue forward.”

Now, the groups are working to finalize a purchase agreement, he says.

Soon, the farm’s organizers will be focused on fundraising to come up with the money for the land, which is worth more than double the sale price.

“The sale price is significantly reduced from the appraised value as Wilder’s contribution to the community, and to ensure the property will be used in a way consistent with the community’s vision to be of benefit to the community,” a prepared statement from Frogtown Farm reads.

Over the course of the next 18 months, the group will be looking for contributions from government entities, foundations, and individual donors, says Schmitz.

There’s a lot of work to be done to engage people along the way and design the farm to fit “what exactly people want there," he says.

His sense is that “There’s a lot of support for this idea right now,” with people looking at food production with an eye to “how they can have a lighter footprint on the planet.”

It's validation for the fact that “We’ve believed all along that Frogtown kids and families need more green space to enhance their lives,” he says.  

Source: Tony Schmitz, organizer, Frogtown Farm and Garden
Writer: Anna Pratt

A former carpenters' union office on East Lake Street in Minneapolis is being re-imagined as the Forage Modern Workshop.

Brownsmith Restoration is redeveloping the building, which will house its offices along with a furniture store and a brand/idea workshop, according to Brownsmith partner James Brown.

It’ll take nearly $200,000 to turn it around, he says. (Check out its progress here.)

Forage will feature local furniture makers who specialize in modern and vintage designs, he says, adding, “It’ll be kind of like Design Within Reach but on more of a local scale.”

Small manufacturers and designers will sell new and existing lines in the store. Certain home goods, such as specialty wallpaper, will also be available. “It’ll be a curated store, with stuff that we think is really cool,” he says.

Inside, there will also be a café, which will be furnished with tables and chairs from the shop.

The redesign of the 1951 building will reflect its roots with a mid-century modern aesthetic. Reclaimed oak paneling is just one way that Brownsmith will create that, he says.

Forage’s store will launch online first, within the coming weeks, while the café will be ready within six months, according to Brown.

Already, Brown is thinking about ways to make the place, which sat vacant for a year, a destination.

In the future, the building could also be a drop-off location for community-supported agriculture (CSA). It's already hosted various performance art activities. “We’re trying to make ourselves culturally significant,” he says.

East Lake Street is “an important commercial part of the city,” he says. “We want to help redevelop it,” and that, he adds, will “help the surrounding properties a ton.”

Source: James Brown, Brownsmith Restoration
Writer: Anna Pratt

Last spring, a task force from the Union Park District Council in St. Paul started scouting out places for a new community garden.

A workshop with the local nonprofit organization Gardening Matters helped to get the project going, according to landscape architect Jeff Zeitler, who serves on the task force.

Finding open land was a challenge in the well-developed neighborhood, but the group has settled on a spot near Interstate 94 and the intersection of Prior and Gilbert avenues. To set up the Prior/Gilbert Community Garden at this location, the council is working out a lease agreement with the city’s public works office, he says.

It would be mutually beneficial in that “We maintain the space and they [Public Works] don’t have to, and we get to grow food there,” he says.  

One reason the community started looking for potential garden space was that the existing Eleanor Graham Community Garden, which has a long waitlist, will be closed temporarily next year during the reconstruction of a nearby city bridge.

In 2014, both gardens will be in play. “There’s a big demand for community garden space,” Zeitler says. “It’s really something to see.”

This spring, Prior/Gilbert will start out with 42 plots. The garden includes different-size parcels and individual and community areas. It has a phased implementation plan, which means it’ll start out with only the bare-bones necessities, according to Zeitler.

Getting water to the garden is the most expensive task, while donations are still needed for a shed, tiller, fencing, fruit trees, and more, he says.

Zeitler hopes the neighborhood’s gardeners will be able to start digging in the dirt by the end of April.

The rewards go beyond local food production. “It’s a community center in some ways. [In the garden] people talk and meet their neighbors. It brings people together,” he says.  

Source: Jeff Zeitler, volunteer, Union Park District Council
Writer: Anna Pratt

Soon, a memorial honoring veterans will have a spot on the south end of Sheridan Memorial Park in Northeast Minneapolis, which has views of the Mississippi River.  
 
The $400,000 public art installation has been in the works for five years, according to Deborah Bartels, a project manager from the Park Board.
 
Local veterans collaborated with the Sheridan Neighborhood Organization (SNO) to enhance the new park, which eventually will hook up with the regional trail system along the river, with various amenities, including picnic areas, playgrounds, and more, she says.
 
University of Minnesota designers came up with a concept for the site. The plan for the memorial was presented at a Feb. 21 open house at Park Board headquarters. Soon, the board will select an artist for the sculpture through a competitive application process.   
 
A sculpture that speaks to “memorial and sacrifice” will go into the middle of a circular plaza, the Park Board’s website states.
 
Surrounding the sculpture will be vertical markers that speak to the nine conflicts that Minnesotans have fought in. They’ll give some background on the wars, including personal anecdotes.  
 
An “empty” marker will “represent the precarious nature of peace,” according to Park Board information.   
 All along the way will be paths, benches, and green space; trees will ring the outer edge. 
 
As for the sculpture, “We’d like to see what people come up with,” says Bartels. “We don’t want it to be representational.” The idea is to do something that’s “contemplative in nature,” she says.
 
Site work will wrap up by Veterans Day this year, while the main sculpture will be finished in time for Memorial Day in 2013.
 
Source: Deborah Bartels, project manager, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
Writer: Anna Pratt
 

A project launched last week, entitled "We are Sabathani," will document the impact of the longstanding Sabathani Community Center in South Minneapolis through words and art.

The Council on Black Minnesotans and the Minnesota Humanities Center have partnered in the project, with funding from the state Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Sabathani, which brings together everything from a food shelf to after-school youth programs, has long been a community gathering place, according to Anika Robbins, who is leading the project along with retired Judge LaJune Thomas Lange.

Already Robbins and Lange have started collecting oral histories and artifacts, such as newspaper clippings and other writings related to Sabathani, all of which will end up in a traveling exhibit. They're also cataloging the center's extensive art collection.

In the 1960s, Sabathani originated as a church. Back then, churches were often a “pivotal point for bringing communities together,” Robbins says. Before present-day types of nonprofit organizations and community centers were created, "Churches were activism-involved and they helped push social change,” she adds.

Later Sabathani evolved into a community center at its current location, which was formerly a junior high school. It became “an avenue for children, to keep them engaged,” Robbins says, adding that she has fond youthful memories of the place herself.

These days, it’s also a hangout for seniors, and some of its original founders participate in events; this, she says, “is a story in and of itself.”

Robbins is excited about the opportunity to capture these stories, which she hopes will help people to “understand the fabric of the community they come from.” The place has hosted “so many people from different walks of life, who grew up in the area or came through the doors for various reasons,” she says, adding, “It continues to be a beacon in the city.”  
 

Source: Anika Robbins, "We are Sabathani"
Writer: Anna Pratt

Videotect 2, the second annual video competition from Architecture Minnesota magazine, got people thinking in many different directions about sustainable transportation.
 
The 39 submissions included everything from an old-timey PSA about the benefits of walking to a Super Bowl-commercial-inspired video about getting around in the future.
 
The grand prizewinner, "SaddleBag," which won a $2,000 prize, was announced at the competition’s March 1 screening at the Walker Art Center. (Watch it below.)
 
Gaardhouse and Shelter Architecture teamed up on the video, which was tongue-in-cheek yet informative. “I hope more outfits take a cue from it,” Hudson says. “It had a great story line with lots of facts and it was easy to read and understand the diagrams.”   
  
The most popular video among viewers, which also received a $2,000 check, was “Twin Cities Trails,” by Steven Gamache, Matt Herzog, Ben Lindau, Chris Lyner, and Mike Oertel. It showed a 1980s hair band that sang about the Twin Cities’ unmatched trail system. “It spoofed Queen amazingly,” he says, adding, “It was inventive and funny.”   
 
The $500 honorable mention awards went to the “Church of Automobility,” by Michael Heller and Ryan O’Malley, “A Fistful of Asphalt,” by John Akre, “Over/Under,” by Daniel Green, and “Sustainable Transportation,” by Ryan Yang. 
 
In general, guidelines for the 30- to 120-second videos were pretty open-ended. The pieces just had to “present a point of view on transportation choices, their impact on the environment and human health, and the role that design can play in enhancing them,” according to a statement about the competition.
 
Why is the magazine doing it? “The crux of it is, trying to bring more voices and creativity into urban design debates. It can be dry stuff, but it’s so important to the quality of our lives and how we design cities,” Hudson says. Videotect is a “great way to have fun with it, to make it entertaining to get at some of these issues that we keep debating as citizens.”

That's evident in the fact that the contest drew more submissions this year, and online voting spiked by 250 percent, he says.
 
Source: Chris Hudson, editor, Architecture Minnesota
Writer: Anna Pratt

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Videotect 2: SaddleBag from Architecture Minnesota on Vimeo.

Minneapolis' Colossal Café, a popular stop for breakfast and breads, opened a larger second location in St. Paul’s St. Anthony Park neighborhood late last year.

There weren’t any restaurant spaces available in the area when Colossal was scouting out locations, so it went for a 2,200-square-foot space that had housed a doctor’s office for over 40 years, according to Colossal’s co-owner, John Tinucci.  

Within the same building, there’s also a salon, an eye doctor, an architectural office, and more.

The $400,000 project involved gutting the place and bringing in all new mechanical systems. “We really chose the neighborhood,” he says, adding, “We could’ve done a build-out elsewhere for a lot less money.”

Inside, Colossal has a modern café feel, with glass block windows, tall ceilings that are partially exposed, a multi-colored floor made out of sustainable materials, and an open kitchen. “Our place in Minneapolis is very open by necessity and that’s something that we wanted to carry through again,” he says.

The place is furnished with a mix of tables, including some that were crafted by Big Wood Timber Frames Inc. out of reclaimed wood from the old Pedro Luggage store in downtown St. Paul. “They lead to a lot of good conversations,” he says. “It’s another piece of St. Paul.”   

He was drawn to the neighborhood that’s sandwiched between Luther Seminary and the University of Minnesota because “People here take ownership.”

“They support local businesses,” he says, adding that many people can be seen out and about. The neighborhood has a "mini-downtown" feel, with plenty of shops. “You wouldn’t have to leave the area if you didn’t want to.”
 
With food that’s made from scratch using many local products, and that tries to be as sustainable as possible, “This is the type of operation that fits in here so well.”

In the future, the restaurant might add nighttime hours and beer and wine, he says.

Source: John Tinucci, co-owner, Colossal Café
Writer: Anna Pratt

Recently, the Minneapolis Convention Center unveiled an exhibit that highlights various sustainable projects around the city, including its own.

The interactive two-sided display, which has touch screens, includes a map that features everything from the Nice Ride Minnesota bike-sharing program to the Downtown Improvement District.

The convention center itself has become more eco-focused in recent years, according to convention spokesperson Kristen Montag.

Although it has been working for years to improve its green profile, it’s now amping up its effort, with goals to reduce water consumption by 50 percent; slash energy use by 10 percent, and increase recycling by 75 percent by 2015.  

To do so, bathrooms will be retrofitted with energy-efficient systems to help conserve water, while light fixtures throughout the building will also be upgraded. Lights in rooms that aren’t being used will be kept off.

Further, the center plans to recycle 1.4 million pounds of its 1.8 million pounds of waste every year--which involves more sorting, Montag says. “When you think about how much waste the convention center recycles and what it’ll do, it changes the way it disposes of waste,” she says. “It’s about increasing recycling in a way that it hasn’t done if before.”

The center is also looking into the possibilities for managing stormwater.   

It wants to be a role model in this area throughout the city and nationally, she says.

Already, it’s reduced its energy use by 24 percent since 2008, which has amounted to $1 million in savings to taxpayers, according to Montag.

Right now, “Employees are working to figure out how to do it personally. It’ll be an on-the-ground team effort,” which brings together people from different parts of the workforce. “It’ll change the way they do their jobs and the way the building is run--and it’s something they’ll own.”  


Source: Kristen Montag, spokesperson, Minneapolis Convention Center
Writer: Anna Pratt

St. Paul’s Summit Brewing Company, which pioneered the local craft beer scene when it started in 1986, announced this week that it’s embarking on a $6 million project to expand its brewery.

It’ll likely begin the six-to-eight-month construction process in 2014, according to Carey Matthews, a company spokesperson.

Last year the brewery hit near capacity, producing just over 100,000 beer barrels, she says, adding that it was a milestone for the company.

The expansion will allow Summit, which grows 10 percent annually, to double its capacity. “It’s a necessity,” she says. “We’ll run out of space to make beer in the next few years.”

It’s something that the company planned for when it built its current home in 1998; it set aside space on the premises for future growth.

This follows $3 million in capital investments that the company has made in the brewery over the last couple of years, according to the Star Tribune.

The current project will include expansion in various areas, including the cellar, office, and warehouse. “The cellar is where we hit capacity issues,” Matthews says, adding that it’s where the fermentation processes take place.

Beer sits for weeks at a time in stainless steel vessels that are multiple stories high. “Right now we can’t add any more tanks,” she says.

Naturally, with more beer comes a need for additional space to package the product and do many other things. The company also plans to add to its quality assurance lab.

Matthews says that the project will also benefit the local economy by providing additional jobs at the brewery.  

In general, the expansion “is a response to our consumers and deepening our relationships with existing customers,” she says.

Source: Carey Matthews, spokesperson, Summit
Writer: Anna Pratt