Every summer Northeast Minneapolis struts its impressive artistic stuff at Art-a-Whirl. The annual celebration, which bills itself as the largest open-studio and gallery tour in the country, highlights the rapid growth of this fine old residential neighborhood, full of churches and still rich with Eastern European traditions, into a magnet for artists, gallerists, and edgy restaurateurs. Bill Kelley's images capture the visual--and musical--richness.of this year's event, from May 20th to the 22nd.

Art-a-Whirl 2011 featured more than 500 artists showing their work in a galaxy of venues ranging from big artist/industrial spaces like the Northrup King Building, the California Building, and the Casket Art Building to improvised galleries in artists' homes. Workshops, demonstrations, and concerts popped up everywhere.

Art-a-Whirl's logo is a tornado, and Bill did most of his shooting on Sunday the 22nd, the day a real tornado ripped through North Minneapolis, about a mile from where he was. He reports that he spent the take-shelter period in the basement of the Rosalux Gallery--"talking to artists and listening to the weather."