You hop on a night train and head to a neighborhood bustling with light, art, cultural activity, music, ethnic food and an important message you’ll carry with you. Then it’s back on the train to another neighborhood with another array of things to amaze and entertain.
You are:
A. In some exotic city on a hopping summer Saturday night.
B. At Disney World
C. On the Green Line in Minneapolis and St. Paul for the annual all-night arts festival, Northern Spark.
(Of course the answer is C, or you’d be reading this in the travel section.)
Northern Spark, the all-night arts festival that started in 2011, will be at seven spots along the Green Line, the light-rail route that connects Minneapolis and St. Paul. At each “zone,” artists will be set up with their projects, all of them flavored by the neighborhoods where they will be and all with a focus on climate change and a call to action.
“The Green Line is the spine,” said Sara Peters, co-director of Northern Spark.
More than 70 artist projects will take place during the event, which starts at 8:59 p.m. Saturday and goes until 5:26 a.m. Sunday (though there are a handful of events that do not go all night). Fest-goers can start anywhere — from the Minneapolis end, in the Commons next to U.S. Bank Stadium, to the St. Paul end in Lowertown — or any of the five zones in between.
How to decide? Pick a favorite neighborhood zone. Pick an artist project that intrigues you. Or just hop on and off the train and see what each zone has to offer. You’ve got all night.
The Northern Spark website can help you break it down. Sign up for “My Night” and then go to the arts/events section and click on the heart by the projects that interest you. Back at “My Night,” they’re sorted by zone.
No rules, no right way to do Northern Spark, but there are a couple of important matters. Download a free Metro Transit pass at the Northern Spark website and bring your own water bottle. There won’t be any bottled water sold (in keeping with the focus on climate change and action), but there will be water filling stations. Or, for a donation, you can pick up one of the 1,400 water bottles the Northern Spark staff cleaned and recycled.
Then, just get on the train and go. Here are a few highlights from each stop.
THE COMMONS — U.S. Bank Stadium (opening ceremonies here at 8:30 p.m.)
Orbacles — “A triad of spherical environments” — sculptures on poles — look at bird populations in Minnesota from now through 2080.
Alien Technology II — Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri is creating a 10-by-10-foot sculpture that connects Persian Gulf oil and the pearl-diving industry there. After Northern Spark, the piece moves to the Soap Factory for long-term exhibition.
Night Library — A popular project from previous Northern Spark festivals returns. Robots have taken over and visitors to the library go from room to room to solve the puzzle. (Be prepared to stand in line.)
CEDAR RIVERSIDE — West Bank
Violet Diaspora — Iranian artist Nooshin Hakim is planting seeds in a “dirt map” with defined borders. As the plants grow, they eliminate those borders.
Making the Best of It: Dandelion — Become the dandelion. The dandelions are hosting a memorial for the now-extinct humans. Stop by to write a toast to humans from other non-human objects.
WEISMAN ART MUSEUM — East Bank
Lawn-a-Loom: Weaving out of Waste — A portable loom on the Coffman Union lawn will use textile and other waste as weaving material for a “tapestry of trash.”
Magic Lantern Carousel — Large animal luminaries will move on an elevated pulley system in front of Coffman Union to “explore the diversity of species struggling to adapt to our changing climate.”
LITTLE AFRICA — Snelling Avenue
The Slow Down — Slow down and think about the everydayness of oil. Write a message about pulling away from the petroculture and it will be posted on one of those lighted highway road signs.
Chaos on the Green Line — Get a Virtual Reality viewer from a kiosk in Little Africa or Rondo, boot up the free Chaos on the Green Line app and take a seat on the train for “the world’s first mass transit VR thrill ride!” The motion of the train transports viewers to a “brilliantsly imagined” world of climate chaos. The website warns: “Not for the faint of heart, you’ll find yourself surrounded by migrating herds of wild animals, and floating above the clouds. Ride at your own risk, hang on tight, and keep valuables safe while viewing.”
RONDO — Lexington Avenue
Just Breathe — Dancers from Ananya Dance Theatre will dance in a fog-filled container wearing gas masks.
Poetry Gumbo, Open Mic and Conscious Entertainment — Community poetry, education around climate change, crowd participation and open mic features artists from the across the Twin Cities.
LITTLE MEKONG — Western Avenue
Little Mekong Night Market — Southeast Asian night market is open until midnight. If you miss it, you can return between 5 and 10 p.m. Sunday night.
Hmong Tattoo Exhibit — And up-close-and-personal photo exhibit looks at tattoos on Hmong. No tattooing on Saturday night, but there will be body painting.
Green Line Poet — Poet Clarence White will chat with you and then create a poem on a manual typewriter. Using REAL PAPER.
LOWERTOWN — Union Depot
Desplazados/Displaced — On-site and roving flamenco performances look at the questions around what you would do if you had to leave everything behind.
The Transparent Spirit Elevation Chamber — Deal with your “eco-anxiety.” Artist Mary Jane Mansfield has created a calming space for you to sit by a waterfall while birds will fly overheard.
Bees Live Here — Susan Brown is the artist, beekeeper and chef/entrepreneur behind Mademoiselle Miel, a St. Paul-based maker of locally sourced chocolate and honey confections. Susan’s hives are on top of Union Depot, but a video of the inside of the hive will be projected on the depot’s facade and viewers can listen in with headphones provided. Speakers at Public Art Saint Paul’s “Utopian Podium” voice their human support and recite poems for bees. If you proclaim your commitment to bees, you can get a honey stick.
IF YOU GO
- What: Northern Spark 2017
- When: 8:59 p.m. Saturday to 5:26 a.m. Sunday
- Where: At seven “neighborhood zones” along the Green Line from the Commons at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to Union Depot in Lowertown St. Paul.
- Info: northernspark.org
