What:

Minneapolis leaders will unveil the designs for ten new public art sculptures designed to celebrate the City’s commitment to creating art that enhances our neighborhoods and enduring connection to water. The project will result in sculptures that also serve a purpose as drinking fountains for the public to use at spots around the city.

In addition to unveiling the designs, the ten public art fountain locations will be announced, along with the community partners that will help make the sculptures possible. The public art project is also a part of the city’s 150^th anniversary, which is being celebrated in 2008.

The Minneapolis Arts Commission selected this project as the focus for the City’s 2008 public art program to promote the city’s water, which is some of the cleanest water in the country, and as an opportunity to educate the public about water conservation issues.

Funding for the sculptures comes from the City’s Art in Public Places Program, part of the City’s Capital Improvement Program since 1992. The program has funded more than 35 public art projects throughout the city and has contributed to the dynamic arts and design culture in Minneapolis, a city known as an arts capital.

The commission chose locations for the sculptures that celebrate the story of water in Minneapolis. Locations could include pedestrian corridors or bike trails, near schools, libraries, within plazas, or other public gathering places. The commission also sought to find locations where a public or private partner could provide daily and ongoing maintenance of the fountains.

Sites include: Nicollet Mall; Marquette and Second avenues; Lake Street; Franklin Avenue near 13th Avenue South; Plymouth and Penn avenues north; Dinkytown area; Uptown area; and Central Avenue Northeast.

This public art program was inspired by “Invigorate the Common Well,” a multi-year public art/public health project by Sandy Spieler, Artistic Director of in the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and the Tomales Bay Institute.

A performance from “Beneath the Surface,” by in the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater, begins the event.

Who:

Mayor R. T. Rybak

Joe Dowling, Director, Guthrie Theater

Sandy Spieler, Artistic Director, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre

Artists:
Douglas Freeman; Mayumi Amada; Marjorie Pitz; Seitu Jones; Peter Morales; Andrew MacGuffie; Lisa Elias; Gita Ghei, Sara Hanson and Jan Louise Kusske

Community Partners

When:

Tuesday, July 22, 11am

Where:

Guthrie Theater, Endless Bridge

818 South 2nd Street
Minneapolis, MN