Renderings of the “Barrel Boy” sculpture on the building that houses Recovery Bike Shop. (Joel Sisson)
In mid-February, Becky Carlson St. Clair, vice president of property development at Artspace, a nonprofit real-estate organization focused on spaces for artists, reached out to the Art Walk Committee to discuss commissioning artist Joel Sisson to create a “Barrel Boy” project for its expansion of the Northrup King Building campus.
The “Barrel Boy” is a large anthropomorphic sculpture made of barrels. One of the sculptures could be seen “riding” a large bicycle in the 2025 Celebrate Northeast Parade.
Carlson St. Clair said she was intrigued by the project being developed for Recovery Bike Shop on Central Avenue, and wanted to know more. The Art Walk Committee met with her and Sisson at the Northrup King Building site on February 26 to discuss options and review the site. Planning for the project is still underway.
At present, plans for the latest part of the Northrup King campus to be renovated include affordable housing and a playground. Plans indicate the sculpture would stand on an 8-foot by 8-foot pad, which is sufficient for one figure. It would be made of orange and yellow barrels, a color scheme intended to complement the colors on the playground.
ArtSpace has received a grant from the Metropolitan Council Livable Communities Demonstration Account for the project. If all goes according to plan, the buildings will be completed by May of this year (leasing is already underway) and the full site will be ready in July.
Not the first “Barrel Boy”
The proposed project at the Northrup King Building would be the second “Barrel Boy” project. The first sculpture is to be installed on the exterior of Recovery Bike Shop, 2504 Central Ave. NE.
Sisson recently finished working with a structural engineer, required by the city to assure pedestrian safety, to ensure the building is structurally sound enough to hold the piece. The sculpture will enter the public right-of-way on the sidewalk, so pedestrians walking along Central Avenue NE. may pass beneath it. During installation, the sidewalk near Recovery Bike Shop will be blocked off to make space for machinery and relevant equipment.
The Art Walk Committee has received art consent forms from ownership of the buildings adjacent to Recovery Bike Shop.
The committee will next bring the proposal to the Minneapolis Arts Commission, a body which advises the Minneapolis City Council and Mayor on arts-related issues, to evaluate the project and approve or reject it. Since the “Barrel Boy” would extend into public space during installation, the committee will be required to obtain an encroachment permit to build the project.