Five art studio buildings will welcome visitors Nov. 13-15, each offering its own creative atmosphere and experiences. All five destinations offer opportunities to discover original art, meet the people who make it and find something special to take home.
Art Attack! at the Northrup King Building, 1500 Jackson St. NE, invites visitors to explore four floors of art, meet local artists, watch live demonstrations and participate in interactive art experiences. Guest food trucks will also be on hand.
At the California Building, 2205 California St. NE, California Dreamin’
will feature open studios, artist-led demonstrations, and classes. Weekend highlights include Delightful 20: Two Decades of Celebrating Art and Friendship, a special exhibition featuring Jennifer Davis and Amy Rice. Visitors can also attend additional artist-hosted activities and classes, including opportunities to make their mark on a community canvas.
Open Casket at the Casket Arts Building, 691 17th Ave. NE, invites visitors to explore artists’ studios, discover original artwork and experience the building’s creative community. A weekend highlight is the semiannual Northeast Minneapolis Arts District Speakeasy.
The Q.arma Building, 1224 Quincy St. NE, offers another opportunity to connect with Northeast’s creative community. Artists working across disciplines such as painting, printmaking, ceramics, jewelry, photography, and woodworking invite visitors to explore studios, discover new work and shop for unique creations.
The Solar Arts Building, 711 15th Ave. NE, will host Art This Way, featuring two floors of art, open studios, guest artists, and live music. The building’s ROLL CALL: A Solar Arts Reunion Exhibition will bring back artists who helped shape the creative community. Visitors can also visit Indeed Brewing Co. and Pizzeria Lola.
Fall Open Studios hours are Friday, 5-9 p.m.; Saturday, noon-8 p.m.; and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. The featured open studio events are free and open to the public.
Holland Arts Buildings (East & West) will be open Saturday, Dec. 12, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Take a break at the Speakeasy
The neon sign at the Casket Arts Building, 681 17th Ave. NE, points patrons to the speakeasy. (Provided)
The Northeast Arts District Speakeasy will be open Nov. 13-15 during Fall Open Studios. Located in the basement of the Casket Arts Building, the Speakeasy serves season-appropriate cocktails and mocktails twice a year. Sales benefit the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District organization. The 45th Parallel Distillery donates the liquor. The family-owned Wisconsin distillery has a connection to Northeast Minneapolis through owner Paul Werni, who was a long-time Northeast resident and values the artist community. He continues to support the Arts District by sponsoring the Speakeasy.
Two annual Speakeasy events — Open Studios and Art-A-Whirl® — raise roughly $20,000 a year to strengthen the local arts ecosystem through exhibitions, storytelling, cultural preservation, public programming and advocacy. The programs build community within the Arts District, supporting individual artists and promoting the Arts District as a regional asset. Recent programs include collecting the long-term history of the Minneapolis arts scene, featuring contemporary artists’ stories, recognizing significant individual accomplishments, and producing an annual arts calendar.
The programs include:
Communication
Artists’ voices are amplified through stories shared in the Arts District News e-newsletter (1,200+ subscribers) and the Arts Insights feature in the Northeaster (48,000 readers.)
History
The Minneapolis Arts History Project records interviews, community roundtables, and historical research, preserving the firsthand accounts of the artists, gallerists, cultural leaders and communities who transformed Minneapolis into a nationally-recognized arts hub.
“Origins: How the Spotlight Shifted from Downtown to Northeast: A history exhibit at the Arts District Welcome Center” in the Timber & Tie building, 904 14th Ave, NE, traces Downtown’s 1980s art scene heyday to the birth of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. The digital archive is open to the public during the Arts District’s fall open studio weekend, Saturday, Nov. 14 and Sunday, Nov. 15, 12-5 p.m. The Welcome Center also houses the Arts District Digital Archive: A virtual home for the project’s two history exhibits, “We Are Here to Stay: The California Building Story and Origins,” along with its 11 completed interviews. It launches Nov. 20.
Recognition
The biennial Vision Awards honor individuals’ outstanding dedication to the arts community. The awards celebration is a free event attended by artists and arts supporters. Twenty people have been recognized so far, and the next awards are planned for 2027.
Publicity
The annual juried Northeast Calendar features work by local artists. The 2027 calendar coming out in November features 13 artists who were paid and fully credited for their work. Local business sponsors provide advertising revenue. The calendar is distributed free at local businesses.
Editor’s note: Jennifer Young is president on the board of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District and co-owner of several arts buildings within the Arts District.