Arts crawl spotlights the positive side of north Minneapolis
It's a few days before the ArtsCrawl and a group of youngsters at Juxtaposition Arts are showing off rough sketches of their own comic books.
"My story is called 'Impact' and it all starts with the thing and then I introduce you to my characters," says Zahir Miles, a chocolate brown 10-year-old boy with a vivid imagination, which becomes apparent as he talks about the super powers of his comic book characters.
"He can bend stuff," says Zahir. "So he has magnetic powers. But Sapphire, she hasn't got her powers yet."
Juxtaposition Arts is an organization dedicated to using the arts as a way to help young people like Zahir Miles develop their creative talents. The 14-year-old non-profit is located near the corner of West Broadway and Emerson Avenues. Its building is part of a cluster of ArtsCrawl sites near the intersection.
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"The arts offer the opportunity for West Broadway to better reflect the heart and spirit of the community," says Juxtaposition Arts co-founder and executive director DeAnna Cummings.
She says the arts can also be an economic engine for West Broadway. For example, she says Juxtaposition has plans to open a retail space next door to the studio where they can sell some of the custom screen-printed and airbrushed clothing that the young artists create.
"And that's a real need that grew out of being right here on the corner of Broadway and Emerson," says Cummings. "Seeing how many people come to our door on a daily basis, asking where they can get an airbrushed shirt or where they can get a picture of their mom put on their T-shirt or of their cousin who passed away {put on} the hood of their car."
The young artists who work inside Juxtaposition Arts have also left their mark on the sidewalk outside the studio. There they have stenciled the words to a pledge that includes a promise to say no to gangs. The side of the building is covered in a giant mural. Even a nearby concrete trash receptacle is covered in artwork. On it is painted the image of a woman who is clad in red, white and blue. The woman is feeding a baby with a gasoline pump. The word 'Consume' is on the handle of the pump.
Dudley Voigt of the PEACE Foundation, which is one of the main sponsors of the ArtsCrawl, is leading a tour of some of the nearby ArtsCrawl sites. The first stop is right across West Broadway.
"This is 1101," says Voigt. "Last year the building was boarded up."
The 100-year-old building was recently gutted and given an entirely new look. It's occupied by a credit union, coffee shop and the offices of Emerge, a non-profit community development agency. Voigt heads inside the Emerge offices to preview the paintings of artist Chris Harrison that will be displayed here during the artscrawl.
Harrison's large brightly colored, abstract paintings are not mounted yet, but are still breathtaking just leaning up against the walls.
Voigt then walks eastbound down West Broadway toward a storefront building that doubles as a police substation and satellite office for councilmember Don Samuels. There are still many signs that the avenue's redevelopment is still a work in progress. She passes by storefronts of businesses that are not the destination spots that used to be here--department stores and car dealerships. Instead there is a prevalence of social service agencies, hair and nail salons and other low-revenue producing establishments.
Voigt greets Rowena Holmes, a crime prevention specialist who works in the Safety Center. The walls inside the center are full of paintings by local artists. Holmes says she's glad visitors to the ArtsCrawl will be able to come here and see what the northside has to offer.
"It's wonderful for north Minneapolis," says Holmes. "It's wonderful for people to be able to see that north Minneapolis is just much more than the negativity that is associated with it. The press has the wrong idea about what is happening in north Minneapolis. We are much more than gangs and drugs and poverty and criminals."
Holmes and other participants in the ArtsCrawl are hoping that a day full art, music and food will be an effective way to paint a more positive picture of the northside.
The ArtsCrawl begins at 4:00 p.m. Saturday.
