Art Shanty Projects

The sixth annual Art Shanty Projects, live from Medicine Lake in beautiful Plymouth, Minnesota. Opening Saturday, January 17 – Closing February 14, 2009.

Art Shanty Projects is an artist driven temporary community exploring the ways in which the relatively unregulated public space of the frozen lake can be used as a new and challenging artistic environment to expand notions of what art can be.

The project provides a unique opportunity for artists to interact with their audience, and vice versa, in an un-intimidating, non-gallery like environment. Artists can choose to work in a way that directly engages the audience i.e. knitting or singing Karaoke or in a more passive way.

The focus of this project is on both process and quality of artistic product:

• Artists creating projects that push them and engage the audience.
• The project management providing a flexible structure to work, allowing for the development and realization of an artist’s idea.
• Smart growth, the project must self-govern to respect the environment of the lake and the community of fisher-people that already exists, we are bringing a new use to a place that already has an established relationship with its patrons.
• Audience engagement is essential to the success of the experience, for both artist and audience.

The project runs for 5 weeks, with weekends the most heavily attended by the public. Staffing your project during the weekend and focusing interaction with the audience during these times is encouraged and should be addressed in your proposal.

If you are in the upper midwest and would like to visit the Art Shanty Projects the calendar at their webpage say setup starts January 13 and than opens on January 17, so go get directions and head up and see these neat little abodes. 

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