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Ten Northfield artists to receive “Artists on Main Street” grants

Arts and Culture Commission, Downtown news, Public Art, , , , , , ,

The Northfield Downtown Development Corporation (NDDC) was recently awarded a two-year $30,000 grant by Minnesota Main Street, a division of the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, to fund an “Artists on Main Street” initiative in Downtown Northfield.

The Artists on Main Street funding inspired the NDDC, the Northfield Arts Guild and the City of Northfield’s Arts and Culture Commission to form a partnership called “Connections/ Conexiónes” which invites the local artist community to:

  • provide intriguing, welcoming gateways and/or views of our entire downtown area
  • engage with people who spend time near the river
  • create opportunities for people of all backgrounds to be more connected to our downtown area
  • draw people downtown to shop, eat, dine, and utilize our assets along the river

Ten artists or groups have been selected to participate in the first year of “Artists on Main Street”. They will use their works to draw people’s attention to the west side of the downtown district and connect the west side of downtown to Division Street. The locations where the art will be displayed include Ames Park, the Northfield Depot, the Riverwalk,  bridges over the Cannon River, and areas around Bridge Square. These art and performance pieces are intended to be temporary installations. The participating artists and their projects are:

  • Rob Hardy: “Poetry Posts”
  • Lorraine Rolvig/The Northfield Garden Club: “Northfield’s Hanging Garden’s in Plein Air”
  • Fletcher Coolidge: “Raggin’ at the Depot”
  • Alexis Valeriano” “Poems on a Bridge/Poemas en el Puente”
  • Oliver Jin Casima and Ben Heath: “Rays of Unity”
  • Sharol Nau: “Bridge Weaving”
  • Demian Jackman: “Selfie Shark”
  • Jim Rossow: “Totally Tubular Traveling Tubulum”
  • Suzanne Daehlin: “Love Makes the World Go Round”
  • Kathy Ness: “Goose Be Gone”

A kick-off event with the selected artists and the public will be held from 5-7pm on Friday June 7th on the downtown Riverwalk behind the Northfield Arts Guild building (304 Division St.) in conjunction with the NDDC’s First Friday Art Night to celebrate Northfield artists’ participation in this new initiative. Light refreshments will be provided.

The artists’ projects will be displayed or presented at various times and locations between June 2019 and October 2019. Further information about these projects can be found on the NDDC’s website, www.downtownnorthfield.org and the Northfield Public Library’s website, www.mynpl.org.

Call for artists to design downtown banners

Arts and Culture Commission, City of Northfield, Downtown news, NDDC News, Public Art, , , ,

The Northfield Downtown Development Corporation (NDDC) and the City of Northfield Arts and Culture Commission are sponsoring a competition for artists to design a street banner that will be hung on lamp-posts along Division Street and Water Street in downtown Northfield. These banners will be seen by thousands of visitors and residents annually.

The winning design will replace the red, white and blue “Historic Northfield Since 1855” banners, which have been in use since 2005. Artists should submit designs that highlight the cultural, historic, or artistic characteristics of Northfield.

This initiative is made possible by the NDDC’s affiliation with Main Street Minnesota, a program of the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota. The NDDC was recently awarded a mini-grant of $4,200 by Main Street Minnesota to assist with funding this project.

By focusing the new banner initiative on the local artist community, the call for submissions will showcase the high volume of artists living in the community who play a central role in making downtown Northfield a hub for excitement and culture.

“The artists in our community serve as a driving force behind the excitement and allure of downtown Northfield. We want our banners to reflect that,” said Greg Siems, Executive Director of the NDDC.

Artists may submit their designs until June 7, 2019, by emailing them directly to teresa.jensen@ci.northfield.mn.us. Guidelines for submitting entries should be downloaded from the Public Arts page of the City of Northfield.

The design entries will be reviewed by a Public Art Review Committee in mid-June and banner production will begin following the selection of the winning design. The artist that submits the selected design will be awarded $400. The new banners will be displayed beginning in September 2019.

For more information about the NDDC or to contact board members, email greg@nddc.org or visit www.downtownnorthfeld.org.

First Friday Art Night May 3

Art Town, , , , ,

5:00pm                     #Clay Northfield@ Northfield Arts Guild and Carleton College. Northfield Arts Guild, 304 Divison St  S until 6:00pm. Weitz Center for Creativity @Carleton College, 320 3rd St East until 9pm.

Inspired by the choice of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) to hold their 2019 conference in Minneapolis, the Northfield Arts Guild, Carleton College and St. Olaf College partnered to create thirteen unique exhibitions of contemporary ceramic work. Falling under the general title of #claynorthfield, each of these experiences celebrates creativity, diversity, and the important role art plays in our lives. This Northfield celebration of clay is truly unprecedented and designed for both visitors and our local community.  Exhibit details at www.northfieldartguild.org; apps.carleton.edu/museum; wp.stolaf.edu/flaten

6:00pm                 Live music with Spare Niche Jazz at Tanzenwald Brewing,  103 Water St. N.

7:00pm                 Live music with Cannon River Currents at Imminent Brewing,  519 Division St. S.

7:00pm                 Live music with Jim Pellinger at the Contented Cow Pub, 302 Division St. S.

7:30pm                 St. Olaf Jazz 1 presents their annual spring concert at the Pause Manestage, Buntrock Commons, St. Olaf College, 1520 St Olaf Ave. Led by music faculty member David Hagedorn, St. Olaf Jazz 1 was awarded “Outstanding Performance by Large Undergraduate Jazz Ensemble” in DownBeat Magazine’s 42nd Annual Student Music Awards. Results were announced in the magazine’s June 2019 edition.

7:30pm                 The Dance and the Railroad, Carleton Players production at the Weitz Center for Creativity, Carleton College, 320 3rd St E.

8:00pm                 Live music with Dan Israel at the Tavern Restaurant & Lounge, 212 Division St. S.

8:00pm                 Live music with the Tony Rook Band at Reunion – Eat, Drink, Gather, 501 Division St. S.

8:30pm                 Live music with Angel Val at Froggy Bottoms River Pub and Lily Padio, 307 Water St. S.

8:30pm                  Live music with James Lewis & the Jack Pines at Imminent Brewing, 519 Division St. S.

Save the Date for these upcoming 2019 First Friday Art Nights

June 7                    August 2                           October 4                              December 6
July 5                    September 6                   November 1                        

New Executive Director to begin work May 1

NDDC News, , , , , ,

The NDDC has hired a new Executive Director! Greg Siems has accepted the part-time position and will begin his duties on May 1, 2019.

Siems was most recently the Assistant Director of the Institute for Freedom & Community at St. Olaf College. Prior to that he was the Director of Vision 2020 in Austin, Minnesota, where he coordinated and supported over 100 volunteers across nine committees working to improve Austin’s quality of life. In that position he secured over $1.3 million in project funding by cultivating sustained relationships with diverse stakeholders including elected officials, city staff, private citizens, charitable foundations, nonprofits and businesses.

Siems graduated from Luther College with degrees in Political Science and Russian Studies and holds a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame.

“We feel fortunate to have Greg joining us at the NDDC,” NDDC Board member Mark Lancaster told NDDC’s Downtown Northfield MN, “and we are excited about the future of the NDDC under his leadership.”

The NDDC is a Designated Minnesota Main Street organization. It is committed to creating and sustaining a vibrant and vital Downtown Northfield. It focuses on all of the constituencies in the district: building owners, business owners and residential citizens. The NDDC works collaboratively with all economic development partners in the city, including the Northfield City Council, the Northfield Economic Development Authority, the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, the Northfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Northfield Enterprise Center.

For more information about the NDDC, please call (507)645-5604 or visit www.nddc.org. The NDDC is on Facebook at Downtown Northfield MN. The NDDC is a 501(c)3 corporation with offices at the Northfield Office of Business and Tourism, 19 Bridge Square, Northfield, MN 55057.

First Friday Art Night April 5

Art Town, , , , ,

April 5, 2019

5:00pm                
#Clay Northfield@ Northfield Arts Guild and Carleton College
Northfield Arts Guild, 304 Division St S until 6:00pm
Weitz Center for Creativity @Carleton College, 320 3rd St East until 9pm
Inspired by the choice of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) to hold their 2019 conference in Minneapolis, the Northfield Arts Guild, Carleton College and St. Olaf College partnered to create thirteen unique exhibitions of contemporary ceramic work. Falling under the general title of #claynorthfield, each of these experiences celebrates creativity, diversity, and the important role art plays in our lives. This Northfield celebration of clay is truly unprecedented and designed for both visitors and our local community.  Exhibit details at www.northfieldartguild.org; apps.carleton.edu/museum; wp.stolaf.edu/flaten

7:00pm
Live music with Mary Cutrufello at Imminent Brewing, 519 Division St S

7:00pm
Live music with Jack Norton at Contented Cow Pub, 302 Division St  S

8:00pm
Live music with Ben Aaron at the Tavern Lounge, 212 Division St S
Ben Aaron returns to Northfield with his original folk, blues and Americana songs for a night of great live entertainment. Sit back and relax as he plays your favorite popular songs from the past and present.