FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Art on the Rooftop: A Party to Benefit Northern Spark
Exclusive access to interactive art experiences, Dining in the Dark, and more on Saturday, June 16 at Le Meridien Chambers Hotel
(Minneapolis, MN) May 4, 2018 — Northern Lights.mn announces Northern Spark’s 8th annual benefit party on Saturday, June 16 in The Rooftop Lounge at Le Meridien Chambers Hotel. Guests will experience unique interactions with Northern Spark artists, including exclusive access to interactive art, window-drawn images, and hand-typed poetry. Featuring artisanal food and drinks, Dining in the Dark, music by DJ Sarah White, and Instagrammable art!
For the first time, the benefit party includes an opportunity for guests to mingle with Northern Spark artists and explore their projects in unique ways. Guests will connect with artists exploring this year’s theme Commonality: Wakemup Productions, Carry On Homes, Witt Siasoco, Kashimana Ahua, Clarence White, and more! Art on the Rooftop will also extend an extra hour beyond previous parties to allow more time for interaction with the art!
For VIP ticket holders, Mercy Bar & Dining Room will offer seats at Dining in the Dark, a five-course menu by Chef Arich Miech, held entirely in the dark. In a completely darkened room, this experience offers an exploration of the four other senses—taste, smell, touch, and sound. Take fine dining to a new level. Spark your taste buds in the dark!
All general tickets include artisanal bite-size food and drinks from amazing local chefs, cocktails from Crooked Water Spirits, and Fulton Beer. Experience a beautiful view of the sunset from the rooftop lounge at Le Meridien Chambers Hotel, walking distance from Northern Spark!
Art on the Rooftop: A Party to Benefit Northern Spark
7-10pm on Saturday, June 16
The Rooftop Lounge at Le Meridien Chambers Hotel
901 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis
#artontherooftop
Tickets: https://2018.northernspark.org/art-rooftop-party-benefit-northern-spark/
Artists who will spark the night!
Sarah White is a soulful songstress, song writer, DJ and culture creator. Her deep melodic musical expression invade and haunt the sacred and spiritual space of her listeners. She has performed as a singer & emcee internationally – sharing stages and collaborating with talented artists including Yasiin Bey, K-OS, Macy Gray, King Britt, J’Davey, and Jay Electronica. Sarah has independently released 3 solo albums. Her voice is featured on labels like Bagpak Records, Luire and Rhymesayers from the midwest to Tokyo and she won Scion’s best electronic vocalist competition in 2009. Recent projects include traveling to Cuba to record in Havana, neon-soul band Shiro Dame, and the new EP, “Laughing at Ghosts”. Laughing at Ghosts was featured in Afropunk, Star Tribune and MPR. Sarah will be spinning a set of Afrohouse, Electronic Soul, Local Sound, and World Beats.
Creative City Challenge Winner
Also on view in The Commons throughout Northern Spark
Carry On Homes is conceived by five artists from five countries: Peng Wu, Shunjie Yong, Aki Shibata, Preston Drum, and Zoe Cinel. Stemming from the Carry On Homes documentary photography project, this interactive sculptural installation is the winner of the 2018 Creative City Challenge and reimagines the home as an open structure. At the party, attendees will have an intimate look of Carry On Homes’ sculptural structure, where each person will have to opportunity to contribute to the piece.
Presented by Northern Lights.mn
Also on view on Nicollet throughout Northern Spark
Kashimana Ahua and Filsan Ibrahim bring the Applause Posse to Art on the Rooftop. Applause Posse, commissioned as a roving project on Nicollet at Northern Spark 2018, is a performing duo using voice, guitar, and other portable instruments for the sole purpose of showering people with musical compliments. It also turns out that giving compliments is as beneficial as receiving them, so the audience will be encouraged to join in the composed musical shower of compliments essentially becoming the posse of Applause Posse.
Justin Peters of Wakemup Productions
Presented by Northern Lights.mn
Part of the Opening Ceremony in The Commons, 9:02 – 9:30pm on Friday, June 15
Justin Peters will bring Funktavism (Fun Activism), the Smart Wars strategy designed to include all people in the reawakening of indigenous ancestry on planet earth. Through Funktavism, Justin will share indigenous reality to create a future for true life to thrive by engaging with attendees in conversation about the indigenous earth and our commonalities.
Clarence White
Clarence is a writer, editor, curator, and performance artist. Clarence is also a poet and will transform the rooftop into an on-the-spot-poetry creation studio complete with a vintage typewriter and papers. Attendees are asked to respond to their surroundings and experience, while the artist create poetry around their intimate conversation. Get a typewritten poem for YOU to take home as a memento of the space and place of the evening. Clarence was a Northern Spark artist in 2013 and 2017.
Witt Siasoco
Witt has been actively engaged in the intersections of the arts and civic processes through a variety of roles—as artist, graphic designer, and arts educator. Witt will create interactive window-drawn images of pop culture and how it relates to our environment and space. Witt was a Northern Spark artist in 2014 and 2017.
Learn more about Northern Spark 2018 artist projects: 2018.northernspark.org/art-and-events
Northern Spark Background
Since 2011 thousands of Minnesotans and visitors have enjoyed Northern Spark, an annual arts festival illuminating public spaces in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In early June, tens of thousands of people gather to explore giant video projections, play in temporary installations in the streets, and enjoy experimental performances in green spaces. Late into the night the city surprises you: friendly crowds, glowing groups of cyclists, an unexpected path through the urban landscape, the magic of sunrise after a night of amazing art and experiences.
Northern Spark is known as a dusk-to-dawn event. In 2018 we are experimenting with a two-night model for attendees to experience the artful magic of Northern Spark for two nights in a row until 2 am.
Memorable projects from past Northern Spark festivals include Chris Larson’s Celebration/Love/Loss, Jim Campbell’s Scattered Light, Luke Savisky’s Ex-MN, Pramila Vasudevan’s Census, and countless other projects from artists such as: Ananya Dance Theater, Marina Zurkow, HOTTEA, and Million Artist Movement.
Northern Spark is produced by Northern Lights.mn, a Twin Cities non-profit arts organization whose work ranges from large-scale public art platforms like Northern Spark to Art(ists) On the Verge, a yearlong mentorship program for 5 emerging artists working with digital culture. We support artists in the creation and presentation of art in the public sphere, such as at St. Paul’s Union Depot (Amateur Intelligence Radio), “choir karaoke” at the Minnesota State Fair (Giant Sing Along) and most recently Illuminate South Loop, a mini outdoor festival of nine interactive projects in Bloomington, MN’s South Loop in the days leading up to the Super Bowl. Through projects such as Ruination: City of Dust, a location-based environmental mystery game, and large scale festivals themed around social issues, our work helps audiences explore expanded possibilities for civic engagement through art.
Click here to see a list of Northern Spark funders & sponsors.
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