The City of Bloomington and Artistry in partnership with Northern Lights.mn, are proud to announce Illuminate South Loop, a three-day event that will take place at Bloomington Central Park (8100 33rd Avenue South) in Bloomington’s South Loop District from February 1 – 3, 2018. The event will be a unique addition to the lineup of activities leading up to Super Bowl LII, showcasing a variety of interactive art installations and performances designed and produced by Minnesota and international artists. This creative placemaking initiative focuses on leveraging the power of the arts, culture and creativity to engage the community.

“This unique event will welcome local residents as well as out-of-town visitors to Bloomington during a very exciting time,” said Alejandra Pelinka, City of Bloomington Director of Creative Placemaking. “This participatory evening art experience will highlight South Loop and its potential, while also giving attendees a Minnesota outdoor experience they won’t forget.”

Located just off the METRO Blue Line light rail at Bloomington Central Station, Illuminate South Loop will feature brilliantly illuminated art installations and performances, as well as bonfires, warm drinks, and regional favorites from Chef Paul Lynch of Urbana Craeft Kitchen at the Hyatt Regency by Mall of America®.

"The arts are essential to a vibrant city," says Andrea Specht, Artistry Executive Director. "Illuminate South Loop is a great example of how we are inviting artists and other creative people into the ongoing work of developing a distinctive, memorable place that enhances the quality of life for Bloomington's residents and guests."

Visitors to Illuminate South Loop will experience large-scale, illuminated artworks, including a “scoreboard” by Montreal-based Daily Tous Les Jours that will light the facade of the HealthPartners building, connected to a game on the ground that visitors can play. Another installation from New York-based artists Marina Zurkow and Paul Paradiso, Flight, will gather real-time data from the nearby MSP International Airport and other sources, and project a dynamic animation on the exterior wall of the Hyatt Regency. Duck, Duck, What?by Minnesota-based Robin Schwartzman provides participants with a chance to vote for their preferred title of the popular children’s game Duck, Duck, Grey Duck/Goose.

“We are working with artists to create a unique and fun arts experience that audiences can participate in at the South Loop” said Steve Dietz, Artistic Director for Northern Lights.mn, the organization that produces Northern Spark. “Illuminate South Loop will be an outdoor winter arts destination unlike anything that has been done before.”

Illuminate South Loop artists include:

• Minnesota-based: Alyssa Baguss, Eric William Carroll and Wil Natzel, Coffee House Press, Ben Moren, Plus/And (Amanda Lovelee and Emily Stover), Robin Schwartzman, Pramila Vasudevan, Pedro Lander, Emily Gastineau, and DaNCEBUMS.
• Outside Minnesota: Daily Tous Les Jours (Montreal), Marina Zurkow and Paul Paradiso (New York)

Illuminate South Loop hours

• Thursday, February 1: 5 – 10 p.m.
• Friday, February 2: 5 – 10 p.m.
• Saturday, February 3: 4 – 10 p.m.

Closing ceremonies, including a “Pep Rally for Spring,” at 4 p.m.

More information about Creative Placemaking

About the Bloomington South Loop

South Loop is a rapidly developing neighborhood in Bloomington, which is adjacent to Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, and home to Mall of America, Bloomington Central Station and the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. By 2020, on a typical day the South Loop will have 6,000 residents, 9,000 hotel guests, 35,000 employees and 115,000 Mall of America visitors.

Creative Placemaking in the South Loop is a project of the City of Bloomington and Artistry. The evolving field of Creative Placemaking works to build vibrant, distinctive, and sustainable communities through the arts. It engages the community, artists, and other stakeholders in building social fabric and local economics while making physical, place-based improvements, leveraging the distinctive character and creative and cultural resources of each place.

About Artistry

Artistry(link is external) is an independent nonprofit that serves a regional audience of more than 94,000 people annually. In pursuit of artistic excellence, Artistry engages the region’s most talented artists in work that welcomes and develops audiences and opens hearts and minds.

Artistry’s vision is a diverse, distinctive, and progressive community widely recognized for making art and artists essential to a vibrant social fabric and civic life.

About NorthernLights.mn

Northern Lights.mn(link is external) is a collaborative, interactive media-oriented, arts organization from the Twin Cities for the world. We create platforms with and for artists, audiences, and partners to experiment with and experience innovative art in the public sphere, to vision new interactions between audience, artwork and place, and to explore expanded possibilities for civic engagement.