Minneapolis (Aug. 18, 2015) - The Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC), the Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy Program of the City of Minneapolis and Meet Minneapolis, Convention & Visitors Association, in collaboration with Northern Lights.mn and the Northern Spark festival, announce the fourth annual Creative City Challenge based on the theme, “What will you make of the Convention Center Plaza that will become part of the unforgettable, unexpected lore of Minneapolis?” Entries are being accepted now through Monday, Sept. 28, 2015.

The Creative City Challenge is a competition for Minnesota-resident architects, landscape architects, urban designers, planners, engineers, scientists, artists, students and individuals of all backgrounds to create and install at the Minneapolis Convention Center Plaza a temporary, destination artwork, which acts as a sociable and participatory platform for summer-long onsite programming and encourages a sense of connectedness to the city as a whole and its rich cultural and natural offerings. The Plaza is a green roof that is located directly across from the MCC at 1301 Second Avenue South.

“Creative City Challenge has established itself over the past three years as an inspiring example of Minneapolis artists’ innovative spirit and talent,” said Mayor Betsy Hodges. “Heading into the fourth year, I’m excited to see what the creative people of Minneapolis come up with this time.”

2016 THEME DESCRIPTION

The Minneapolis metro area, according to the 2014 Creative Vitality Index, is the fifth most creatively vital among the most populous cities in the U.S. If you asked someone from Minneapolis what it is that makes Minneapolis special, you would rightly get a litany of responses from parks and biking to theater and art spaces; from balmy summers and bracing winters to its burgeoning food scene and diversifying population.

Dig a little deeper, and any Minneapolis resident would share with you not just the name of his or her favorite restaurant, but a favorite dish at a particular time of year. Not just parks in general, but a specific location at a specific time of day, during a specific season. Not just the beauty of winter, but the funniest thing you could possibly imagine doing when the temperature is below zero. However, ask anyone from outside of the region, who has never been here before, and you will get a dozen variations on the word cold and maybe several nostalgic pop culture moments.

One thing we do know is that the arts and design make tangible a city’s vitality and personality, so for $75,000 and a summer of fun, what can you imagine, dream, promote, share and make that anyone who visits will have to see/do/experience – as will anyone who lives here? What is your Spoonbridge and Cherry for a 21st century Minneapolis? What is the hidden gem of your personal city presented to and for everyone? We know that interactivity and immersion are big draws for the public. Can you harness this such engagement to transform people’s perception of Minneapolis in 90 days?

We invite you, expectantly and with enthusiasm, to tell us your best idea for the 2016 Creative City Challenge. What will you make of the Convention Center Plaza that will become part of the unforgettable, unexpected lore of Minneapolis?

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS

Entries are accepted until 4:30 p.m. Central time, Monday, Sept. 28, 2015 (see entrant information below). On Aug. 26 and one other date to be determined, an informational session will be conducted for entrants. A committee of stakeholders will select the three finalists by Oct. 16, 2015. Each finalist will receive a fee of $2,500 to prepare a final proposal. A separate jury will select the winner based on in-person presentations by the finalists, who will be announced Jan. 20, 2016. The commission fee for the selected project is $75,000.

The winning Creative City Challenge project will be unveiled and featured at the opening of Northern Spark, an annual dusk-to-dawn festival with tens of thousands of participants taking place in Minneapolis on June 11, 2016, and will remain on the Plaza throughout he summer.

2015’s winning project, mini_polis, is currently on the Plaza through Oct. 1, 2015. In its inaugural year, the Creative City Challenge selected the Minneapolis Interactive Macro Mood Installation (MIMMI) as the winner, and in 2014, Balancing Ground.

ENTRANT INFORMATION

Entries are due by 4:30 p.m. Central time on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. Submission information can be found online at http://www.minneapolis.org/minneapolis-convention-center/ccc/creative-city-challenge-submissions.

If materials are needed in an alternative format, call Lance Knuckles at (612) 673-2919 or email Lance.Knuckles@Minneapolismn.gov. Deaf and hard of hearing persons may use a relay service to call Minneapolis 311 agents at (612) 673-3000. TTY users may call (612) 673-2157 or (612) 673-2626.

Additional information is online, including an overview, details about past projects and media coverage. Email creativecitychallenge@northern.lights.mn with questions.

PHOTO ATTACHED - CUTLINE

mini_polis, created by a team led by local designer-educator-artists Niko Kubota, Jon Reynolds and Micah Roth, was the 2015 winning project of the Creative City Challenge in Minneapolis.

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ABOUT MINNEAPOLIS CONVENTION CENTER

The Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC) is the largest indoor, contiguous, convention center in the Upper Midwest with over 1.5 million visitors annually, including 250,000 during the summer months. The MCC is more than a meeting place. It's more than a show space. It's a building all about building something else…relationships. A blend of form and function, the MCC provides aesthetically pleasing and innovative solutions for a variety of conferences, trade shows and events. With nearly 480,000 square feet of trade show space, 87 column-free conference meeting rooms, a 28,000-square-foot ballroom, and an auditorium with superb production and flexible technology options, the facility can handle any event from a small meeting to a large convention or trade show.

ABOUT THE ARTS, CULTURE AND THE CREATIVE ECONOMY PROGRAM, CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS

The Arts, Culture and Creative Economy program is an initiative of the City Coordinator's office established August 2011 to leverage the creative sector towards strengthening social and economic growth in the City of Minneapolis. The goals of the program are to: promote and coordinate City resources to develop the arts as an economic generator in alignment the City Goal "art and artists are economic drivers in and of themselves,” to stimulate cross-sector collaboration to strengthen the arts economy and community in Minneapolis and provide presence and visibility for the creative sector in the City of Minneapolis.

ABOUT NORTHERN SPARK

Northern Spark is produced by Northern Lights.mn, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to artists working innovatively in the public sphere, exploring expanded possibilities for civic engagement and encourage pluralistic community. The next festival begins at 9:01 p.m. on June XX, 2016 in Minneapolis. http://northernspark.org

ABOUT MEET MINNEAPOLIS

Meet Minneapolis is a private, not-for-profit, member-based association. It actively promotes and sells the Minneapolis area as a destination for conventions and meetings, works to maximize the visitor experience and markets the city as a desirable tourist destination to maximize the economic benefit of the greater Minneapolis area.

Meet Minneapolis is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of the Destination Marketing Association International.

Find out more:
Online: www.minneapolis.org
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On Twitter: http://twitter.com/meetminneapolis
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MEDIA CONTACT
Kristen Montag, Media & Communication Manager, 612.767.8038, kristenm@minneapolis.org, Minneapolis_PR on Twitter.