2025 Call for Shanty Artists

Keep Minneapolis Winters Weird & Wonderful!

Art Shanty Projects is currently seeking winter enthusiasts and creative adventurers to design, construct and activate shanty projects for the 2025 Program. We invite music-makers, poets, builders, scientists, dancers, puppeteers, writers, dreamers, activists, outdoors-people, conversationalists, craftspeople, storytellers, etc. to propose new and innovative ways to engage artistically with the public in the social context of a village on a frozen lake (or winter beach, as climate change may necessitate).

The 2025 On-Ice event will take place on Bdé Umáŋ (Lake Harriet) from 10am-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays, January 18 – February 9, 2025. With REFINED guidelines and requirements in response to COVID, climate change and accessibility, we encourage you to read the specifics carefully, and to attend the online Artist Forum on June 18, 6-7:30pm (register here to get the zoom link!)

This call is for shanty artists only; the call for performances and art actions is available HERE.

ABOUT ART SHANTY PROJECTS:

Since 2004 Art Shanty Projects has created joyful winter art experiences for grown adults and kids of all ages. Inspired by pop-up ice fishing villages, we use the frozen lake as a public platform to create a temporary creative community, immersing participants in a colorful village filled with interactive installations and performances. With few regulations and no building codes – and against intense and unpredictable winter weather conditions – artists of all career stages and disciplines have the freedom and challenge to create wild and wonderful work that can’t be experienced anywhere else. Together, with tens of thousands of annual visitors, we celebrate, champion, and embrace the extreme winter sport of art making. 

Art Shanty Projects is deeply committed to social, racial, gender, and economic justice. Our community of participants – artists, visitors, sponsors, staff, and board – includes BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), FTW (Femme, Trans, Women) and queer (LGBTQIA2S+) individuals, and people with disabilities. ASP is committed to building accessibility into the fabric of how we do art and what we expect from artists. We embrace the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in our commitment to assuring that all members of our community can participate as fully as possible in our arts events, programs, meetings, facilities and communications. 

Please read our Mission, Vision and Guiding Principles here!

Let’s Build a Village Together

EXPANDING ON WHAT WE LEARNED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC:

We required all shanties in 2022 and 2023 to present an exterior-only experience for visitors due to the ongoing pandemic. Artists expanded the notion of what a shanty project can be, adapting to this new design challenge with ingenuity and flair! Through this we learned that exterior experiences were supportive of accessibility goals, reduced lines for participants, and created an even more vibrant social village from every angle.

In 2024 we invited artists to build upon what we learned, and invited classic shanties again – welcoming visitors inside structures – with a new requirement of having a meaningful complementary exterior experience. This will continue in 2025. 

TYPES OF SHANTIES WELCOME IN 2025:

We seek to have a relatively even balance of ‘classic’ & ‘open’ shanties based on visitor feedback.

Classic shanties:

• Artists can welcome visitors inside, yay!
• Artists are required to also activate the exterior in a meaningful way related to their shanty concept, theme or activities. This requirement supports our accessibility plan, reduces waiting in lines, and creates a vibrant village at every turn.

Open Shanties:

• Wanna keep it super outdoorsy? No problem! Artists can design shanties for an exterior experience for visitors.
• In this scenario, artists can be outside OR inside.
• Artists can build in a warming space for themselves if they like.

Some ideas of exterior experiences (which may also inform the exterior aspect of a ‘classic’ shanty):

• Structures that are purely outdoor engagement with no enclosed space (past examples include a giant kaleidoscope, a teeter-totter contraption, a rocking boat)
• Shanties in which artists are inside, and they interact with visitors who are on the outside. This could be through aquarium style viewing, secret compartments, take-out-style windows, or other creative adaptations to connect interior and exterior spaces.
• Shanties that have an exterior experience for both visitors and artists, but the indoor is designed as a back of house space for the artist team breaks + storage.
• Shanties that are not fully enclosed, and people walk through, around, over or under.
• Other types of interactive sculptural or kiosk-style contraptions — dream away and propose something fanciful! Just remember, we are not building a sculpture park and your work should have direct participatory elements.

ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

We enthusiastically welcome visitors of all ages and abilities, and shanty artists must incorporate accessibility into their physical and engagement design. Applicants should demonstrate they have considered accessibility in their proposal. If your project is selected our staff will work with you on your accessibility plan and share tips and best practices for our unique context.

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY:

Everyone is eligible, because we believe everyone is an artist! We are creating a community environment for co-learning, welcoming artists at all stages of their careers and pursuits in public art.

There are no application fees. 

Projects that involve selling anything or the exchange of legal currency will not be accepted.

Artists are not expected to have experience with everything we ask about in this proposal, but should demonstrate an eagerness to engage and develop new skills and be open to new perspectives and ideas. Each year we have a balance of returning shanty artists and newbies – and informal mentorship takes place. 

COMPENSATION:

This year there is a difference in stipends awarded to NEW shanty ideas ($2500) and the remounting of RETURNING projects ($2000). This helps us maintain a full program while emerging from the lingering impact of the pandemic and financial shortfall of 2024 due to warm weather causing our program to end early.  If you are not sure whether your proposal is considered NEW or a REMOUNT, please send an email to Erin at program@artshantyprojects.org

With our shortened season last year we welcome and encourage 2024 artists to propose a remount of their projects. You invested labor and materials and didn’t get a full run! As these projects will have few if any material costs, we have reduced their stipend amount. 

Art Shanty Projects does its best to support artists financially and logistically. In addition to the stipend, we provide direct production support and sharing of best practices throughout the process, as well as additional resources for discounted materials and resource sharing through our partner organizations, whenever possible. In 2023 80% of artists reported that some or all of their materials were either repurposed (free) or purchased secondhand/used at a discounted price. 

During the program ASP also supports artists by providing a warming shanty for artists & performers, a hot meal (we are able to accommodate almost all dietary considerations), snacks, hot beverages, hand and toe warmers, one parking space per project, and a cheerful and hardworking staff to support the smooth operation of the festival. We also have a medic onsite for any minor needs.

TIMELINE:

—–2024—–

• June 18, 6 – 7:30 pm: ARTIST FORUM (online – register in advance here!)
• July 11: Deadline for proposal submissions (11:59pm CST) 
• August: Artists selected and notified
• September 17, 6-8pm: In-person meeting for all Shanty Artists and Performers, location TBD in S Mpls (SAVE THIS DATE in case your proposal is selected; this will be a mandatory meeting for at least one member of your team); Paperwork due at this time (contract, community agreement, leave no trace policy). In person attendance is prioritized to build community. A virtual option is available for out of town artists or people who are currently experiencing illness.
• October: Project production meetings, as needed (virtual); preliminary content forms due (so we can announce your projects!)
  October – date TBD: Artist Study Hall  (in person!) – build community of peers, share tips, ask questions, get inspired
• November: Project build visits (in-person; will be individually scheduled)
• December: Final artist content due (images + project descriptions for website; accessibility notes)

—–2025—–

• January 7, 6pm-8pm: All-artist check-in IN PERSON, location TBD in S Mpls (mandatory for at least 1 member from each artist team). In person attendance is prioritized to build community. A virtual option is available for out of town artists or people who are currently experiencing illness.
• January 11-12: Installation on the ice at Bdé Umáŋ (time slots to be scheduled in advance)
• January 18 – February 9: On-Ice Program, every Saturday & Sunday, 10am – 4pm
  February 4: Member Night on Ice – 6-8pm, in the village (optional)
• February 6: alternate date for Member Night on Ice – 6-8pm, in the village (optional; only in case of bad weather on Feb 4)
• February 15-16* Deinstallation (time slots to be scheduled in advance)
• February (date TBD): Wrap Party (in person, optional)

*Depending on weather conditions artists may be required to move shanties off the ice at an earlier date.

GUIDELINES AND INFORMATION:

For full guidelines visit our website

Questions? Contact Artistic Director, Erin Lavelle, program@artshantyprojects.org

APPLY HERE!