The end of April signals the arrival of St. Paul’s Spring Art Crawl, which kicks off Friday and runs through the weekend.
While there’s an abundance of art to experience around town, here are five highlights from the crawl to checkout. As a bonus, Metro Transit is offering free rides to and from the crawl on bus and light-rail lines Saturday and Sunday. Download and print your free passes at stpaulartcrawl.org.
INSIDE OUT LOWERTOWN
Lowertown: The heart (and origin) of the crawl, Lowertown will be overflowing with art seekers this weekend. While you’re outside making your way to the next stop on your crawl itinerary, make sure to take in your surroundings. As part of “Inside Out Lowertown,” large-scale black-and-white photo portraits of neighborhood “culture makers” have been posted on the exteriors of buildings. The public art exhibition — led by project managers Rachel Wacker, Gail Groop and Nancy Reardon — will feature 175 photos of creative Lowertown folks including visual artists, writers, musicians and arts supporters. The exhibit opens Friday and will remain up through early autumn. A complementary “Inside Out Lowertown” exhibit will be on view at the Black Dog Coffee & Wine Bar (308 Prince St.) through May 30.
ARTIST-DESIGNED HOME PLATES
CHS Field, 360 N. Broadway St.: Last year, artists were asked to take baseballs and transform them into works of art. This year, it’s all about home plates. The St. Paul Art Collective and the St. Paul Saints have partnered to celebrate the opening of St. Paul’s new ballpark, CHS Field, next month with this “art meets baseball” event. Last month, 100 wooden, regulation-size home plates were distributed to artists who had a month to work their magic. The completed home plates will be on view at CHS Field in the press box (behind the actual home plate) during the crawl. There will also be a silent auction to bid on the artist-designed home plates.
A=RT BUTTERFLY SANCTUARY
Lowertown Lofts Artist Co-op, 255 E. Kellogg Blvd.: In an effort to raise awareness of the plight of the monarch butterflies, whose numbers significantly declined in recent years, the nonprofit business A=RT is hosting an exhibition and fundraiser. For the occasion, A=RT is turning the hallway on the fourth floor of the Lowertown Lofts Artist Co-op into a butterfly sanctuary art installation complete with flower and butterfly-inspired work.
CREATIVE ARTS HIGH SCHOOL
65 E. Kellogg Blvd.: A new stop on this year’s art crawl, downtown St. Paul’s Creative Arts High School is displaying art work by students from all St. Paul middle and high school students in its newly renovated gallery space.
SCHMIDT ARTIST LOFTS
882 W. Seventh St.: The Schmidt Artist Lofts is celebrating the crawl with a weekend full of art, food, music, lectures and an auction. Get a lesson on buying art (7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday), learn how to take photos with your mobile phone (8:30 p.m. Friday, 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday) and paint your own canvas to take home (ongoing all weekend). On Saturday (6:30-10 p.m.), stop in for the Fine+Fun Live Art Auction where you can bid on work by local artists. Tickets for the auction are $7 and must be purchased in advance at schmidtartcrawl.wordpress.com/.
IF YOU GO
What: St. Paul Spring Art Crawl
When: 6-10 p.m. Friday, noon- 8 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Lowertown and various St. Paul locations
Info: stpaulartcrawl.org
Amy Carlson Gustafson can be reached at 651-228-5561. Follow her at twitter.com/amygustafson.
