Help Mike Raise $1500 for Art on a Frozen Lake!

During my first winter in Minneapolis, in 2018, I was out on a walk when I stumbled across an art festival: a cluster of small, colorful structures huddled in the middle of a frozen lake in the heart of the city -- a concept inspired by ice-fishing villages. What could be more Minnesotan than that?

As I built a social circle in my new city, I became friends with a few artists who had participated in the festival. Before long, I was volunteering at a shanty, standing out on that frozen lake, billowed by the frigid wind, dressed as a sailor, helping to initiate visitors into an imaginary nautical "cult."

In 2023, I became a shanty artist myself. That fall, I spent most weekends outside of my friend's garage, sawing boards, stapling shingles, and stenciling a giant northern pike onto the side of our structure. Over the course of the next two winters, we invited festival-goers to create short works of cinema in the "on-ice film studio" we created.

This September, I was invited to join the board of the Art Shanty Projects. I was incredibly excited to contribute even more deeply to the festival that created my first impression of the joyfully quirky Minneapolis art ecosystem I have come to love.

And now, I'm asking you, my dear friends and family, to help me in supporting this year's festival by making a donation! Every little bit helps.

Thanks so much for your support! And happy winter!

Mike