ANNOUNCING OUR 2026 ARTISTS + PERFORMERS

ANNOUNCING OUR 2026 ARTISTS + PERFORMERS
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Peering at Crankie Cabin crowds through the Time.Light.Color installation, Art Shanty Projects 2025. Photo: Ryan Stopera

Dear creative adventurers,

Art Shanty Projects is returning to the frozen water of Bdé Umáŋ / Lake Harriet in South Minneapolis January 17 – February 8, 2026. Save the dates!

We’re thrilled to announce the artists & performers listed below!

This month-long program – a spectacle like no other – brings people together to embrace the challenges and opportunities of winter (and of our world) through immersive, radical, participatory art. 

There is no one way to address what we’re encountering in this specific moment, and artists are interpreting ‘what does our community need, here, now?’ with a variety of outputs. You’ll encounter contemplative projects on epidemics and climate change alongside exuberant celebrations of queerness. Artists are providing ways to re-connect with our own bodies in shared space through varied collective movement – yoga, both subtle and rollicking dance, traditional indigenous games. Also expect humor, epic storytelling, and loud music.

We hear La Niña has formed…we can’t wait to share another shanty season with you!

Erin Lavelle signature
Erin Lavelle
she/her/hers
Artistic Director

SHANTIES

a rendering of a colorful shanty with triangular mosaic color panels for walls and roof
A drawn shanty scene includes three people in blue silhouette near a beaver lodge shaped shanty. A thought bubble above the center person's head has an image of a beaver. Rainbow lettering spells 'become a beaver'

Promo images for Vibrance Research Station and The Beaver Shanty. Renderings courtesy the artists

The Beaver Shanty
Michelle Andruss, Andrew Arlt, Jen Bays, Alyssa Connaughton, Emily Fairfax, Nichole Jacquez, Joe Miller, Jessie Moravek

Cat World
The Cool Cats

Disintishanty
Alo Osberg, Andrew Young

Free Store Shanty
Shanty Friends Supergroup

Madson AIDS Memorial Shanty
Roger Barrett, Noah Barth

MEDUSA (Club Med)
Sidney Collins, Joe Fagerhaugh, Jei Herald-Zamora, Nick Knutson, Isley Manning

Memory Museum
Lior M. Perlmuter

Performance Stage
Anthony Chapin, Louis Kaufman, Richard Parnell. Featuring a rotating list of performers

Phenology Wheel
Rhianna Hajduch, Abel Santos Meeker, Vernon Vanderwood

Quilt Shanty
Madeline Cochran & Emily Quandahl

Sacred Water Shared Future Shanty
Met Council Art + Policy Team

Sub Bdé Umáŋ
Riley Bruce, Ryan O’Horo, Ky Stevens

The Sync Hole
Beth Derenne, Gregory Hines, Sam Johnson, Jeffry Lusiak, Theresa Madaus, Jeffrey Wells, Max Wirsing

The Table of Everything
Robin Garwood, Jesse Mortenson, Samantha Price

Temporarily Not Soil
Megan Andersen, Julia Andreasen, Anna Cates, Rita Cates, Adam Devlin, Brian Erdman, Dru Larsen, Nate Lund, Ava McCune, Katrina Nelson, Jennifer Nicklay, Nora Pearson, Finn Porter, Bailey Tangen, Kasia Ulanowski, Tara Wilder, Drea Williams

Vibrance Research Station
Rachel Beauchamp, Olivia Mackall, Cali Mastny, Gwen Law, Martin Law, Caly McMorrow, Aaron Prust, Scott Raleigh, Cole Sarar, Beth Scudder

WEATHER or not STATION
snem DeSellier, onionn

Welcome Shanty
Designed and constructed by students at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture. Remodeled and staffed by the board members of Art Shanty Projects.

Wicked Winter
Angela North, Clara Schiller, Sarah Honeywell, Sam Granum

World of Stories
Member Storytellers from: Story Arts of Minnesota, The Story Table Foundation & Asian Tellers Alliance

A witch stands in twilight at a raging bonfire. A candy coated gingerbread shanty is in the distance
a timber frame structure at night, with a fire burning in the back of it

Promo images from Wicked Winter and Disinteshanty. Photos: Art Shanty Projects, the artists.

PERFORMANCES & ART ACTIONS

A person in a DIY bike contraption gets ready to race on a frozen lake while onlookers cheer and take photos
a group of people practice yoga on the frozen lake against blue skies and bright sunshine.

Two returning projects include B-Icicle Race and fro-gahhh: yoga for the planet and the people. Photos: the artists, Art Shanty Projects

B-Icicle Races
Cassandra Monson, David Pitman, Mitch Redepenning, Jan Elftmann, Greg Leierwood,  Erik Nelson

Collective Joy Square Dance!
Ann Carter, Chad Guerrero, and Friends!

Community Singing on Ice
Linnea Champ, Sarina Partridge, Annie Schlaeffer

Folktales around the Fire
Bjorn Long and Lis Sunberg

fro-gahhh: yoga for the planet and the people
James Orione and Sofia Padilla

Klezmer on Ice
Di Bayke Klezmer Band

Ladies of the Lost Continent
Monica Rojas

Pollinator Frenzy
Terry McDaniel and the Minnesota Native Pollinators: Judy Atrubin, Jan Elftmann, Carrie Finnigan, Katie Fuller, Carolyn (Kooley) Gergen, Mary Sue Hannen, Teri Joyce, Ellie Kingsbury, Mina Leierwood, Annie Madryga, Louise McDonald, Catherine McKee, Mary Ann Meyer, Richard Parnell, Barb Rielly, Pat Ryan, Alan Savage and Shanan Tolzin.

Prairie Fire Choir
Prairie Fire Choir

Science Sunday: Lakes are Alive!
University of Minnesota Lake Scientists

The Sweetness of Life Belongs to Us All
Zamya Theater Project

Taiko on Ice!
TaikoArts Midwest’s Enso Daiko

Thakápsičapi
Twin Cities Native Lacrosse

Winter Plein Air Painting
Allison Eklund, Greg Finnegan, Patricia Lopez, Rich Myers, Kelly Schamberger

And a few more coming soon…

A closerup of zooplankton as seen through a microscope
a scientist pulls a contraption up from an auger hole in a frozen lake while others look on

Promo images for Science Sunday: Lakes are Alive! Photos courtesy the artists

READ ABOUT THE PROJECTS HERE!
a row of shanties, including the iconic logo, with stenciled font reading ART SHANTY PROJECTS

The Art Shanty Projects On-Ice program will take place at Bdé Umáŋ / Lake Harriet from January 17 through February 8, 2026. Public hours are 10am – 4pm every Saturday and Sunday. Kicksleds are available as mobility aids, and there will be ASL interpreters and audio describers available on select dates (TBA). Stay tuned for more details on amenities, performance schedule, parking info and more!

There is a suggested donation of $10-20 per person at the gate. Contributions from individuals are key to the organization’s financial sustainability, accounting for over half  of the organization’s income. Visitors and supporters can also give ahead online at https://www.givemn.org/story/artshantyprojects2026