Art Shanty Projects was founded in by two artists taking inspiration from ice-fishing houses and pop-up communities that come together on Minnesota’s frozen lakes each winter. They saw potential to create an artists’ happening in an extreme environment; to embrace and reinvent a beloved cultural practice; and to encourage personal expression and community engagement through temporary structures and performances. This culminated in artists gathering to produce multi-disciplinary shanties and integrated programming on Medicine Lake.

Art Shanty Projects has since shifted lake sites and grown to become a (mostly) annual event. Attendance has risen from 5,000 in 2007 to more than 28,000 in 2022. The festival welcomes curious locals, regional artists, and visitors from beyond our borders to explore the “shanty village,” a one-of-a-kind art experience. Tens of thousands emerge to face subzero temperatures, deep snowfall, wind and even rain to experience this uniquely Minnesotan event.