Colin Kloecker

Dec
3
Jan 29

Exhibition: Regan Golden, Thaw

  • Water Bar & Public Studio
Image: Prairie Constructs, Regan Golden

Image: Prairie Constructs, Regan Golden

In conjunction with our Water Bar Winter Social, artist Regan Golden will be exhibiting Thaw, a selection of images that evoke our winter season from her series Prairie Constructs. 

"Thaw documents the end of one of the warmest winters on record in Minnesota. As the snow and ice melted, it revealed rotting leaves, bits of moss, and discarded plastics in the thin strip of woods that buffers my house from the massive rail yard and the busy transit way that connects the two campuses of the University of Minnesota. This swatch of urban nature, now called Kasota Ponds, was once a vast wetland that lay at the heart of the two cities. My work explores how landscapes are made and unmade through the mixing of photography, drawing, painting and found materials. I am fascinated by how pictures of landscapes are crafted and I am haunted by the possibility that we might someday have to fabricate winter. The images in Thaw consist mostly of surfaces, or materials that don't quite meet the definition of objects -- muck, melt, and twisted light." - Regan Golden-McNerney

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Regan Golden-McNerney depicts ecological change in the American landscape using altered photographs and drawing materials. Golden's images have been exhibited in solo and group shows both nationally and internationally, including Harvard University's Fisher Forestry Museum, The Cue Gallery in New York City and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. She has received grants and fellowships from the Jerome Foundation, the Core Program and the National Science Foundation. Golden is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Art and an Artist-in-Residence at the College of Biological Sciences Conservatory at the University of Minnesota.

This is an ongoing project, but a portion of this work was included in the 2015 Jerome Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Visit her website.

Feb
7
6:00 pm18:00

Confluence

What is your water story? How are people and organizations across the Twin Cities addressing water quality concerns with creativity and collaboration?

This informal gathering will bring together water researchers, engineers, artists, advocates, government officials, business owners, NE neighbors, and other water drinkers for a casual conversation about the ways that water connects and sustains us.

At each Confluence event, a handful of invited guests will share updates about their water-related work, including new innovations in stormwater management, global water research, local water advocacy projects and environmental justice movements, and more. This gathering will ask those guests (and all of us) to consider how water connects us today, and where there might be opportunities for deeper public understanding of our water systems, and new collaborations for a sustainable water future.

Expect ample time for socializing and group discussion focused on big questions and everyday actions that shape the ways we relate to water.

Interested in presenting at a future Confluence event? Use this contact form to get in touch!


Water Bar @ The Governor's Town Hall Water Summit
Jan
27
9:45 am09:45

Water Bar @ The Governor's Town Hall Water Summit

Join Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith for a Town Hall Water Summit Friday, January 27, 2017 at the U of MN, Morris. Registration for this event is free and opens on January 6th.

Despite the state’s abundance of lakes, rivers, groundwater and streams, more than 40% of Minnesota’s waters are currently listed as impaired or polluted. Governor Dayton and Lt. Governor Smith have declared a Year of Water Action to focus on improving access to clean water across Minnesota. Learn more here.

Water Bar will be serving tap waters from around Minnesota at this event.  

Jan
10
4:00 pm16:00

MEET-UP: Volunteer, Internship, and Research Opportunities in 2017

Interested in volunteer opportunities, internships, or research residencies with Water Bar & Public Studio?

This meet-up is a chance to learn more, ask questions, bounce your ideas around, and connect with a community of artists, environmental advocates, and neighbors!

Join us at Water Bar & Public Studio between 4 and 6PM on January 10th to learn more, or say hello online!

VOLUNTEERS

We are looking for volunteers with a variety of skills and interests to help sustain Water Bar in 2017! Volunteers tend bar (serving water), assist with ongoing art activities, or take the Water Bar pop-up to events and programs around the Twin Cities.

INTERNSHIPS

Assist Water Bar & Public Studio co-directors with special projects according to your own learning goals and background! Each internship will involve a focused project with individualized learning outcomes and a self-designed schedule. Open to students and anyone interested in a focused learning opportunity. Possible internship projects include: 

PUBLIC PROGRAMS & EXHIBITIONS: Assist with the development and presentation of public programs, events, artist exhibitions, and gatherings at Water Bar in Northeast Minneapolis.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: Research and develop materials and resources to aid Water Bar "water tenders" and related water advocacy and education efforts of Water Bar & Public Studio. May include travel to greater MN communities.

COMMUNITY CONNECTOR: Develop connections between Water Bar and other communities through relationship-building, listening, and creative collaborations.

SHOPKEEPER: Source and prepare sustainable water-related education products, artwork, artist books, and other learning materials and resources for the Water Bar storefront;

COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT: Assist with Water Bar communication and marketing of Water Bar pop-ups to companies, organizations, and others.

RESEARCH RESIDENCIES

We are also open to "Reciprocal Research Residencies" in our Public Studio. Water Bar will host and support artists, scientists, activists, organizers, or students with self-designed research projects, art projects, public programs, exhibitions, or other activities at Water Bar. 

CONTACT US WITH QUESTIONS

These opportunities are currently unpaid, though we offer the benefits of utilizing shared studio space, art materials, communication platforms, and other resources. Project-based internships and residencies will begin in early 2017.

Use this form or swing by for more info!


Jan
7
4:00 pm16:00

Water Bar @ Lanesboro Art Center

As a companion art exhibit to the Smithsonian Water/Ways exhibition in Lanesboro, Lanesboro Arts & the Lanesboro Musuem are proud to present Currents of Change, a mixed media group show on display at the Lanesboro Arts Gallery January 7 through March 5 featuring historical water photos of Lanesboro with artworks interpreting those photos by 15 regional artists. 

The public is invited to this artist reception Saturday, January 7, 4-6 p.m. which will feature our pop-up Water Bar, a unique chance to sample area waters, learn about water quality issues, and chat with staff from Bolton & Menk, an engineering and surveying firm with a strong commitment to water quality. The reception will also include wine and hors d’oeuvres.

Dec
16
12:00 pm12:00

BROWN BAG LUNCH: Climate + Water, Twin Cities Climate Connections

Reconstituting the Landscape: A Tamarack Rooftop Restoration by Christine Baeumler

Reconstituting the Landscape: A Tamarack Rooftop Restoration by Christine Baeumler

Join the University of Minnesota's Center for Changing Landscapes for this free lunchtime event at Water Bar & Public Studio! 

Twin Cities Climate Connections is a series of interactive forums that bring together practitioners, academics, and community leaders to connect and collaborate on efforts addressing climate change in the Twin Cities metro region. Climate + Water is a Climate Connections event featuring artist and University Art Professor Christine Baeumler and artist Shanai Matteson of Works Progress Studio and Water Bar. Both will speak on climate change and water in the Twin Cities, sharing examples of artists working with water resource professionals, advocates, and community residents.

Bring your lunch and join in the conversation, or just listen in! 

The Center for Changing Landscapes is an applied research and outreach center linking assessment, design, and planning for changing landscapes and communities, and is part of the University of Minnesota College of Design.

COFFEE TALK: NE Minneapolis Art-Sustainability Incubator
Dec
16
7:00 am07:00

COFFEE TALK: NE Minneapolis Art-Sustainability Incubator

Lowry Avenue Bridge as seen from the MWMO riverfront.

Lowry Avenue Bridge as seen from the MWMO riverfront.

Stop by Water Bar for your morning coffee and sit in with our co-directors and staff of Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association for a short presentation and discussion on the proposed Northeast Incubator project. This collaborative public project is in its early stages of development, and our collaborative of artists, scientists, and neighborhood organizers is looking to gather feedback from others with connection to the northeast neighborhoods and interest in art, as well as sustainable and equitable urban design, development, and community-building efforts. We're also looking to build working partnerships with other interested organizations, businesses, and residents in northeast Minneapolis who would like to see this project happen. Read more about the Northeast Incubator project.

A short presentation about the concept and about an upcoming opportunity to pilot the project will be followed by open discussion. We'll have coffee on hand, all are welcome!

Dec
15
10:00 am10:00

Workshop: Location-based Technologies + Place-based Storytelling

How do narratives, exchanged using social platforms, give us and others in our community a shared sense of place, and also of purpose? 

Join us for this free workshop on Location-based Technologies (smartphone apps and social platforms) and their potential as tools for gathering and conveying stories of people and place, as well as their potential for these activities to enhance community organizing and other efforts to connect people, place, and purpose.

In this workshop, our partners from the MuseWeb Foundation will share information about the Be Here: Main Street project, an app called izi.Travel, and other open social platforms. Workshop participants will have the chance to experiment with these technologies, and to workshop their utility as tools for place-based storytelling and organizing work. This workshop is free and open to all types of storytellers / gatherers / organizers.

MORE ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP + PARTNERSHIPS

Water Bar & Public Studio is partnering with the MuseWeb Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution's Museums on Mainstreet program, and the partners of We Are Water MN to help facilitate a statewide storytelling project as part of MuseWeb’s Be Here: Main Street project. This storytelling project will focus on water and the ways it connects us to place and each other.  As part of this project, we have the opportunity to learn about a few new location-based technologies, and want to offer that opportunity to other artists and organizers in our local community.

Dec
13
7:00 pm19:00

Workshop: Four Things About Treaties and Water

How did treaties between the U.S. government and native nations change the relationships between people and the natural world on this continent?

What are the implications of treaties today for people and water? 

Join scholar Marty Case for a discussion on the social, political, and business connections that drove treaty making, as well as ways that treaties matter today, including connections between treaties and the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. After a short presentation and questions, we will break into small discussion groups to talk about how treaties, and the narratives behind treaties, influence all of our lives and relationships. This is a free workshop, everyone is welcome. We will have water, water is all we have.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Marty Case researches the networks of people and businesses that represented the U.S. in treaties with American Indian groups. His work challenges the “master narrative” that shapes many assumptions about United States history and identity. He has also worked as Director of Development and Planning for a state-wide arts organization, and as writing and planning consultant to 45 widely diverse organizations in the fields of art, culture, education, social service, religion, and politics.

Dec
8
6:00 pm18:00

Publication Launch: Mystery Spot Books, Energy Landscapes of St. Louis No. 2

Image from Energy Landscapes of St. Louis, Mystery Spot Books

Image from Energy Landscapes of St. Louis, Mystery Spot Books 

Join Mystery Spot Books at Water Bar & Public Studio for the Twin Cities launch of Energy Landscapes of St. Louis No. 2: The Forest Gets Away From You, a poster edition printed with Quikrete, a material composed mostly of coal ash gleaned from power plant waste. A short text by energy humanities scholar Emily Roehl accompanies each poster.

The Energy Landscapes of St. Louis is an ongoing multi-publication collaboration between Minneapolis based Mystery Spot Books and scholars, artists and activists in the St. Louis, MO area exploring and interrogating energy infrastructure, history and aesthetics at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

As a new administration organizes around climate science denial and prepares to double down on the fossil fuel industry, now more than ever is the time to turn art, scholarship and community organizing toward issues of environmental justice.

ABOUT MYSTERY SPOT BOOKS

Mystery Spot Books produces small-run artist books, zines, and other publications that trace the contours and quirks of place-based experience in the human-altered landscape. Named for the tourist trap wonder attractions often encountered on road trips around the United States, Mystery Spot is a project of Minneapolis-based artist Chad Rutter and Austin-based scholar Emily Roehl. Mystery Spot investigates the persistence of place in the face of the abstractions and simplifications of the mass media in a way that resists the easy nostalgia of place-bound identities or mythic unities.

Visit their website.

Energy Landscapes of St. Louis No. 2: The Forest Gets Away From You, Mystery Spot Books

Energy Landscapes of St. Louis No. 2: The Forest Gets Away From You, Mystery Spot Books

Dec
6
5:00 pm17:00

Water Bar @ Northland Sustainable Solutions

Who we are is
What we have left behind.
What we will become is
Why we plant the seeds of change.

~ Karen Olson Johnson


Join Northland Sustainable Solutions for the final event in their series, The Circle That Bridges Communities. Our pop-up Water Bar will be there! The event also features presentations from Sharon Day, Executive Director of the Indigenous People's Task Force, polar explorer Ann Bancroft, singer-songwriter Sara Thomson, and a live skype chat with Kandi Mossett from the Standing Rock #NoDAPL water protectors camp in North Dakota. More info about the event and tickets here.

Winter Social
Dec
3
6:00 pm18:00

Winter Social

  • Water Bar & Public Studio

We're throwing a party to thank the friends and supporters who've helped us to launch Water Bar & Public Studio in 2016 and to introduce some of our new partners and projects.

Join us for drinks, food, and fun from 6PM - 11PM! Drop by when you can, stay as long as you'd like.

Share this event on Facebook!

Nov
19
7:00 pm19:00

Water Support Group

Join Plotform (artists Jane D. Marsching + Andi Sutton) in a storytelling event that paints a portrait of the challenges facing Minnesota waters with a focus on empathy, activism, and change. Invited guests will share personal stories of water crisis, failure, challenge, solution, and connection from across the state and from a myriad of perspectives and communities. The event, a cross between an AA meeting and a Moth Story Hour, will amplify the work of water activists and advocates as well as individuals reflecting on current challenges to promote a vibrant understanding of the interconnected issues of water, ecology, place, community, policy, and behavior. Culminating in a facilitated group dialogue, it will be accompanied by a sing-a-long of water quality data from a select Twin Cities waterway as well as video projections of local waters and watery beings who inhabit them.  Water Dance Party, 9 PM Stay after Water Support Group to smooth (or sharpen) the edges and effects of the evening’s stories by dancing to selections from Plotform’s growing song archive, Songs for Water. From Tina Turner to 50 Cent, Sam Cook to Joan Jett, the Highwaymen to the Pixies, the playlist uses popular music to narrate our human relationship with water: floods, metaphors, pollution, pop, and more. What better way to be together in the mourning, reflection, rage, and celebration the evening’s stories inspire? This event is part of a larger Plotform event, Water Quality Chorus, in R&D now for a performance June 10, 2017, in Minneapolis at the amazing NorthernSpark festival. Project partners include: Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund of Minnesota Mississippi Park Connection Prairie Fire Lady Choir Northern Lights.MN Minnesota Pollution Control Agency


Join Plotform (artists Jane D. Marsching + Andi Sutton) in a storytelling event that paints a portrait of the challenges facing Minnesota waters with a focus on empathy, activism, and change.

Invited guests will share personal stories of water crisis, failure, challenge, solution, and connection from across the state and from a myriad of perspectives and communities. The event, a cross between an AA meeting and a Moth Story Hour, will amplify the work of water activists and advocates as well as individuals reflecting on current challenges to promote a vibrant understanding of the interconnected issues of water, ecology, place, community, policy, and behavior. Culminating in a facilitated group dialogue, it will be accompanied by a sing-a-long of water quality data from a select Twin Cities waterway as well as video projections of local waters and watery beings who inhabit them. 

Water Dance Party, 9 PM
Stay after Water Support Group to smooth (or sharpen) the edges and effects of the evening’s stories by dancing to selections from Plotform’s growing song archive, Songs for Water. From Tina Turner to 50 Cent, Sam Cook to Joan Jett, the Highwaymen to the Pixies, the playlist uses popular music to narrate our human relationship with water: floods, metaphors, pollution, pop, and more. What better way to be together in the mourning, reflection, rage, and celebration the evening’s stories inspire?

This event is part of a larger Plotform event, Water Quality Chorus, in R&D now for a performance June 10, 2017, in Minneapolis at the amazing NorthernSpark festival.

Project partners include:
Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund of Minnesota
Mississippi Park Connection
Prairie Fire Lady Choir
Northern Lights.MN
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Serve Water // 2-Day Storytelling Open Studio
Nov
14
Nov 15

Serve Water // 2-Day Storytelling Open Studio

  • Water Bar & Public Studio

For 48-hours we'll be designing posters, making short videos, and making calls as we prepare to launch our year-end fundraising campaign on, November 17th.

Stop by during Open Studio hours (10AM - 8:30PM) on Monday or Tuesday to check things out, pitch in if you can, to share your thoughts on the importance of "serving water" in your life, your work, and the places and communities you depend upon, or just have a glass of water and visit. 

TAKE HOME A PRINT:
Those who drop in will get a limited edition print and an invitation to our upcoming celebration on Saturday, December 3rd, where we'll be making some exciting announcements about our plans for 2017, and celebrating our partners and supporters.

ABOUT OUR FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN:
Our year-end fundraising campaign will help us to complete renovation of the Water Bar & Public Studio space: Specifically, installing a bar sink and other necessary plumbing, so that we can get our license to serve water (( and in the process, serve our neighborhood and communities by creating opportunities for conversation, connection, and creative collaboration across disciplines and in public ))

Click here for more info or to donate.

Sep
23
Nov 7

Vote Early at Water Bar!

For the rest of September until after the National Election, Water Bar & Public Studio will be one of 4 sites across the City of Minneapolis where residents can vote before the election. To learn more about this process, which begins September 23rd and ends November 7th, visit the City of Minneapolis voter information website: 

EARLY VOTING HOURS BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 23rd ---> Monday - Friday 7AM - 4:30PM

BEGINNING OCTOBER 24th ---> Monday - Friday 7AM - 6PM, Saturday 9AM - 4PM, Sunday 12 - 4PM

Aug
27
1:00 pm13:00

Hydro-Illuminata: Free Art Making Workshop

James Brenner Sculpture Studio, in partnership with Mississippi Watershed Management Organization and the Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association, present the first workshop in the Hydro-lluminata series.

− Learn about watershed stewardship and taste water from locations around Minneapolis
− Meet and work with sculptor and public artist Jim Brenner to create unique, handcrafted sculpture molds of small boats
− See your sculpture cast in iron at Hydro-Illuminata's public cast iron performance event on October 1
− Exhibit your sculpture at Homewood Studios in May, 2017

Limited to 20 participants. Ages 12 and above.
Registration required at: http://www.hydroilluminata.com/get-involved/

Aug
19
5:00 pm17:00

Water Bar @ Water/Ways Reception

  • Arts Center of Saint Peter

In honor of WaterWays, the Arts Center of Saint Peter's annual membership show is water-themed! WaterStories: Work by Members of the Arts Center of Saint Peter will be on display at the Arts Center July 22-Aug. 21, featuring more than 40 pieces by area artists. The public is invited to the reception Friday, Aug. 19, 5-7 p.m. which will feature Water Bar, a unique chance to sample area waters, learn about water quality issues, and chat with staff from Bolton & Menk, an engineering and surveying firm with a strong commitment to water quality. More info here.

Aug
4
Aug 7

Water Bar @ Washington County Fair

  • Washington County Fair

Staff from Washington Conservation District will be hosting Water Bar at the Washington County Fair, serving local tap waters and info about water conservation issues, and ways that residents of the district can get involved and take action. 

Jul
30
1:00 pm13:00

Water Bar @ Owámni Falling Water Festival

We will be bringing Water Bar to this free outdoor festival on the banks of the Mississippi River, celebrating indigenous culture: 

"Owámni means “falling water” in the Dakota language, making it an apt name for a festival beside the only waterfall on the Mississippi River. This free and family-friendly event celebrates indigenous Minnesota culture with music, art, food, and more."
Art-A-Whirl 2016 @ Water Bar
May
20
May 22

Art-A-Whirl 2016 @ Water Bar

  • Water Bar & Public Studio

We're excited to be open to the public during Art-A-Whirl 2016!

  • Friday, May 20: 5pm - 8pm
  • Saturday, May 21: 12pm - 8pm
  • Sunday, May 22: 12pm - 5pm 

For the past 21 years, the annual Art-A-Whirl festival has brought thousands of people out to visit artist studios and spaces in our northeast Minneapolis neighborhood. While we're still working out specific details, here's what we know:

We'll have the Water Bar up and running, with a roster of special guest bartenders in to talk about local water and the many experiences and issues it touches.

Works Progress and collaborators will be leading a screen printing demonstration. Visitors will have a chance to make and take a water drop poster home.

We'll have a pop-up artist market with posters, publications, and other art and design works for sale. If you're an artist and would like to sell work through the Water Bar during Art-A-Whirl, you can learn more here

Finally, we'll be offering a "tap water clinic" in partnership with local water resource groups. You'll be able to bring in a sample of tap water from your home or business, and we'll help you test it for lead and other contaminants, adding the results to our in-studio tap map.

Use the contact form on this site to send us a note if you'd like to get involved in our Art-A-Whirl program, or if you have other questions! 

 SIP Program: Are Pharmaceuticals & Household Chemicals in Your Water?
May
19
7:00 pm19:00

SIP Program: Are Pharmaceuticals & Household Chemicals in Your Water?

  • Water Bar & Public Studio

We use many chemicals in our everyday lives. They go down the drain, exit wastewater treatment plants, and wind up in our rivers and lakes. This talk will explore what happens to these chemicals in the environment, and if they pose any risks to drinking water.

ABOUT BILL ARNOLD ~

Bill Arnold is a researcher at the University of Minnesota whose work is focused on the fate of chemicals generated by human activity in natural and engineered systems. His goals are to be able to predict contaminant fate in natural aquatic systems and to design remediation technologies to treat contaminated waters. Current efforts include studying pharmaceuticals and personal care products, reactions that occur at mineral surfaces, investigating the fate of phytoestrogens, exploring the fate of pesticides in prairie wetland systems, and the development of reactive membranes.

ABOUT STUDIO IN PROGRESS (SIP) PROGRAMS ~

All SIP Programs are free as a thank you to our SIP Fund supporters. Get a sneak peek at the kinds of art, culture, and environment programs that will be part of the new Water Bar & Public Studio before our doors open to the public. SIP Fund donations support the continued development of this project and space.