Every May, Northeast Minneapolis — a grid of old warehouses, breweries and churches — becomes the largest open artist studio tour in the United States. Art-A-Whirl, run by the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association since 1996, throws open 800+ studios across the Northeast Arts District for one euphoric weekend.
The anchor is the Northrup King Building, a former seed warehouse turned into the largest arts complex in Minnesota — 300+ artists across 13 acres of studios — but the magic is everywhere: potters in carriage houses, glassblowers in foundries, painters above taprooms. Trolleys, food trucks and live music stitch it into a district-wide festival.
You come home with art, sawdust on your shoes and new favorite artists’ names. Art-A-Whirl is why “Nordeast” is a byword for creative Minneapolis.
