Northfield received support for the “Riverwalk Arts Quarter” from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Fund a few months ago, and at last Tuesday’s meeting four projects were chosen to go ahead to the next round of the funding process. Two of the four projects were proposed by ArtOrg: 1) “The Big Print”, and 2) “Five Sculptures”.

The “Big Print” is the re-printing of the 1180 print blocks done mostly by kids during the “2008 Thousand Print Summer” project. The resulting large quilt-like print will measure roughly 50 feet tall by 80 feet wide. We are now developing additional sponsors, searching for an appropriate venue to unveil this large work, and anticipating a very huge turnout for this unique and unusual unveiling event. We believe this primary artistic event will help publicize the RAQ as a place where things happen.

The “Five Sculptures” project was also combined with another project at the meeting that is to develop a program for outdoor sculpture in the downtown “Riverwalk Arts Quarter” area. The “Five Sculptures” portion will enable the creation of five works from five artists that will be placed on the pedestal outside the Lampe Law Group. Partial sponsorship has been pledged from Lampe Law Group, and significant materials have already been procured by ArtOrg. Two local artists, Mac Gimse and Ray Jacobson have already agreed to be artists on the project. A neat visual summary of local sculpture in the Northfield area can be seen here.