Minneapolis Beneath the Asphalt

Minneapolis Beneath the Asphalt is a project I worked on over the summer of 2016 to create public stop motion animation about what lies just under the surface of the city. It is funded by an Artist's Initiative Grant I received from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

The project started at Art-A-Whirl, where several dozen volunteers and I created this video about how the city changes.

Here's a look behind the scenes making the animation during Art-A-Whirl 2016.

More about this video can be found here.

The second part was created at the Northeast Weekday Market, on a site where the ruins of the foundation for a brewery lie just beneath the surface of the grass.

Part three was at the Open Streets in Downtown Minneapolis on July 10. So many people stopped by to be animated and talk about what lies below Minneapolis and can sprout up.

Part four was at the Open Streets on East Lake Street on July 24. The animation discussion continued.

Part five was at the Open Streets in Northeast on 13th Avenue on August 7. The animation discussion continued.

Part six was at the Open Streets on West Broadway on September 10. The animation discussion continued.

John Akre is a fiscal year 2016 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is funded, in part, by the arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.