Bringing Arts Back Uptown: Conversations About Community
Artists Moqui and Dez working on the newest mural for entertainment venue Arts + Rec
“I have a little anecdote,” local visual artist Moqui Joy told us, beaming, swirling their paintbrush in their paint tin before touching it back down to the mural flowering before our eyes. “Okay, so basically, there was a spirit living in my last house. I asked her to help me with my garden—I don’t really have the greenest thumb. I planted corn, tomatoes, you name it…anyway, a few weeks go by, and it’s all sunflowers, sunflowers everywhere, nine feet high into the air.” They laughed and reached down again to wet their brush with more paint. “I guess she liked sunflowers!”
At the Uptown Merry Makers Market pop-up, led by the Love From Uptown campaign, the art being sold on rows of tables brought artist and shopper together—but it was far from the focal point of the event. “I’m here because I care about this community,” explained recent UMN graduate Dez Noel, working the mural with their Sharpie a few feet away from Moqui. “These past few years have been really shitty for Uptown…it’s going through a period of regeneration right now.” Uptown Minneapolis, once a vibrantly creative neighborhood not 10 minutes southwest of campus, has been subject to worsening patterns of gentrification, crime and collective disconnection—none of which have gone unnoticed by residents. The two painters explained that their mural, a work-in-progress of a bundle of sunflowers framed by trailing willow branches, symbolized the potential for mending the Uptown community. Dez added that the willow tree motif was specifically chosen because the trees are known for their capacity to decontaminate and restore the soil in which they root. “The work these plants do is the work I want to do.”
When we asked ceramics artist Mike Smieja about his feelings on the Uptown arts community, he frowned at us over his selection of for-sale pottery. “It’s a community we all have in common…because we all face the same struggles, many of them financial. Can I afford somewhere to live, can I afford to eat? Artists made the Uptown area cool, and then, because it was a cool area, prices went up…and now many of us can’t even afford to live here anymore.” One of the biggest bonds within the artistic community these days, it seems, is fear. Fear of violence, fear of not having a place to rest our weary heads at night, fear of our own communities. “Everyone is scared. Everyone wants to live in a good community. If you can put the things that don’t matter aside—stuff that divides us—and realize it’s all about love, we can be united by what we collectively fear. I think that’s how we can bring the good back out of the Uptown community.”
One venue that is taking steps towards rebuilding the Uptown community, artistic and otherwise, is newly opened Arts + Rec. The conglomerate features a record shop, a fantastically immersive themed minigolf course, a restaurant, a black-box theater, and a fabulous speakeasy that encourages creative types to work—and network—within its vicinity. Walls throughout the space are alive with murals hand-crafted by local artists; the performance space lends itself to highlighting budding musicians and stand-up performers. While Arts + Rec is only one establishment offering a helping hand to a community riddled with fear, it’s a step in the right direction—and a beacon of hope for Uptown, artists included.
After a few insightful hours at the event, as we slipped back into our coats and headed towards the exit, a woman flagged us down. She was single-handedly running a table to the side of the market, manned with nothing but a stack of Post-Its and a cup of pens. “Would you mind sharing something you learned today on a sticky note?” We obliged, in turn asking what her involvement was with the market. “I’m just passionate about local arts,” she replied, posting our sticky notes up on the wall alongside dozens of others. “You become a part of the community by engaging with the art in that community. I think that’s really important—now more than ever.”
Connect with the artists:
Moqui Joy: @moqui._ on Instagram
Dez Noel: @dez.4.prez on Instagram
Mike Smieja: @grandmaraispottery on Instagram
