Downtown Minneapolis Street Art Festival Returns August 12-13

The festival creates a free, family-friendly event down Nicollet Avenue from 6th to 8th Street.

The Mpls Downtown Improvement District (DID) and the Hennepin Theatre Trust announced the 5th annual Downtown Mpls Street Art Festival, which will take place Saturday and Sunday, August 12-13 from 10am-6pm on Nicollet in downtown Minneapolis.

The festival features the live creation of chalk and spray paint artworks from 27 world-renowned, international artists, representing 6 states and 5 countries, a Saturday afternoon concert series (3-6pm) curated by local hip-hop duo iLLism with Black Velvet Punks, Jordan Johnston and Rawtwhylah from the 7th Street stage, performances by Heart & Soul Drum Academy, storyteller Brother Asé, food trucks, a community mandala, free make-and-take arts activities for all ages, a craft market, and more.

In addition, the Minneapolis Mile Automotive Festival will take place next to the Mpls Street Art Festival, making for a fun, family-friendly experience along Nicollet. The Minneapolis Mile Car Show is a weekend long festival for cars, trucks, motorcycles, food trucks and more. The festival takes place at the Minneapolis Convention Center and runs down Nicollet to 8th Street.

The Downtown Minneapolis Street Art Festival brings families, artists and communities together to enjoy amazing art—it’s my favorite two days downtown all year,” said Lisa Middag, Director of Public Space Engagement for the Mpls DID. “We are so excited to welcome you downtown, and along with the Minneapolis Mile Car Show, Pizza Luce Block Party and the Ed Sheeran concert, this year's festival weekend provides the perfect opportunity for people who may not be familiar with the world of street art to experience it firsthand. I promise you won’t regret it!”

This year’s schedule of events includes:

Saturday, August 12

• Nicollet Chalk Art Festival | 10am – 6pm
• 3D Chalk Art Installation at IDS | 10am – 6pm
• Live Spray Painting Nicllet | 10am – 6pm
• Street Eats (food trucks and more) on Nicollet | 10am – 6pm
• Artists Craft Market | 10am – 6pm
• Streetcorner Letterpress | 10am - 6pm
• Pedal t the Metal | 10am – 6pm
• Heart and Sl Drum Academy | 11am & 2pm
• Mile Sign Shop | 11:30am – 3:30pm
• Stryteller Brther Asé | 12pm
• Hard in the Paint Hoops 3x3 Basketball Tournament | 12pm – 4pm
• Flamenc del Arte | 1pm
• D Guided Mural Ts | 12pm & 3pm
• Saturday Concert series curated by local hip hop duo iLLism featuring Black Velvet Punks, Jordan Johnston and Rawtwhylah | 3pm – 6pm

Sunday, August 13

• Nicollet Chalk Art Festival | 10am – 6pm
• 3D Chalk Art Installation at IDS Center | 10am – 6pm
• Live Spray Painting n Nicllet | 10am – 6pm
• Street Eats (food trucks and more) on Nicollet | 10am – 6pm
• Artists Craft Market | 10am – 6pm
• Streetcorner Letterpress | 10am – 6pm
• WOW Mbile Metal Lab | 10am – 6pm
• Hennepin Cy Mile Bike Library | 11am – 5pm
• Street Show perfmances Nicllet | 11am – 5pm
• Mile Sign Shop | 11:30am – 3:30pm
• Guided Downtown Mural Tours | 12pm & 3pm

Nicollet Chalk Art Festival

The centerpiece of the Downtown Mpls Street Art Festival is a two-block-long series of chalk installations by 19 local and international artists representing  six states and five countries (Canada, India, Mexico, Turkey, U.S.A.). Watch the artists as they transform the sidewalks of Nicollet between 6th and 8th Streets from 10am to 6pm with their unique artistic vision in vibrant tempera. While enjoying the art, make sure to channel your inner artist and contribute to our community chalk mandala.

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3D Chalk Installation at IDS Center

Watch world-renowned local chalk artist Shawn McCann as he creates a special 3D chalk installation on the corner of 8th & Nicollet. McCann uses advanced techniques and anamorphic perspective to produce an illusion of depth and perspective for your perfect festival Instagram moment.

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Live Spray Painting on Nicollet

The excitement of live mural spray painting continues as our lineup of local and international artists showcase their unique sense of color, style and technique on Nicollet.

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Interactive Arts Activities for the Whole Family

Tap into your inner street artists and contribute to the massive community chalk mandala, design and take home a custom sign with Mobile Sign Shop, decorate and print your own custom Downtown Mpls Street Art Festival postcard with Streetcorner Letterpress, or create a unique design to pour in molten Pewter with Pedal to the Metal (Saturday) and the WOW Mobile Metal Lab (Sunday). Check out the fun arts activities (or maybe even a book!) from the Hennepin County Mobile Bike Library.

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Street Eats on Nicollet

Enjoy lunch from Street Eats vendor Stop, Drop & Roll at 7th & Nicollet, or a snack from a selection of local food trucks and street vendors #OnNicollet between 8th & 9th Streets.

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Street Showcase on Nicollet

Enjoy live performances from our Street Show favorites on Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Produced by the DID and curated by the Warming House, Street Show has brought more than 2,000 hours of paid street performance from local musicians, artists, dancers, painters, and others to the sidewalks of downtown Minneapolis since 2018. Season schedule

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Artist Craft Market

Shop local at the Downtown Mpls Street Art Festival Artist Craft Market on Nicollet between 7th and 8th streets. More than 19 artists and artisan makers will bring their unique wares to the street. Browse through a wide selection of goods and leave with a souvenir to remember the festival by.

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Hard in the Paint Hoops 3x3 Basketball Tournament

Make sure to swing by The Alley Project (behind The FAIR School for Arts) to enjoy music, refreshments, and competition for the first annual Hard in the Paint 3x3 Basketball Tournament! The first-place team will win $300, and the second-place team will win $150.

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Saturday Afternoon Performances

Performances kick off Saturday at 11am from the festival stage at 7th and Nicollet with festival-favorites Heart & Soul Drum Academy. This Rondo- based program exposes youth ages 3-17 to musical expression through Djembe hand drumming. Participation is encouraged! Next on stage at 12pm is griot Brother Asé, a 3rd generation North Minneapolis storyteller, who uses the art of storytelling to empower youth with the wisdom of the elders. At 1pm you can catch the dramatic dance and music of Street Show regulars Flamenco del Arte, featuring artists Shanan Tolzin and David Elrod along with special guest Marie de los Reyes. The afternoon performances wrap up with a 2pm encore from Heart & Sould Drum Academy.

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Saturday Early Evening Concert curated by iLLism

Wrapping up a full day of street art on Saturday, August 12, local hip hop duo iLLism has curated a musically diverse set of local performers, who will take the stage on Nicollet at 7th Street for a free concert. Jazz punk, neo-soul and hip-hop group Black Velvet Punks (3pm) will be kicking off the concert with a splatter of punk and a tapestry of neo-soul charm and smoothness. Pop/soul singer Jordan Johnston (4pm) takes the stage next with his band and his dad drummer Bob Johnston (an original member of Flyte Time). Following their performance, Rahtwhylah (5pm) will be taking the stage for a high-energy performance featuring music with a fusion melting  pot  sound  and  a Caribbean undertone. Enjoy performances that span multiple genres, such as Hip-Hop, R&B, Jazz, and Minneapolis Funk, to close out the first day of the Downtown Mpls Street Art Festival.

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Downtown Mural Tours

Mary Jane Mansfield from Hennepin Theatre Trust offers an insider’s tour of downtown murals at 12pm and 3pm both days of the festival, highlighting the many amazing downtown murals, including the Prince mural, as well as the latest installation of the It’s the People exhibition. Throughout the festival, you will see QR codes with scannable links to the Downtown Mpls Street Art Festival online tour with more information (available in both English and Spanish) on the participating artists and artworks. The link to the virtual tour will be available during the festival on the festival website.