Northern Spark 2014 - Update #6

HOTTEA Pays Homage in Large-Scale Installation

HOTTEA's new work for Northern Spark, La Maroma, is a site-specific installation about the Ayutla River in Mexico as told through stories by his mother. The stories are funny, tragic, and sometimes very sad. "I remember as a child listening to these words of my mother and feeling close to these people," recalls Eric Rieger, who works under the moniker he adopted in earlier years as a graffiti artist.

La Maroma is a temporary, expansive work that will be composed of many thousands of yards of brightly-colored yarn. The completed work will create an illusion of a footbridge spanning the underside of a section of Minneapolis' Third Avenue Bridge.

HOTTEA is a Minneapolis-based artist known locally and nationally for installation work that uses delicate materials to create the illusion of bulk and volume in space.

Just announced: Northern Lights.mn and 89.3 The Current to Host GRRL PRTY at Opening Ceremony

Northern Spark 2014 kicks off at the Minneapolis Convention Center Plaza with a festive Opening Ceremony free for everyone to celebrate. Witness the unveiling of the winner of the Creative City Challenge, Balancing Ground, and help Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges officially open Northern Spark at 9:01 pm. Mu Daiko will energize the crowd beforehand and Minneapolis hip-hop trio GRRL PRTY will carry the energy into the night with a special set as the sun goes down.

No matter where you are at the start of the festival you can help us power up Northern Spark with your limited edition NS2014 Sparker. When the clock rings 9:01 pm, lift your sparker in the air and generate some energy to help spark the night.