Minneapolis arts

Minneapolis claims to have the highest per capitacities—that is reserved for one night
attendance at theater and arts events outside ofduring the official city celebration, the Aquatennial,
New York City and Chicago. The region isheld in mid-July. The Aquatennial display is
reportedly the third-largest theater market in thereportedly the fourth-largest annual fireworks
country, attracting major performances. Theshow in the nation.
Guthrie Theater is the most famous theater inArts education is also strong in the Minneapolis
the city. Minneapolis also supports two Tonyarea with schools like the Perpich Center for Arts
Award winning theater companies: the Children'sEducation, an arts-oriented charter high school, in
Theatre Company and Theater de la Jeune Lune.Golden Valley, the Minneapolis College of Art and
In order to help revitalize the downtown andDesign, an arts college adjacent to the Minneapolis
warehouse district areas of Minneapolis, which hadInstitute of Arts, playing a central role in the city's
declined in the mid to late 20th century, the cityvisual, music and literary scenes, and the Art
purchased and renovated a few theaters onInstitutes International Minnesota, located in
Hennepin Avenue to create the Hennepin Theatredowntown Minneapolis on the corner of Hennepin
District, including the State, Orpheum, andAve. and 9th Street, is an arts college which
Pantages venues.focuses more on computer arts, such as graphic
In 2004 with an attendance of 50,197,design, animation and media graphics,
Minneapolis's Minnesota Fringe Festival was thephotography, and interactive media design.
largest non-juried performing arts festival in theThroughout the city are scattered various
United States and the third largest Fringe festivalsculptures and murals.
in North America. In 2005, the Minnesota FringeMinneapolis was home to the "Minneapolis Sound"
ran 11 days, August 4-14 with 44,630 paid tickets.in pop music in the 1980s. Prince is Minneapolis's
In 2004, 1,100 artists produced over 800 individualmost famous musical progeny. His 1980 album
performances and events.Dirty Mind, features a song called "Uptown",
The most extensive museum in the city is thededicated to his favorite neighborhood in the city,
Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Modern art isand several other songs include references to the
displayed in the Walker Art Center. The Walkercity. Arguably, producers Jimmy Jam and Terry
includes an outdoor sculpture garden withLewis have also been as or more influential as
"Spoonbridge and Cherry," which has become aPrince in creating the Minneapolis Sound.
symbol of the city.Alternative rock groups such as Hüsker
The Warehouse District adjoining downtown wasDü and The Replacements were a force in
a hub of studio and gallery activity in the 1980s,the 1980s, and Paul Westerberg (of the
but most artists have been driven out by highReplacements) still lives and works in Minneapolis.
rents. Today the Northeast Minneapolis ArtsPopular acts from the 1990s include The
District is the most vibrant visual arts communityJayhawks, Semisonic and pop group Information
in the city, though the largest art event (one ofSociety. In recent years Minneapolis has garnered
the largest in the nation) is the annual Uptown Arta significant hip hop community with labels such as
Fair.Rhymesayers Entertainment and Doomtree.
Numerous festivals are held across the city duringIt is also interesting to note that one of the most
the year. Many are small, although others canreplayed songs of the past fifty years,
attract visitors from across the region. FireworksFunkytown, came out of the Minneapolis scene. It
displays occur several times a year, although thewas recorded by the disco group Lipps, Inc. and
largest is not on July 4th as in most Americanformer Miss Minnesota finalist Cynthia Johnson.