Culture Jamming in the Mill District
Someone who didn’t like the Red Bull Illume exhibit felt compelled to make a statement.
Photo courtesy of Corporate Babysitter.
Dialing that phone number — (612) 230-6400 — gets you to the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board.
How is Red Bull sponsoring this exhibit any different than the Vector Wealth Management being the title sponsor of the Stone Arch Festival of the Arts?
Moe – The biggest difference for me in the events is the community orientation of the Stone Arch festival which includes local artists and musicians. This exhibit (Illume) did not have that angle. (Some of the photographers may have been from Mpls but I would say they are not pushing a community feel in the exhibit.)
But my main problem is disrupting bicycle commuting for seven business days for something visible only a few hours each evening. Stone Arch Festival is a two-day weekend event that promotes community. It doesn’t affect weekday commuters and is similar to blocking a street for a parade or community fest. We do those kinds of things. But I doubt if we would place 8 ft cubes on any street for 10 days and expect autos to deal with it. But the Park Board administration decided it was OK to disrupt the bicycle flow (plus create a very dangerous situation – one child and one elderly woman hit on the bridge during the exhibit).
It’s an awareness thing. Bicycle infrastructure should be equal to vehicle infrastructure and if you wouldn’t block a street with the ugly (by day) giant cubes then don’t block a bike route.