Revamped Minneapolis Sculpture Garden To Reopen June 3
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – After being closed off all last summer for construction, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is slated to reopen in early June, with more than a dozen new works of art, eco-friendly infrastructure upgrades and a day-long celebration.
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and the Walker Art Center announced Thursday that the beloved park – with its iconic "Spoonbridge and Cherry" sculpture -- will reopen on June 3, the first Saturday of the month.
There'll be a ribbon-cutting ceremony, live DJ performances and free ice cream for park visitors. (More information on grand opening events – which range from dance performances and artist-designed mini-golf to panel talks and tours, can be found here).
The 11-acre park closed for construction last May so that "new life" could be breathed into its aging infrastructure. The revamped park, designed by Tom Oslund and Julie Snow, uses new technologies to make the space more eco-friendly and sustainable.
Park officials say the garden's new eco-friendly features include 300 new trees, a new Vineland Place entrance and walkways, an 80,000-gallon underground cistern to irrigate the park, and a meadow of native plants on the north end to help absorb runoff.
The revamped garden will also include 18 new pieces of art that'll live alongside old favorites. The works are from artists from nine different countries, and include more works by women. One to stand out will likely be Katharina Fritsch's "Hahn/Cock," a sculpture of a 20-foot tall blue rooster.
The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden first opened in 1988 and has seen more than 9 million visitors. The recent improvements to the park were made possible by $8.5 million in public funding and another $1.5 million from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. The construction to the park was done in tandem with construction on the Walker Art Center and nearby Hennepin Avenue.
For more information on the new artwork in the park and opening day events, click here.
