What You Can Expect at This Year’s St. Paul Art Crawl

In large populations, such as the Twin Cities, it can sometimes be difficult for people to feel connected with one another. Mariusz Kujawski, volunteer and vice president of the St. Paul Art Collective, recognizes the importance of maintaining a sense of community, especially across a large variety of people. As such, he and other volunteers behind the collective, host events such as the St Paul Art Crawl.

Beginning April 12^th and running every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until the 28th, the St. Paul Art Crawl is a volunteer run event that showcases close to 40 different galleries and features over 350 artists local to the Twin Cities area. Whether you are an artist yourself, or simply enjoy spectating the unique and beautiful artwork of others, the St. Paul Art Crawl has you covered.

The St. Paul Art Collective began in 1977 with the goal of building a community immersed and educated in local art. Volunteers worked to establish a system of connecting artists with venues. Since these beginnings, the collective has continued to achieve their goal year after year.

Though the heart of the event has stayed the same, the collective is always finding new ways to connect people through art. For example, this year’s crawl will feature more dance classes for people to immerse themselves in. The St. Paul Art Crawl is a multicultural, multi artform hotspot where no individual or artistic medium is left out.

“Why we crawl? For spectators or visitors who are looking for a place to see, not only visual art, but also performance, interactive art, experimental art. Spend a weekend with us, and we will bring inspiration to you and will give you the opportunity to hang out with your friends and connect in a way that art only can connect people,” Kujawski said.

Because of the connective power of art, everyone of different backgrounds, cultures, and ages can enjoy what the St. Paul Art Crawl has to offer. What’s more, each weekend offers unique and interesting events as well as features different local artists. This means that one can go to the crawl every weekend and find something new to do or view each visit.

The St. Paul Art Crawl is also a great event to attend to familiarize oneself with the city. The event is set up so that people can meet new artists as well as explore different parts of St. Paul.

“We have three different weekends where we spotlight and feature different districts,”…“I think that it’s so beautiful to help the city be with art for a week,” Kujawski said.

Come to one event or go to many to take part in a welcoming and safe community for all. There is something for anyone and everyone to do or see, and because of this, everyone can be united through art. Some of the specific events one can look forward to include the following:

• (Neo)Muralismos de México- Twin Cities-based dancers performing Mexica dance, Harriet Island Regional Park, St. Paul | 04/13/2024, 04/14/2024
• Wet Paint- Handbound sketchbook two ways | St. Paul | 04/13/2024
• Mariusz Kujawski- cha-cha class, Schmidt Artist Lofts , St.Paul | 04/20/2024
• Erta Ale Ethiopian- Teklemariam Zewde visual artist | 308 Prince St, Saint Paul | 04/26/2024-04/28/2024
• Kalpulli Huitzillin de MN- Indigenous Mexica Culture preservation workshop | Location TBD, St. Paul | 04/28/2024

If you are interested in being more involved in the St. Paul Art Crawl, there are a few different paths you can take. Kujawski explains the many ways in which one can participate.

“If people would like to know a little bit more about the crawl and see the map, and just look at the galleries beforehand, and look at the rec sites you can go to our website,”Kujawski said.

On the website there are also options to join as a monthly member where you can donate a small amount to the collective. You can also choose to join as a nonprofit and share ideas with the possibility of future collaboration. Any artists or galleries are also encouraged to join via the website, Kujawski shares.

“We send out all the galleries and places and art spaces to artists if they need the space. Any place if they would like to feature artists, we then provide them with a list of artists that they need,” Kujawski said.

The St. Paul Art Crawl connects artists and galleries, locals and foreigners, anyone and everyone through the magic of art. To take part in the Twin Cities community while also learning something new or seeing something beautiful, consider stopping on one or all of the weekends in April to the St. Paul Art Crawl. For more information feel free to visit their website: www.stpaulartcollective.org