2023 Events
ACF’s McKnight Composer Fellows: Mitchell Bercier, Mary Ellen Childs, Queen Drea, and Reinaldo Moya
American Composers Forum’s most recent cohort of McKnight Composer Fellows share new music in a special presentation at Icehouse.
Fluidity: Identity in Swedish Glass
Celebrate the opening of American Swedish Institute’s Fluidity: Identity in Swedish Glass—an exhibit exploring glass as a form of expression by artists on journeys of identity and self—and the U.S. premiere of Swedish glass artist Jo Andersson’s immersive installation, Being.
Wild Rice Retreat: Wintering Well Series
Wild Rice Retreat’s Wintering Well series, specially curated for The Great Northern, focuses on harnessing the winter months as a time of wellness.
John Luther Adams in conversation with Alex Ross
A conversation between “reigning musical ambassador of the natural world” (The New York Times) John Luther Adams and The New Yorker’s music critic Alex Ross (The Rest is Noise).
Iregular: Our Common Home
This arresting, interactive installation by Montreal-based studio Iregular raises awareness and sparks conversation about the universal subject of our impact on the environment.
The Great Northern Sauna Village
A social and therapeutic experience held this year at Malcolm Yards in Minneapolis, The Great Northern Sauna Village invites visitors to immerse themselves in sauna culture by interacting with thermaculture first-hand during the festival’s run in deep winter.
Kablusiak: Qiniqtuaq exhibition opening
Join us for the opening celebration of Qiniqtuaq—an exhibition inviting viewer participation in the ongoing histories of the who’s who of looking and being looked at.
Orfield Labs: Anechoic Chamber
Experience enveloping quiet. The Great Northern invites participants into one of the quietest places on Earth—the “anechoic chamber” at Orfield Laboratories.
Saint Paul Winter Carnival
The Great Northern founding partner Saint Paul Winter Carnival has brought family-friendly events and community pride to Saint Paul and the Twin Cities metro area since 1886.
Maren Hassinger: Love (for Minneapolis)
Multidisciplinary artist Maren Hassinger reimagines her iconic pink installation Embrace/Love in Love (for Minneapolis)—a healing intervention for The Great Northern 2023.
Aaron Dysart: Regrowth
Immerse yourself in this Green Minneapolis and MWMO-commissioned work throughout The Great Northern Jan 25–Feb 5, first at Surly Brewing for Chill Out, and then at Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis