2023 Events

Emily Wells: Regards to the End
Composer, producer, and video artist Emily Wells and her band (cellist Topu Lyo, drummer Addie Vogt, and multi-instrumentalist Alec Spiegelman) perform work from her 2022 album Regards to the End.

Climate Action Shorts: Ice Ball, Carrying the Fire, and A Voice for the Wild
A program of three documentary films that unite around expressions of environmental activism and climate action. In partnership with MSP Film Society.

Curiosity Studios: Sewing Circles
Join Curiosity Studio for an interactive sewing circle and discussion on the clothing cycle and its ecological consequences.

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.

Andrew Schneider: N O W I S W H E N W E A R E (the stars)
This one-of-a-kind immersive experience by theater/technology pioneer Andrew Schneider allows viewers to explore traces of themselves in starlight, the universe, and those who have been here before us through a theatrical cosmos of reactive light points and enveloping sound design.

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