“In Northeast Minneapolis, many artists found affordable live/work space in the 1980s. But since the early 2000s, gentrification has led to an influx of upscale housing and businesses, displacing the first wave of artists. Art-A-Whirl, the annual open-studio tour, reflects this. Created in 1996, the first event featured 12 artists and had limited attendance. It now draws more than 600 artists and 30,000 attendees, shifting the focus from art crawl to tourist attraction, beer, and bands.” 

—Brittany Lewis, ’12 M.A., ’15 Ph.D., Ruth Jane Kincaid Fellowship and Dennis R. Clayton Graduate Fellowship recipient, studies urban gentrification for the U’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs.