Five local groups have been selected for the City’s inaugural Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts initiative in Loring Park.

Blackbird Revolt, Black Business Enterprises, Flavor World, Skntones, and Twin Cities Pride will receive almost $225,000 in a year’s worth of rent subsidies from the City. Awardees were required to agree to a two-year lease agreement with their landlords and an award agreement with the City.

Mayor Jacob Frey said in a Friday press release announcing the recipients that the initiative “gives artists the resources they need to beautify our downtown, drive creativity, and energize our community.”

Image courtesy of the City of Minneapolis

In the Harmon Court building at 1128 Harmon Place, Blackbird Revolt will operate an abolitionist design studio that leverages art and design as tools of social change, while Black Business Enterprises will create an art activation hub that supports artists and business owners.

Twin Cities Pride will establish a cultural center at 1201 Harmon Place, the former Aveda salon, for year-round gatherings and programming, including the organization’s artist in residency program and Rainbow Wardrobe, which are currently located at Loring Corners.

The Flavor Space will move into 1218 Harmon Place, a print shop and event venue for Flavor World that will double as a rotating gallery and pop-up shop for up-and-coming artists.

Skntones will set up a studio and office space at 1227 Hennepin Ave. to drive the clothing brand's product development, design, content production, and community initiatives. The space will also host art exhibitions and galleries featuring work from local artists, with a focus on underrepresented voices.

The former Aveda salon at 1201 Harmon Place will be occupied by Twin Cities Pride. Photo by Brianna Kelly

The City announced in July that the new Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs would take the lead on a Vibrant Storefronts initiative, whose goal is to activate vacant retail properties in the historic Harmon Place district at the border of Loring Park and Downtown West.

There were 150 sign-ups for tours and 43 eligible applications submitted before the mid-September deadline, according to Arts & Cultural Affairs. 

“As we reimagine downtown as the creative arts epicenter of our region, this program invests directly in our local arts community, and it will breathe new life and vitality into downtown,” Arts & Cultural Affairs Director Ben Johnson said in a statement.

The idea for the Arts & Cultural Vibrant Storefronts initiative came from Frey’s Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup, which launched in late 2022 and shared recommendations in mid-2023 to address widespread retail vacancies across downtown Minneapolis. Other Vibrant Storefronts initiatives help place small businesses in vacant retail spaces within IDS Center and Gaviidae Common, including during the holidays.

Frey wants to expand Vibrant Storefronts to the Uptown neighborhood, which is also struggling with retail vacancies. He has allocated $1.3 million in his proposed 2025 City budget for efforts across downtown, including along Hennepin Avenue and on Nicollet Mall, and in Uptown, where the focus will be on the Hennepin and Lake intersection.

“Economic and neighborhood revitalization cannot truly happen without art,” Ward 7 Councilmember Katie Cashman said in a statement. “I am proud to see the City intentionally investing in these partnerships to help write the next chapters for our community.”