Art Shanty Projects returning this winter — hopefully to the ice — after 2 years of weather woes have altered plans

The Art Shanty Projects will officially be happening again in 2025, the event’s artistic director announced Wednesday, running on Saturdays and Sundays from Jan. 18 through Feb. 9, 2025.

The hope is that the art installations will once again be on the frozen waters of Lake Harriet in Minneapolis for the full 3-weekend program.

The normal Art Shanty Projects include installations that are both indoor art shanties and outdoor art projects. The annual event hasn’t had a full season with indoor and outdoor shanties on-ice since 2020. Because it typically spans mid-January to early February, it was not impacted by the pandemic in 2020.

However, the event took a “pandemic pause” in 2021. In 2022, the Art Shanty Projects returned but were entirely open-air installations for pandemic safety.

In 2023, indoor shanties returned to the event, but they had to use the “Plan Beach” and hold the event onshore due to weather conditions.

RELATED: Relatively warm weather — and even rain — causes headaches for outdoor event planners (2023)

2024’s Art Shanty Projects started on-ice but was cut very short because of a quick winter weather warmup, causing Artistic Director Erin Lavelle to make the difficult decision to close the Art Shanty Projects after just one weekend because of deteriorating ice conditions creating safety concerns.

RELATED: On-Ice Art Shanty Projects close after only one weekend

For the 2025 program, Lavelle says that some of the 2024 shanties and performances will return since many folks didn’t get to see them last year, and many new projects will debut, too.

“Art Shanty Projects exists to connect with one another and our shared winter landscape, with both friends and strangers. It’s an immersive place to work through what is happening in life locally and globally,” Levelle says.

There is no specific theme for the shanties, which explore a variety of topics through art. Some fan favorites will be returning for 2025, including the dance party shanty.

You can view the list of 2025 Art Shanty artists and performers HERE, and the description of projects HERE. More artists and art installations will be announced in the future.

The Art Shanty Project will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the three weekends it is open. It is free to attend, but donations at the entrance are welcome and part of how they raise their annual funding.