Multiple Ice Sculpture Viewing Options Over the Coming Days

Minneapolis, MN —The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is putting a winter spin on some of its most famous works of art by recreating them as ice sculptures and placing them around the city, MSPMag.com reports.

Until Feb. 28, or until the weather gets too warm, Mia and the Minneapolis Park Board have scattered five frozen recreations at city parks:

• Raffaelo Monti's "Veiled Lady" is at Longfellow Park, 3435 36th Ave. S
• Yoshimoto Nara's "Your Dog" is at Bde Maka Ska Park, 3000 Bde Maka Ska Parkway
• "Celestial Horse," by an unknown Chinese artist is at North Commons Park, 1801 James Ave.
• Salvador Dali's "Aphrodisiac Telephone" is at Boom Island Park, 724 Sibley St. NE
• Vincent Van Gogh's "Olive Trees" is across the street from the museum at Washburn-Fair Oaks Park, 200 E. 24th St.

The ice sculptures were crafted by sculptor Chris Swarbick of Ice Occasions.

"(It was) really about getting art outside our walls, doing something uniquely Minnesotan and offering a moment of brightness and warmth in an otherwise cold, long, winter." Katie Hill, Mia's head of engagement strategy, told MSPMag.com about the ice sculpture project.

Another event, The Ice Sculpture Exploration, is taking place throughout the area until Feb. 28.

The event involves more than 25 ice sculptures that have been placed throughout the greater Twin Cities, at local businesses, parks and in neighborhoods. The sculptures are between three and eight feet tall and wide and depict many different subjects.

The event is sponsored by GetKnit Events and Minnesota Ice. Tickets can be purchased online for $19 and come with a treasure map, which helps participants find the sculptures, along with history and fun facts about the sculptures and their location. The tickets also qualify participants for prizes and feature deals at select ice sculpture host businesses, like drink discounts and free fries and cookies with other purchases.

Contest organizers invite explorers to "go dusk until dawn" and visit all 25-plus sculptures in one epic day. They also encourage the 21-and-over crowd, along with people in their pandemic pod, to visit eateries and drinkeries that are hosting sculptures. Or, they say, visit a few sculptures a day during the course of the event.