Courtesy of: http://www.artshantyprojects.orgIt's that time of year when the land of 10,000 lakes becomes the land of 10,000 frozen lakes.  But that doesn't stop people from going outside to enjoy them.  Next week, the annual Art Shanty Projects will open to the public on the frozen surface of Medicine Lake, just outside of Minneapolis.  This ephemeral community of approximately two dozen shanties explores the unregulated public space defined by the boundaries of the frozen lake.  Inspired by the qualities of ice-fishing huts, each of the structures offers different activities and aesthetics from knitting to films to storytelling to visual art.

The project runs for about 5 weeks, and the artists are encouraged to staff their shanty and interact with the public audience in this informal atmosphere (as compared to a typical gallery).  After the project's duration, the shanties are disassembled before the lake thaws and often stored for the next year's installation.  This project provides a great example of opportunistic adaptation, reuse, community, and unique site application.