Overview Art-A-Whirl is the largest open studio tour in the country. Every third weekend of May, the artists of Northeast Minneapolis open their studios, galleries and homes to the public for three days, Friday evening through Sunday. The Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA) produces it, and admission is free. On site More than 1,400 artists show work at 100-plus sites across the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, from the Northrup King, Casket Arts, Thorp and California buildings to galleries, storefronts and breweries. Quincy Street closes to cars and becomes the center of the weekend. Visitors watch demos, try hands-on activities and buy work directly from the artists. Bands play brewery stages at Indeed, Bauhaus and Sociable Cider Werks. Free trolleys loop the district. Audience The weekend draws more than 150,000 visitors from the Twin Cities, greater Minnesota and beyond: art buyers and collectors, families, young professionals, and the craft beer and live music crowd. NEMAA's website gets 375,000 visits a year, 100,000 of them during Art-A-Whirl, and its weekly arts newsletter reaches 13,000 readers. Talent and Influencers The talent is the artists themselves: painters, printmakers, ceramicists, jewelers, glass artists, photographers, sculptors and woodworkers, many working out of the same studios they open to the public. NEMAA spotlights a curated group of featured artists each season and commissions public sculptures for the weekend. Local bands fill the brewery stages and outdoor music lineups all three days. Track record A handful of artists started Art-A-Whirl in their homes, and it has grown into the event that defines the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. NEMAA counts more than 1,600 members. Its 88-page Member Directory and Art-A-Whirl Guide prints 20,000 copies and is stocked at MSP Airport, the Mall of America and visitor centers statewide. MPR's The Current, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal and Lavender cover the weekend. Brand presence Northeast Bank, Pryes Brewing, Sociable Cider Werks and Eastside Food Co-op support the festival, and Pryes brews a limited Art-A-Whirl beer with an artist-designed can. Sponsor tiers run from Advocate to Presenter/Champion. Benefits include NEMAA membership, newsletter and directory placements, ads in the printed guide, logo recognition across print and digital, and recognition for NEMAA's Forward Fund. Brands can also buy guide ads and newsletter banners on their own.