At the Art Shanty village on Lake Harriet/Bde Uman

Whittier residents Madeline Cochran and Emily Quandahl (shown at left with her sister, Abby) created the Quilt Shanty at the 2026 Art Shanty Project on Lake Harriet/Bde Uman. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

At the 2026 Art Shanty Project on Lake Harriet/Bde Uman. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

After two days of work, an "ABOLISH ICE" luminary was lit up on Lake Harriet/Bde Uman on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, part of the Art Shanty Project. (Photo by Aurora Pass)

At the 2026 Art Shanty Project on Lake Harriet/Bde Uman. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

Shorelunch Nate organized an ice fishing event on Saturday, Jan. 31 at Lake Harriet/Bde Uman. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

Posted Thursday, February 5, 2026 10:35 am

by Tesha M. Christensen

This year's three-week Art Shanty Project on Lake Harriet/Bde Uman opened the same weekend that Alex Pretti was shot and killed in southwest Minneapolis by ICE agents. It continues through this weekend, closing on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. In addition to the village, this year's event included a luminary project on Feb. 2-3 that lit up the words, "ABOLISH ICE," next to the shanty village.

The kite festival that typically shares the ice on Jan. 24 was cancelled due to extreme cold. Shorelunch Nate organized a ice fishing competition near the snowfort on Jan. 31.

QUILT SHANTY

Whittier residents Madeline Cochran and Emily Quandahl met at the U Haul Art Crawl, and discovered both had grown up in the Driftless region and moved to the Twin Cities. Members of Quandahl's family are farmers and they became interested in barn quilts. Their Art Shanty Project is both a barn quilt and an agricultural structure as it can double as a hoop house to extend the growing season.

Quandahl is a textile artist and Cochran is a folk art illustrator. The idea grew in July, and they started building in November. "It's been fun to honor these folk art traditions that have a practical aspect to it," said Quandahl.

Cochran spearheaded the puzzles and the community activity. Visitors are invited to explore quilting by working with quilt-square pieces to create their own designs.

It wasn't until this project that Quandahl began using a sewing machine instead of the hand-sewing she typically does. "I had one of those artistic manic days," she observed, and she created the F*** Ice quilt in one day. "I don't get the chance to be very literal with my work. ... In the past, quilting was used as a way to share messages. Quilting has also been known to be a feminine craft that's devalued. ... It felt like a full circle in a lot of ways. ... I was a little nervous about the language, but you go to any protest now in the city and you're going to hear f*** ice."

Quandahl pointed out that the opening weekend Jan. 24-25 was really hard on everyone, as Alex Pretti was shot and killed nearby by ICE agents. "This has been a great way to meet our neighbors. I've met more people in the past six weeks than I have in the 10 years I've lived in Minneapolis," she said on Jan. 31.