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Project Bike Fundraiser

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For the past five years I've dedicated my life to Project Bike, putting forth extreme effort mentally, physically, and financially to this project. It's been an amazing journey and has truly changed not just my life but many others. A journey that started five years ago with just an idea and a goal has grown into a state wide supported project. It's been a hard choice but it saddens me to say this year will be the last Project Bike, but we plan to go out with a bang with creating a full length film of this years tour.

We are teaming with Minnesota filmmakers and photographers Alex Kohnstamm and Alec Schwandt and we couldn't be more excited. Leading the way Filmmaker Alex Kohnstamm has gone onto wining various awards for his content and narrative work winning festivals and his client list expanding to include: Delta, HealthPartners, HealthEast, Land O'Lakes, General Mills, and many more.

So with it being our final year we are asking our supporters from the bottom of our hearts to consider giving a donation to make this years project a huge success. Funding support will go towards the production and creation of our documentary as well as supporting and keeping Kyle and I safe on the road. 

Since the beginning, Project Bike has stayed true to its grassroots mission and with your support we can make a major impact and continue to advocacy for the importance of arts and culture in this state.  

For those of you that are not familiar with Project Bike. 

Project Bike is a Minnesota wide bicycle tour with visual artists and their studios setting the destinations. For the past four years creative leader Dana Sikkila has set out on a one of a kind art/bike tour, advocating for the important point that every artist has skills and creative ideas to help grow and sustain our communities. That we all have stories to share and that our art is the way we tell those stories.

With her bike, trailer, and film crew, Sikkila has biked over 2,500 summer miles connecting with Minnesota artists living in communities ranging from the rural to large cities, learning what motivates her fellow Minnesotans to create art. Project Bike's mission is to showcase that art and artists are truly part of our chemistry as individuals, as communities, and as a state.

Each year along the way Sikkila's tour is documented through film and photography by Minnesota based filmmakers, with the goal to capture the true tales from the trails along with sharing artist's personal and thought provoking stories. These documentaries allow followers of the tour an in-depth and personal view of each artist, bike route, and of the personal struggles of each year's adventure.

At each artist stop Sikkila collected two to four pieces of art, which travelled along with her by bike trailer as she returned back to Mankato. Over four years Project Bike has collected and later displayed over 90 works of original art. Each piece, ranging in price from several hundred to a thousand dollars, were wrapped up in layers of bubble wrap, water resistant plastic, cardboard, tape, and tarps, and placed on the trailer behind Sikkila's bike. This work collected on the tour, ranging from ceramic, drawing, painting, sculpture, glass, and printmaking, travelled along through rain, wind, and severe heat.

This July 16th-27th Sikkila and her crew will start this years tour in Grand Marais, MN making their way back down the state ending in Mankato. Just two months later premiering in Mankato, Project Bike's team will put together a 45 minute documentary along with a exhibition of all the art work collected.. The works will be displayed and the film premiered on October 11th at the 410 Project in Mankato, and in Minneapolis later that month.

Organizer

Dana Sikkila Murphy
Organizer
Mankato, MN

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