ARTCRANK: Your Saturday Must-Attend

Tour poster by Anne Ulku

ARTCRANK, one of the (seriously, inarguably) best events of spring, is fast approaching — like your espresso-juiced friend on a bicycle.

This Saturday, from 4 to 10 p.m. at Shelter Studios in Northeast Minneapolis, 40 local artists and designers will put their bike-inspired art on display. Signed, numbered, limited-edition prints will be a-sellin' for $50 apiece, from such names as Adam Turman, Aaron Purmort, Brock Davis, David Schwen and Maranatha Wilson, among others.

I've been to every ARTCRANK since 2010, always on a bicycle, and it's a (FREE) must-attend for a bunch of reasons. One is the art. Another is the beer — there's lot of it. A third is the crowd. All of Minneapolis' coolest coteries (I'm biased, but) roll up at ARTCRANK, from bike fiends to advertising people to beer aficionados. They all give at least an hour or two of their springtime evening to this grassroots, homemade event, which is assembled by local creative Charles Youel and a team of super-passionate people. It's a hot, sweaty, bike-brained overload.

Born in 2007, right here in the Twin Cities, ARTCRANK has now hosted more than 40 shows in cities across the world, including New York, San Francisco and Portland, as well as Paris, London and Manchester. It's a celebration of each city's artists and love for bikes, and it brings everybody together. Even on a rainy, miserable night, last year's Minneapolis show had 6,000 attendees. This year's, with a forecast of 83 degrees and maybe a touch of drizzle, will get even more.

"I look forward to ARTCRANK every year, and it seems like it continually raises the bar," says artist Anne Ulku, whose work has appeared at six ARTCRANKs, and who designed this year's show poster. "It's always fun to see what some of the best local designers can come up with around the concept of a bicycle. There's a lot of fresh talent this year, so it will be intriguing to see the collection of different concepts and styles together."

This year's 'CRANK beer will be provided by Deschutes Brewing, with proceeds benefitting World Bicycle Relief. Don't worry about locking up your bike when you arrive. Nice Ride Minnesota is supplying racks and complimentary valet parking to the event's pedal-powered attendees. Basically, you shouldn't miss this. RSVP at the Facebook event, right here: http://goo.gl/VixAku

Here are some sneak peeks of this year's show:

Illustration credits: tour poster by Anne Ulku; sneak peeks by Adam Turman and Junkykid.