The Minneapolis Park Board has expanded its digital creative arts programs with a second Spark'd Studio unveiled Thursday at Harrison Recreation Center in north Minneapolis.

The first opened two years ago at Powderhorn Park as a way to foster new skills and interests .

Spark'd Studios are creative technology labs furnished with music and video production equipment, graphic design software, 3-D printers and video game stations. Free multimedia arts programming in disciplines such as photography, documentary filmmaking and animation are determined by the young people who use them.

The tech labs are a new venture under Superintendent Al Bangoura, supported in part by an annual $2.6 million property tax levy to strengthen park activities for youth in hopes of reducing violence citywide.

"The technology is just the base of this. It's about the creative spirit of a child," Bangoura said. "It's about what we can untap in their lives and open up a world of possibility of what they can do."

It cost the Park Board $597,000 to transform a musty cinderblock meeting room in the Harrison Recreation Center into a bright green Spark'd Studio with curvilinear edges and modern upholstered furniture. The major renovation started last July and added air conditioning to the entire recreation center, better access for those with disabilities and upgrades to the Rec Plus childcare room.

The Spark'd Studio will complement the Harrison Education Center next door, which offers a sound design class but lacks a soundproof recording booth.

"The idea is that the kids are going to come in for open studio after school," said Raechel Bosch, Spark'd Studios manager. "They come, they might play basketball, but then they might want to work on a song. … The ultimate goal is that kids have fun and commit as much as they want."

Recreation Supervisor Anthony Bates said Harrison's kids have dealt with plenty of disruptions the past few years. The recreation center was closed until mid-February 2022 for COVID, followed by a three-week Minneapolis Public Schools teachers strike and a summer of construction.

As the Spark'd Studio neared completion, kids have been excitedly peeking into the transformed space, Bates said. And on Jan. 27, the Park Board invited community members to a family night to experience the lab ahead of its ribbon cutting on Thursday.

Three more Spark'd Studios are slated to open this year at Whitter Recreation Center, Luxton Recreation Center and Phillips Community Center. A fourth will open with the new Graco Park on the northeast riverfront in 2025.