Lara Kretler’s blog

There are so many cool events and happenings in Columbus right now that I can scarcely catch my breath to tell you about all of them. In fact, my next post will be about some upcoming November highlights to mark on your calendar.

For now though, my imagination has been captivated by an event taking place tomorrow in Minneapolis. I read about it at Fabulously in the City and I am so in love with the idea that I have to pass it along.

The Minneapolis Art Hunt is the brain child of a young artist, William Hessian, whose goal is to bring “art to the people and people to the parks.” He has hidden 35 tiny original works of art - each a unique little octopus drawn and painted by him - around the public parks of Minneapolis. On Friday, October 17, residents get the fun job of exploring the parks and searching for these miniature artworks hidden in plain sight. William’s story about why he chose octopi, why he creates art hunts and why he chose the number 35 can be seen in this video.

I adore everything about this idea. It’s so social - it’s being spread by bloggers and William’s video can be re-mixed, mashed up, personalized and shared. The event itself is social because it encourages octopus seekers to go with friends; only one piece of art can be kept by each family, so if you want to keep hunting and finding more, you need to have a group with you. The idea of any kind of treasure hunt is so simple and wonderful that it appeals to everyone, from kids to the young at heart. At its core, this event is all about art, but it’s also about nature and being active outdoors. Let’s face it, there’s a metaphor here too - there’s already art all around us outside in our parks if we only take the time to walk around, explore and look closely.

I wish I could be in Minneapolis tomorrow to join the art hunt. Since I can’t, I’ll enjoy it virtually by watching for media and blog coverage. I’d also like to hire William Hessian to put on a miniature art hunt here in Columbus. He’s done them in several cities now and I think it’s time for us to have an art hunt of our own. This is a far better idea than those tired old giant street art sculpture installations that have gotten so popular in the last decade or so.

What do you think - could we get local businesses interested in sponsoring William to hide some tiny paintings in our wonderful central Ohio Metro Parks?

And in the meantime, what wonderful miniature art or hidden treasures have you found lately, right here at home?