A Community Project for the 38th Street Cultural District of Minneapolis, MN, funded by the City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department. Sauna sessions are offered FREE to the public.
Stoking the Future is a creatively narrative sauna experience where a rotating selection of local artists will share reflections of the future and engage small groups of visitors in reflections and discussions on connection, community, collaboration, environment, and revolutionary visions for the future. October 9-11, 2026, hosted at the Pillsbury Creative Commons (3529 Chicago Avenue).
Neighbors can attend one sauna session of the six daily sessions during the three day project. Each one-hour session will engage four neighbors or artists, one Minneapolis artist, the facilitator, and a fire tender in a cycle of introduction, storytelling, and forecasting in collaboration with one another.
The cycle begins with 13 minutes in a wood-fire heated sauna, as we acclimate ourselves and introduce ourselves to one another. There will be a 7 minute relief and refreshment period, and then we will embark on the storytelling session back in the sauna. The storytelling section will be led by a local artist whose work considers community, environment, and the future. The next relief and refreshment cooling period will be followed with a period of self-reflection and forecasting led by me, taking each neighbhor through an interview. This interview allows them to embrace a treasured part of themselves or their community and imagine it as it changes or grows in the near future, and the distant future, and then how they might contribute to or embolden their community now, in the present, in order to encourage the future they wish to see come to fruition. Participants must be 18 years of age or older.
More details about the project here.
How We Sauna
This structure belongs to our friends at Art Shanty Projects, who built it out of scrap material in collaboration with NorthUp, a local sauna company.
Please arrive 10 minutes before your scheduled time to get settled in and ready!
What to bring:
- Swimsuit (Wear it under your clothes! We don’t have changing facilities)
- 1-2 towels
- Water bottle
- Flip flops / sandals for breaks outside
- Optional: robe for breaks outside
Other things to note:
- All guests must wear proper swimsuits (no underwear, no nudity!)
- No footwear in the sauna
- Sit on your towels to keep the benches clean
- No food or beverages inside the sauna (besides water)
- These are sober sessions for safety reasons
- We provide drinking water, clothing racks/cubbies and boot trays for your belongings
- We have access to indoor bathrooms on site
- We do not have a changing area – please arrive wearing your swimsuit under your clothing!
The sauna will be parked behind the Pillsbury Creative Commons at 3529 Chicago Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55407.
