Pelican Rapids opens Rebel Shed as hub for public art

Community members gathered June 30 for a ribbon-cutting at Rebel Shed in downtown Pelican Rapids, opening a new arts space at 414 N Broadway that is built around public murals and open creative work. Rebel Shed is a creative home in Pelican Rapids designed to empower emerging artists and celebrate voices from underrepresented communities.

The opening lands in the middle of a summer mural push that has already put artists and local youth in the same downtown block. The Minnesota Murals launch ran June 20-22 from noon to 6 p.m. daily at 414 N Broadway, with the first mural in the series led by Gurí, an internationally acclaimed muralist whose work spans more than 500 murals in over 20 countries. The project is a summer series of large-scale public murals created across rural Minnesota in collaboration with local youth.

Rebel Shed’s downtown location ties the project to foot traffic on Broadway and gives the city a visible arts presence in the same corridor where shops and restaurants depend on repeat visits.

The Lake Region Arts Council awarded $11,200 for a downtown mural designed by local elementary students under artist Paul Johnson, a project meant to celebrate Pelican Rapids’ relationship with the river. The earlier project used local students, local themes and a highly visible downtown setting.

Pelican Rapids also has a built-in cultural backdrop for the new space. The Pelican Rapids Multicultural Committee held its 21st International Friendship Festival on June 20, and the committee says the town has evolved from a largely old-stock American and Scandinavian settlement into an ethnically diverse community.