Iron pour turns guns into shovels

James Brenner Sculpture, in partnership with the Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association (HNIA), Art Is My Weapon, and Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center (CAFAC), will a Cast Iron Event on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 7-9:30 pm at the Water Basin next to Edison Highschool, 22nd Ave NE and Quincy Street NE in Minneapolis. The pour will transform disabled weapons into shovels for tree planting. Prior to this event these partners held a workshop for families affected by gun violence where family members made personally significant shovel components to be cast on the 21st. Once cast, these shovels will be united with the family members who will use them to plant remembrance trees for their loved ones at sites of their choosing. Heart-shaped plaques will also be cast to install near the remembrance trees. The molten metal poured into the heart molds will glow in the dusk, slowly fading as they solidify. The audience will have a chance to interact, writing their intentions on flash paper that will be placed in the molds and lit by the molten metal. Also featured, a large-scale graffiti mural painting by Peyton Scott Russell and fellow artists, and the MN Nice Cream ice cream truck (from 6:30-8:30). After the iron event selected works will be included in Casting: Transformation, a gallery art exhibit curated by Sarah Seldon in the new HNIA art and community space, opening event on September 25, from 6-9 pm at 2546 Central Ave NE Suite 1.