Northeast Minneapolis · Art-A-Whirl · 2014–2016
Three years of original event posters, cold beer, and money raised for Art Buddies. Held at Uppercut Boxing Gym. This is the archive.
Quite possibly the world’s largest beer-themed art show.
Every year, dozens of local Minnesota artists made a brand-new, original beer-themed poster for the show. Some hung on the walls, some went home rolled under an arm. Here they are, by year.
One night each year — a Saturday, 6–10pm — Uppercut Boxing Gym filled up with posters, pints, and people. Here’s what it looked like. Photography by Jay Larson.
Summit Brewing Company filmed a series of artist profiles.
Posters & Pints wasn’t only a good night out — it was a fundraiser. Proceeds from ticket sales and a share of every poster sold supported Art Buddies, whose mission is to pair urban youth with a creative professional for mentorship.
The idea was simple: bring the people who make the art and the people who make the beer into one room, sell some beautiful posters, and send the proceeds somewhere that mattered — a kid with a mentor and a reason to make things. Three years running, that’s exactly what happened.
Proceeds supported Art Buddies — pairing urban youth with a creative-professional mentor (via Creatives for Causes, 501c3).
Posters & Pints grew every year. Packed rooms, original posters from Minnesota artists, a long wall of Twin Cities breweries pouring, and volunteers, staff, and neighbors who kept showing up. And every year, the whole point: the proceeds supported Art Buddies.
The taps. Twin Cities breweries poured every year — and food trucks kept everyone fed. Here’s the roster, year by year.
Food trucks & treats
Breweries 612 Brew · Dangerous Man · Day Block · Fulton · Indeed · Lake Monster · Lift Bridge · Steel Toe · Summit · Surly · Tin Whiskers
Food Aki’s Breadhaus · Borough · GastroTruck · Natedogs
Breweries 56 Brewing · 612 Brew · Bauhaus · Dangerous Man · Day Block · Eastlake · Excelsior · Fair State · Flat Earth · Lift Bridge · Northgate · Sociable Cider · Summit · Tin Whiskers
Food Chowgirls Catering · St. Pops
Breweries 56 Brewing · 612 Brew · Bauhaus · Boom Island · Dangerous Man · Day Block · Eastlake · Excelsior · Fair State · Flat Earth · Insight · Lake Monster · Lift Bridge · Modist · Northgate · Sociable Cider · Summit · Surly · Tin Whiskers
Sponsors: Grumpy’s NE · The Growler · MN Beer Activists · KIND Bar · Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. · Thrifty Hipster.
Partners: Art Buddies · Nordeast Brewers Alliance. First Impressions scholarship by Summit Brewing (printing by Steady Print Shop).
Posters & Pints was, first, a look — a hand-made, print-forward identity that felt like the neighborhood it came from. It evolved across three years.
The original wordmark — an octopus on a tandem bike — by Matt Oelkers.
The mascot evolved into an owl; the palette ran warmer, toward gold. Still by Matt Oelkers.
A bright hand-drawn doodle-collage by Maranatha Wilson — dozens of characters around a bold wordmark.
Posters & Pints punched above its weight — Star Tribune, City Pages, Eater, Growler Magazine, Minnesota Monthly, Thrillist, KARE 11, and more. Even Shepard Fairey (@obeygiant) regrammed a P&P post and thanked the account.
Posters & Pints was never one person’s show. It happened because dozens of people donated their hours — freely, generously — to build something for the love of it. Artists who made original work. Brewers who poured. Sponsors who believed in it. And volunteers who showed up early, stayed late, and asked for nothing back.
For three years, a boxing gym in Northeast Minneapolis filled up with the best of what this place is: the creative capital of the state and a best-in-class brewery scene, in one room, for one good cause. That was the whole idea — a community coming together to celebrate what it already is. And every year, it did.
To every artist, brewer, sponsor, and volunteer who gave their time: thank you. None of this would have happened without you.