Avery Cheeseman, arts and culture editor

Minneapolis and the greater state of Minnesota as a whole have always been known for their icy and cold winters, but this season has been particularly nasty. With such a big focus on our winters, it should be no surprise to anyone that our state hosts the oldest winter festival in the United States, the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. It took place from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1 and was their 140th celebration after its creation in 1886 as a response to Minnesota being called “uninhabitable” in a newspaper.

The Carnival is a family-friendly event that is open to the general public and has tons of events ranging from ice skating all the way to ice sculpture carving, the latter of which has been stirring up quite a commotion in the art scene after a sculpture was disqualified last month.

The sculpture was disqualified for having political messaging, which is not allowed in the competition. The sculpture facing this disqualification depicts a woman’s face with the words “Ice Out MN” and a whistle in her mouth. The artist SMokiWuff took to Blue Sky to discuss their disqualification by saying they “have no regrets and [they] have never been more proud to be a Minnesotan.” Regardless of their disqualification, they still stand with their head held high about their decision to protest the ongoing violence and fear inflicted upon the local community by federal immigration enforcement officers.

It is also important to mention, however, that there were allegedly many other sculptures that had whistles or political messages embedded in them but were not disqualified, according to Bring Me The News. However, the organizers of the Winter Carnival have not yet responded to these allegations. 

Art has always been political, and it always will be political. Artists using their voice to stand up for social justice-related issues is nothing new. SMokiWuff is just one of the thousands of artists who have been penalized in some way for their art containing political messaging. Even when facing the threat of imminent future disqualifications, SMokiWuff made it clear that they did not regret their action surrounding their art. They will continue to stand up for their immigrant neighbors’ and those in our community who are being affected by ICE.

This story and the sculpture stand as a small reminder that the folks in Minnesota truly care about their neighbors well-being. We will get through this extremely difficult time together as a community. Many of those in our community are steadfast about taking care of all of those who inhabit our city. This is an extremely uplifting message to remember as we continue to fight against the horde of federal immigrant enforcement officers who are wreaking havoc on our community.

Minneapolis and the greater state of Minnesota as a whole have always been known for their icy and cold winters, but this winter has been particularly nasty. With such a big focus on our winters, it should be no surprise to anyone that our state hosts the oldest winter festival in the United States, the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. It took place from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1; it was their 140th celebration after its creation in 1886 as a response to Minnesota being called “uninhabitable” in a newspaper.

It is a family-friendly event that is open to the general public and has tons of events ranging from ice skating all the way to ice sculpture carving, the latter of which has been stirring up quite a commotion in the art scene after a sculpture was disqualified last month.

The sculpture was disqualified for having political messaging, which is not allowed in the competition. The sculpture facing this disqualification depicts a woman’s face with the words “Ice Out MN” and a whistle in her mouth. The artist SMokiWuff took to Blue Sky to discuss their disqualification by saying they “have no regrets and [they] have never been more proud to be a Minnesotan.” Regardless of their disqualification, they still stand with their heads held high about their decisions to protest the ongoing violence and fear inflicted upon the local community by federal immigration enforcement officers.

It is also important to mention, however, that there were allegedly many other sculptures that had whistles or political messages embedded in them but were not disqualified, according to Bring Me The News. However, the organizers of the Winter Carnival have not yet responded to these allegations. 

Art has always been political, and it always will be political. Artists using their voice to stand up for social justice-related issues is nothing new. SMokiWuff is just one of the thousands of artists who have been penalized in some way for their art containing political messaging. Even when facing the threat of imminent future disqualifications, SMokiWuff made it clear that they did not regret their action surrounding their art. They will continue to stand up for their immigrant neighbors and those in our community who are being affected by ICE.

This story and the sculpture stand as a small reminder that the folks in Minnesota truly care about their neighbors well-being. We will get through this extremely difficult time together as a community. Many of those in our community are steadfast about taking care of all of those who inhabit our city. This is an extremely uplifting message to remember as we continue to fight against the horde of federal immigrant enforcement officers who are wreaking havoc on our community.