The Gallery

As the first snow falls, I’m planning for warmer weather and building season for Jackalope Park’s fine art gallery.

This is the blank canvas I have to work with for Jackalope Park. The plot runs along Hazelwood Drive and Bike Trail, connecting Nisswa with County Road 77. 

I want to play off the concept of thinking big no matter where you live, even if it is a small town. I want to create Nisswa’s largest fine art gallery while possibly being Minnesota’s smallest.

For those of you following from afar, Nisswa is located in the heart of Minnesota’s Lake Country. The Nisswa area is filled with countless lakes, trees, and wildlife. Depending on the time of year, thousands of people visit. Year-round, 2,122 people call our town home. In the summer, our population easily swells to over 100,000, mostly from metro locations.

We are a place of dichotomy. I want to explore that concept deeper. Imagine a small museum in a small town with creations that could appear in any metropolitan gallery.

GALLERY Concepts

The Autonomous WorkPod was a top-running candidate if I went with a premade option for the gallery. Ultimately, I didn’t feel the construction was best suited for Minnesota’s seasons. 

I’ve been thinking about Jackalope Park for the past three years. However, dreaming and putting projects into motion are two different things. I needed to decide how large the gallery would be. Is it permanent or temporary construction? What utilities do I need to plan for? How does one secure a space where only two to three people can comfortably fit? Plus, there was a laundry list of additional considerations.

Luckily, being an entirely self-funded project without a board of trustees makes decision-making much easier. At the very least, only one person has to answer these questions.

What feels most authentic to the intent of this project?

I want to:

• Create joy and wonder.

• Challenge what can be done in less than one hundred square feet.

• Build something made with skilled hands with imperfect perfection.

I’ve decided to put up a 96-square-foot timber frame. Just thinking about how solid a mortise and tenon joint is compared to modern stick frame construction is exciting — the original renewable, nondisposable structure. 

A timber-frame structure will be the focal point of Jackalope Park this summer because it feels right.

I like the idea of digging deeper into concepts of dichotomy. I envision the old world meeting the modern, temporary vs. permanent, creating small spaces that feel large.