Peter Haakon Thompson is an artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota whose primary mediums are participation, interaction and conversation. Some of his works include: I.C.E.—an expedition-homage to Daniel Buren, The A Project, an effort to create solidarity among artists in their neighborhoods; Art Shanty Projects, a participatory, temporary community on frozen Medicine Lake he co-founded; and Tent Services, a service providing Expeditionary Conversation Tents for the public to rent, based in his garage. Other ongoing projects include the Mobile Sign Shop, a pop-up, mobile, sign-making shop to engage neighbors in making, conversing; and connecting; and the Temporary Table Tennis Trailer, a steel ping-pong table mounted to a trailer that creates instant ping-pong parks. Most recently, he completed Flag Services, a project to facilitate conversations and sew flags for vacant flag poles in his South Minneapolis neighborhood. He is a past recipient of a McKnight Fellowship for Photographers and holds a BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts and an MFA from the University of Minnesota.
Wild Sails: An Artist-Sailor on Voile/Toile – Toile/Voile
Peter Haakon Thompson creates art made to be experienced outdoors, from custom flags hoisted on abandoned poles to icefishing shacks converted into “art shanties” to a polar expedition tent inspired by French artist Daniel Buren. These interests, as well as Thompson’s experience as a sailboat racer and a photographer, made him an ideal pick to cover the regatta at the core of Buren’s Voile/Toile–Toile/Voile, a public artwork that made its US premiere at the Walker this summer.
