About
The Minnehaha Free Space, a project of the Minneapolis Autonomous Radical Space (MARS) collective, is a new community resource hub and social center located on 3458 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis, MN. To strengthen cultures of resistance against all forms of oppression, we established a space that provides:
- free classes and workshops
- space for meetings and events
- free internet
- lending library
- art space
- kids’ room
…and much more! Ideas for future projects include a bike workshop, free store, gardening project, and more – maybe you can help us grow!
The space is free and open to all, and entirely run by volunteers. We value people over profits, and invite anybody who shares our broad goals to plug in and get involved together with us. Doing this we are hoping to build stronger communities where we can co-depend on one another on the basis of solidarity and mutual aid, instead of obligation, money, competition and fear.
Pop in during our open hours, or contact us to agree on another time. We are open to new ideas and suggestions, and hope that different groups will use this space for their own needs and struggles. Come get involved and shape the space for your community!
Collective Mission Statement
The MARS collective is a group of individuals who are creating social and political activity hubs in all forms of space, permanent and non.
Goals and Strategies
We aim to make radical practices more accessible while strengthening cultures of resistance. Against forces that divide us, we seek to build relationships, networks, and coalitions between individuals and groups—encouraging conversation, cooperation, and solidarity—within and across radical and geographic communities. In order to sustain movements, we hope to facilitate individuals’ growth along with the health, healing, and self-determination of communities.
We intend to realize these aims through hosting a variety of events that are fun, empowering, and relevant, and through providing resources, including information, a radical library, independent media-making center, meeting space, regular workshops and skillshares, and more.
Values and Principles
In all that we do, we seek to act with humility and open minds. We refuse to get stuck in isolated subcultures and doctrines. We act with transparency and accountability to the communities we work with, trying to relate to their real struggles and experiences. We oppose all forms of oppression, domination, and exploitation—including sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism, colonialism, among others. We celebrate and respect the geographical community and its history, while resisting gentrification. Recognizing the adverse impacts of environmental degradation on marginalized communities, we not only promote sustainable lifestyles but also hope to advance radical environmental practices and activism.
Tired of conventional politics, we aim to govern ourselves in our everyday lives, building power from the bottom-up. Against profit-seeking and guilt-driven charity, we emphasize the need to destroy capitalist, paternalist relations and replace them with mutual aid. We operate along the principle of ‘from each according to their passions and abilities, to each according to their needs and desires.’
For everything we do, we aim to incorporate processes of continual reflection on whether we are living up to our goals and values. Ultimately, we want to enjoy ourselves and each other in a world that all too often doesn’t want us to.
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