Spread out across opposite banks of the Mississippi, Minneapolis developed around St. Anthony Falls, a low, modest cascade on that mighty waterway. During the 19th century, the city’s riverside sawmills buzzed, and its economy boomed. Railroads, banks, a grain exchange—the city had them all, along with immigrant settlers who set up churches and an array of cultural institutions. Among the arrivals were Scandinavians who brought a love of the arts and a strong sense of civic-mindedness to the community they helped build. Those attitudes still endure today—so don’t even think about littering here. At the same time, affluent, confident and, in many ways, innovative Minneapolis feels both laid-back and, with a refreshing lack of affectation in some quarters, seriously hip.

For art lovers, this Midwestern city—home to both the Pillsbury Doughboy and more buildings designed by international superstar architects than most states have within all of their borders—offers big treats and unexpected surprises. Compared to New York or Los Angeles, its small art market is upside down: In Minneapolis, it is not commercial galleries that lead the way in showing urgent or groundbreaking new art; instead, this role is played by a handful of energetic, independent art centers, complemented by museums, such as the Walker Art Center, that present world-class exhibitions of modern, contemporary and experimental work.

On the east side of the river, near the shops and restaurants of the St. Anthony Main waterfront district, the Soap Factory is an alternative-space venue that serves as a launching pad for emerging talents in the visual and design arts. Housed in the former—and still rather “raw”—National Purity Soap Company building, the non-profit organization also presents performances, films and other events. Overpriced New York used to boast outfits like this by the score; now, cities like Minneapolis, with numerous historic structures just waiting to be adapted and revived, are the places to go to find such spunky, artist-driven institutions.

Another is the Minnesota Center for Book Arts in the Open Book Building, across the river and downtown, on wide Washington Avenue South, near the University of Minnesota’s West Bank campus. In addition to the MCBA’s well-equipped, dual-purpose classroom/studios for printing and binding, the building houses the Loft Literary Center, Milkweed Editions (a publishing company) and a superb book-arts gift shop, with an array of handcrafted or uniquely printed albums, notebooks and cards. Across the river, Midway Contemporary Art (despite its name and slick, white-box looks, it’s a non-profit organization, not a commercial gallery) presents an international program of exhibitions. Midway has shown works by such postmodernist icons as Belgium’s Marcel Broodthaers (1924–76) and rising stars like Gareth James, a British artist who teaches at Columbia University in New York.

Just south of downtown, Franklin Art Works, on East Franklin Avenue, is another noteworthy alternative space. It presents exhibitions and performing-arts events featuring locally and nationally recognized artists, like up-and-comer Shinique Smith, who is known for making mixed-media paintings and mysterious bundles of clothing and found objects. Housed in a former silent-movie cinema, Franklin Art Works has undergone a renovation that has revealed such architectural details as the main auditorium’s original proscenium and a 29-foot-long stained-glass window. The organization has been chosen by the Andy Warhol Foundation to receive a comprehensive aid package through its Warhol Initiative aimed at independent arts centers.