where people come to paint. sip solve
Oya Arts is the only place in Minneapolis where you can solve a murder while painting and drinking cocktails served from teapots and fine china!
We are a Minneapolis-based creative studio producing immersive art experiences where people gather, make something together, and often discover more than they expected.
Some arrive for a night out. Others come looking for connection, clarity, or a new way of working together. What unfolds tends to meet people where they are — and then gently take them somewhere else.
What We Create
At Oya Arts, painting is where things begin — not where they end.
We are the original home of the Whodunit paint & sip, producing immersive art experiences where people paint, sip, solve, and engage in something more layered than a typical night out. Each experience is intentionally designed to move people through moments of focus, energy, interaction, and flow.
The canvas matters. So does everything around it — the room, the rhythm, the shared attention, and the story unfolding in real time.
Our work includes:
✓ Whodunit paint-and-sip experiences (our signature format)
✓ Guided studio paint sessions
✓ Immersive team-building experiences
✓ Fun, insight-driven organizational diagnostic exercises
✓ Facilitated experiences for teams and organizations
✓ Private parties and custom events
✓ Immersive events produced with partner venues
✓ Art-based reflection and inquiry
People come to paint.
They leave having experienced something they didn’t quite expect.
why we exhist
We create art-based experiences that give people a reason to slow down, show up, and take part — together.
Art is how it begins. What unfolds lives in the shared moments: the laughter, the pauses, the unexpected connections, and the small shifts in how people see themselves and each other.
That’s where meaning forms — not just on the canvas, but in the room.
Our Vision
We imagine a world where creative experiences are not an add-on, but a vital way people gather, think together, and build understanding.
A world where art belongs in everyday life — in studios, workplaces, community spaces, and moments of pause — not as performance, but as participation.
our motto
Paint. Sip. Solve. is more than a tagline at Oya Arts — it’s our way of working.
At Oya Arts, we believe most things in life can be worked through with art and a good drink — whether that’s something stirred, something poured, or a proper cup of tea.
Every experience begins with painting and shared presence. From there, people might find themselves solving a murder mystery, navigating a team challenge, or simply figuring out how to get everyone in the same room, focused on the same thing, at the same time.
You can paint, sip, and solve a mystery.
You can paint, sip, and solve a team dynamic.
You can paint, sip, and solve the challenge of connection itself.
Nothing here is accidental.
Behind each Oya Arts experience is a carefully considered structure that invites participation and reveals how people engage, collaborate, and respond in real time. Art becomes a way to notice patterns — without calling attention to them.
There are no lectures. No forced moments.
People learn by doing, often before they realize learning is happening.
The experience carries the weight, so the room never has to.
Inside the Studio
Step back in time and enter a British tea-shop–inspired space tucked into the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District.
✓ Fine art lining the walls
✓ Lace-draped tables that soften the room
✓ A dedicated tea corner featuring a carefully curated selection of exceptional British blends
The studio is designed to transport. It’s intimate, warm, and layered — the kind of room where people settle in quickly and stay present.
✓ Ideal for groups of up to 30 guests
✓ A setting where the magic quietly unfolds.
The studio hosts private celebrations, creative gatherings, immersive paint experiences, and team and group sessions — all seated, guided, and intentionally designed to keep energy high while allowing space for focus and connection.
home of the tipsy teapot society
Once a month, the studio also becomes the home of The Tipsy Teapot Society — Minneapolis’ first British whodunnit-style social club. Part mystery, part art gathering, part delightful foolishness, the society welcomes anyone with a fondness for intrigue, whimsy, creativity, and a touch of the absurd.
Whether guests arrive for a private booking, a group experience, or a society night, the studio is meant to feel like a place you’ve stepped into — not just arrived at.
beyond the Studio
Sometimes the experience needs more room.
Beyond our studio walls, Oya Arts designs and delivers immersive art experiences for larger groups, corporate gatherings, client entertainment, and private events — for organizations and individuals looking for something more engaging than a standard night out.
We partner with restaurants, cultural spaces, workplaces, and event venues to create experiences that feel intentional, lively, and well-paced, even at scale. Whether it’s a team coming together, clients being hosted, or a group celebrating something meaningful, the goal is the same: get people present, participating, and connected.
The setting may change, but the approach doesn’t. We bring the same attention to flow, atmosphere, and shared experience that defines our studio work — adapting it to the energy, purpose, and size of the room.
Different space.
Same rhythm.
These off-site experiences are designed to be more than entertainment. They’re structured enough to hold a large group, flexible enough to feel natural, and engaging enough that people don’t disappear into the background. Painting becomes a shared anchor — something everyone can do — while the experience around it creates momentum, conversation, and connection across the room.
Whether the aim is celebration, client hosting, team connection, or simply doing something different together, we design each experience to meet the moment. The result is an event that feels both easy to step into and genuinely memorable — not a performance to watch, but something people actively take part in.
our Story
Oya Arts is run by husband-and-wife team Karen and Tierre Caldwell, whose combined practices bring together fine art, storytelling, community engagement, and immersive experience design.
Founded in London, Oya Arts was shaped by a life lived between the U.K. and the Caribbean.
Moving between these places meant moving between distinct — yet deeply social — ways of gathering. In the U.K., creativity lived in studios, pubs, community halls, and long conversations over tea, woven into everyday life as something curious, social, and quietly irreverent. In the Caribbean, creativity is found in rhythm, storytelling, music, and shared presence — expressed collectively rather than contained to formal spaces.
That rhythm became foundational.
As the studio took root in Minneapolis, Tierre Caldwell joined the work through community engagement and nonprofit programming. A literary artist, author, and community leader, his practice centers storytelling, access, and long-term relationship-building. Together, they operate as a dynamic partnership — pairing creative rigor with deep community connection.
Today, Oya Arts brings a distinctly British sensibility to American creative spaces: structured without stiffness, playful without gimmick, and designed to invite people in rather than perform at them.
Experience Pathways
There are many ways to step into Oya Arts.
intimate Studio Experiences
Guided paint nights, immersive gatherings, and intimate experiences hosted in our Northeast Minneapolis studio..
Partner venue Events
Larger-scale, atmosphere-driven events produced in collaboration with restaurants, bars, and cultural spacesÂ
Organizational & Group Experiences
Experiences designed for teams and organizations seeking connection and insight — without the formality.
Why Oya Arts
Oya Arts is for people who enjoy creative experiences that unfold — and for organizations who want engagement without heaviness.
It begins with paint.
What happens next is where it gets interesting. Curious where it could take you?
Get in touch to book an experience or start a conversation.
Address
Northrup King Building, Studio 265, 1500 Jackson Street NE Minneapolis 55413
Phone
+1 651 470 7826
info@oyaartsonline.com