@forecastpublicart.bsky.social
Activating, inspiring, and advocating for public art that advances justice, health and human dignity / Publisher: FORWARD https://linktr.ee/forecastpublicart?utm_source=linktree_admin_share
We can fund 20 projects at this time, but are seeking additional funding partners to help us grow the amount of available funds.
If youβre able, please help us reach even more artists with a donation to launch a second grant cycle: bit.ly/GiveMNfpa
β’ Countering misinformation, racism, divisive narratives;
β’ Telling stories that affirm dignity, hope, connection, and our shared humanity.
In moments like this, bearing witness is a democratic act. Supporting artists who are doing that work matters.
Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
the work may be public or private, shared widely or held close.
This opportunity is for Minnesota artists and culture bearers who are:
β’ Witnessing what is unfolding in their own communities;
β’ Documenting lived experience of this moment, so it is not erased or misrepresented;
what is happening to their communities, countering disinformation and telling the lived, human stories and strength of MNβs people: bit.ly/ArtistWitness
Media: writing, photography, video, design, dance, murals, sound, music, visual art, or other creative forms.
We know truth-telling holds risks;
A decorative text graphic with Forecast Public Art's logo promotes Artists As Witness, Grants for Minnesota artists & culture bearers who are bearing witness.
To our MN community: we support you and are with you in solidarity. We want to support the courageous artists bearing witness to what is happening to Minnesotans. Because of you, history will not forget.
We're offering 20 small $1,000 grants to MN-based artists & culture bearers who are documenting
dissent. You are standing up for truth and pushing back against racism, violence, misinformation, and hate, reminding us that democracy depends on our ability to see one another in our shared humanity and resist division.
Find ways to support Minnesotans: standwithminnesota.com
stay connected, grounded, and human. We see you showing up in the cold, documenting, feeding, comforting, creating spaces to gather and grieve. We see you showing us what democracy looks like in real time, standing up for freedom of expression, peaceful protest, and the right to disagree and
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of our immigrant and refugee neighbors, and everyone who deserves to live free from fear and harm.
Artists and culture bearers, we see you in this moment. Through your voices, bodies, stories, and presence, you are on the front line of courage and care in our communities. You are helping people
![A text graphic with Forecast Public Art's logo reads "We [heart emoji] you MN. In solidarity with our community, we will be closed on January 23"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xg64r7nlh2mpkwzvr3je7yuc/bafkreiag2jgunebsx3pm4qtkgky5wrzr5c6izfqf7bhsm7vw5ie6uc45bm@jpeg)
A text graphic with Forecast Public Art's logo reads "We [heart emoji] you MN. In solidarity with our community, we will be closed on January 23"
In solidarity with our community, Forecast will be closed on Friday, January 23 to make space for care, connection, and community service.
Our staff will be spending the day with neighbors, family, and friends in collective power. We will always stand up for the human and civil rights
Fish silhouettes woven from willow branches installed among leafy plants.
A hand holds a package of medicinal tea leaves.
A hand holding a small container of salve with an illustration of a hand on the lid.
Art we've been part of this year:
MNPAiR artist Stephanie Lindquist organized free plant walks led by 4 herbalists; participants learned about the power of everyday plants and the land at North Mississippi Regional Park, and received a tea or salve
Jan 17 & 31: Drop-in willow weaving workshops!
A child wearing a pale green coat holds up a collaged paper doll they made with braided Black hair.
A child wearing a bright pink coat holds up a collaged paper doll they made with long braided BIPOC hair.
Signage with a collaged paper doll wearing Native Dakota clothing invites attendees to create a paper doll with the prompt: "who do you see yourself with at ΘaΘΓ‘wakpa (the Mississippi River), and what are you doing?". Notes read βDakota boat tours,β βwant to make art with my mom,β βpaths that feel safe,β "easy and open access to water,β βnatural medicine trails", βinteractive sculptures,β βnatural medicine trails,β and more.
Art we've been part of this year:
Mni Sota Akitho Festival was an opportunity for community to share ideas for the future Mississippi River Learning Center. WΓ³okiye wiΕ invited attendees to create a paper doll and share reflections about how they envision spending time at the river.
A green, pink and white mural of cartoon snakes and other creatures among various plants and leaves, painted on a long, curving textured brick retaining wall.
A green, pink and white mural of cartoon snakes and other creatures among various plants and leaves, painted on a long, curving textured brick retaining wall.
A green, pink and white mural of cartoon snakes and other creatures among various plants and leaves, painted on a long, curving textured brick retaining wall.
Looking back at artwork we've been part of this year:
βThe idea comes from the wall owner suggesting planting ivy to take over the wall to thwart any graffiti in the future. ...I kept returning to the notion that ivy, plants, and other nature will outlive all of us."
βMike Davis, Chroma Zone artist
A large mural in a pop art comic book style on an exterior brick wall under a blue sky depicts a girl sitting next to a pile of books while reading a book.
Looking back at artwork we've been part of this year:
"My sleeping lady [concept] didnβt represent the area in the way that she [once] did. I decided it was time for a change, too. She is no longer asleep... and she is growing, just like the area that surrounds her."
βBiafra, Chroma Zone artist
A person in the woods wears a sturdy shoulder pack emblazoned with a circular fabric patch with the words "ART PACK" in the middle. Surrounding the words in a color wheel are cross-stitched colored pencils in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Next to each pencil is a plant or other natural item in the same color family such as a flower or feathers.
An Art Pack spread out on a sketching table by a park trail includes sewn pouches with mark-making materials, sketchbook, and a nature journaling book.
Young students work with brushes and red paint on creative activities.
Nine different Lake Bemidji State Park stickers feature hand drawn scenes of water crafts on a lake, birch bark and mushrooms, a tent and campfire by the water, a fish on a line, autumn leaves, and other park scenes along with the message "designed by Gene Dillon and AWCL students."
Art we've been part of this year:
MNPAiR artists Monica Rojas & Nicole Rojas-Oltmanns helped students design stickers & temporary tattoos (free at Lake Bemidji State Park ranger station), and created Art Packs (free checkout at the park Visitor Center); with local fabric & help from high schoolers.
Two women smile as they work on a tabletop weaving project together.
A woman sits on a porch and pets a dog next to a sign that reads Residencia de Artistas.
A colorful textile.
Several people gather around a table outdoors.
Artwork we've been part of this year:
Our grantees inspire us! To deepen her commitment to a public art that is community-driven, with Forecast grant support, Cecilia Cornejo Sotelo traveled to Chile to join embroidery workshops & meet with textile artists.
What's your favorite new public art?
A detailed design covering a municipal utility box features an early twentieth century map of the city of Saint Paul during the Civil War era with a monochrome portrait referencing the figure Clara Eva Hardenbrook, who fought for women's right to vote.
A detailed design covering a municipal utility box features a map of the city of Saint Paul during the Civil War era with a monochrome portrait referencing Joseph Farr and the Underground Railroad, honoring the preβCivil War efforts to free enslaved people brought north by visiting plantation owners.
Detailed designs covering two side-by-side municipal utility boxes feature maps of the city of Saint Paul, referencing Phalen Creek and Trout Brook (Swede Hollow), reflect on a sacred Dakota site that later became a haven for waves of immigrants seeking new beginnings, and on the cycles of migration, labor, loss, and renewal that have shaped its waterways and surrounding land.
Art we've been part of this year:
Stef Kiihn transformed utility boxes to reflect the identity, memory, and vitality of St Paul. Her designs celebrate stories of the Underground Railroad, the suffragist movement, and more, offering a new way to see into the history and peoples of MN's capital.
At sunset, group of people stand in a park prairie by a native plant garden listening to a person speaking.
On a snowy day a person wearing a winter coat holds up a paper with a design and a mobile phone on camera mode displaying that design over the live view of the landscape behind.
A winding path in a green park filled with people walking together, some in Native clothing like ribbon skirts.
At a green park, a group of people gather around a table for a creative activity.
Artwork we've been part of this year:
Marlena Myles and Tara Perron held 4 community celebrations at Battle Creek Park uplifting Dakota ancestral teachings, modern Indigenous artists & artistry and seasonal community-building activities. They also created a medicine garden and an outdoor classroom.
A mural on an exterior brick wall features swirling green, blue, and purple shapes evoking water, bubbles and seashell spirals.
We're looking back at creative work we've been part of this year:
βThis mural is a blend of both digital and natural worlds, combining a saturated aesthetic with a lot of different patterns and graphic detailing."
βAnna Charney, Chroma Zone muralist
What was your favorite new public art in 2025?
A bronze sculpture of a little Black girl holding her hands in the shape of a heart.
Art we've been part of this year:
In West Plains, MS, our Midwest Memory grantee, Lincoln School Project, added 2 bronze statues to restored grounds. Their new Reflection Plazaβdedicated on the anniv. of the Brown v Board of Education rulingβcelebrates the schoolβs history and role in the community
Two young people and an adult wearing coats stand at a lookout over Lake Superior under a cloudy blue sky. The adult points toward the horizon.
A painting of a decorated beaver on a rock looking at a lake while a wolf silhouette howls on a bluff in the distance under a starry pink, blue, and black sky with a full moon.
Three people look at a painting resting on a tabletop easel depicts a black raven cawing under a full moon in a sky swimming with stars.
Art we've been part of this year:
MNPAiR artist Sam Zimmerman spent the year exploring and learning about the environment and inhabitants of Tettegouche State Park.
A new Grandfather Teachings walkway will include his paintings paired with English & Ojibwemowin, on 7 weatherproof aluminum signs.
A person on a ladder paints a huge, vibrant mural on an exterior building wall under a blue sky, largely in greens and yellows, depicting a group of ancient Mayans playing a game where the airborne ball is momentarily aligned in the center of a massive yellow sun.
A huge, vibrant mural on an exterior building wall under a blue sky, and painted largely in greens and yellows, depicts ten ancient Mayans playing a game where the airborne ball is momentarily aligned in the center of a massive yellow sun.
The center of a vibrant mural painted in warm earth tones depicts three ancient Mayans playing a game where the airborne ball is momentarily aligned in the center of a massive yellow sun.
We're looking back at creative work we've been part of this year:
Cadex Herrera says that his @chromazonefest mural "creates a space of belonging, connecting people across the Americas to Maya indigenous roots, and carrying forward the strength, memory, and resilience of a culture that endures."
Mosaic tile mural detail of a feminine figure bending down to tend to plants.
People gather in a library space to celebrate colorful mosaics installed around two ten-foot-tall columns.
Art we've been part of this year:
We helped HCL find an artist for art at Hosmer Library. Olivia Levins Holden & Juliette Perine Myers' Seeding the Stars is based on ideas and feedback from residents & patrons. It honors community institutions, foraging, cultivating, community gardening & diversity
Two people lounge in hammock chairs facing a riverbank near signs inviting them to take a seat and relax.
In a green city park along a riverbank, two people rest in hammock chairs while two people lounge on a blanket, near a series of four pale blue scarves waving in the breeze, stretched between two trees.
A person rests in a hammock chair facing a riverbank, near a sign that reads "take a seat and relax."
Art we've been part of this year:
Water Whisperers was an opportunity to come together and build our connections with the Mississippi, ourselves, and each other! Artist Bayou Bay facilitated, inviting participants to learn about the future Mississippi River Learning Center and share reflections.
A colorful outdoor mural spanning a brick wall depicts four stylized, dynamic African figures under a vibrant tree.
Artwork we've been part of this year:
This dynamic, untitled mural in downtown Saint Paul by Milkessa represents the city's Little Africa cultural destination area.
Find it at Cedar and 11th Streets.
What was your favorite new public art in 2025?
A group of people gathered next to a stone wall in the woods, beginning to paint and fill in the outline of a massive bird with wide open wings.
A massive red and pink cardinal with wide open wings painted on a stone wall in the woods.
A colorful mural on the side of a park building depicts vibrant pink, purple and green flora, a yellow bird and Monarch butterfly, as well as swirling water full of fish.
A person reading a colorful collaged descriptive sign at a park that depicts a flowery meadow under a blue sky with the message, "Take a moment to ask yourself, Who lived here before? Who fished these rivers and walked along their banks? Who hunted, gathered, and called this land home?..."
Art we've been part of this year:
@cassandrabuck2244.bsky.social was 1 of 12 artists at MN parks. She held workshops at 3 parks in Olmsted County, creating community-informed work. She shared, "I hope the work invites people to pause, reflect, and feel a deeper sense of belonging in these parks.β
A man and two children smile as they lounge on a tiered concrete sculpture with shimmering tiles, sited in a plaza.
Art we've been part of this year:
Our grantees inspire us! Community-based artist Witt Siasoco created "Batad."
A concrete and stainless steel tiled sculpture, Batad is the artist's first large-scale permanent public artwork in the Twin Cities. Find it at the Phillips Foundation in N Minneapolis.
A design on a city utility box features a bird on a branch among greenery and a blue sky.
A warm orange, red, orange and brown design on a municipal utility box features a detailed illustration of a fox among autumn branches and leaves.
A colorful design on a municipal utility box features a detailed illustration of a deer among trees and greenery at dusk.
Art we've been part of this year:
Ruby Thompson transformed St Paul utility boxes, illustrating native species of the Mississippi River. "We are all part of one whole," she explains. "I hope my artwork makes you stop and look, leaving you more curious about the plants and animals that live here."
A heart+land mobile phone app sign posted on a large stump next to a trail by a prairie illustrates the Wild Bergamot plant with the Dakota and Ojibwe names along with the botanical name and a QR code to the app.
A heart+land mobile phone app sign posted along a wooded park trail displays an illustration of a Gooseberry plant with the plant name in Dakota and Ojibwe, as well as the botanical name and QR code for the app.
A grid of six scenes illustrates what users of the heart+land app can expect to see, including a welcome screen, plant profiles, animal information, games and more.
Artwork we've been part of this year:
Free and open for self-guided tours at Wright County Robert Ney Park and Two Inlets: MNPAiR artist Lindsay Buck developed an app, heart+land, that pairs with onsite signage to bring a new perspective on the land through history, language & botanical knowledge.
A colorful mural of a firefighter with brown skin carrying a child with brown skin and also holding a bag with a house a rainbow donkey figure, guitar, Day of the Dead skull, watermelons with the phrase Viva la Vida Frida Kahlo, and a book titled The Arrival.
We're looking back at creative work we've been part of this year:
βEl mural se llama: Si solo fuera yo un pΓ‘jaro. Sobre migraciones y fronteras. / The mural is called If Only I Were a Bird. Itβs about migration and borders."
βKalaka, Chroma Zone muralist
What's your fave new public art in 2025?
A tiled mosaic fixes a section of sidewalk with imagery of a Canadian Goose flying in a blue and orang sky over a sun, and a fish in sparkly water, under which tiles spell out Chisholm MN.
A hand points to tiled mosaic pieces that are being set in a sidewalk.
Art we've been part of this year:
Our grantees inspire us! Early-Career Project grantee Rebekkah Anderson describes her projectβa mosaic tile installation reviving a worn area of the sidewalk on the City of Chisholm's main streetβas "bringing beauty out of brokenness."