Many Public Art Saint Paul programs take long lead times before a place, artwork, or event materializes in public. Making “slow art” requires patient building of relationships, teams, knowledge, designs, and support to realize an idea and make it part of city life. We are happy to share these backstories on three exciting projects now…
I met up with Public Art Saint Paul Intern Sieng Lee at Hmongtown Marketplace to talk about what he’s been working on. Located at the intersection of Marion Street and Como Avenue in Frogtown, the market is a central hub for two of Sieng’s projects and for the Twin Cities Hmong community. Owned by Toua…
Going back nearly 3,000 years, humans have intimately engaged with a well-known pollinator, Apis mellifera. Urban beekeepers in ancient Greece, Israel, and China originally kept them to harvest their sweet honey, using clay hives, straw skeps, and wooden boxes as homes for their precious friends. Today, while urban beekeeping is in resurgence, I imagine our…
5 QUESTIONS WITH OUR NEW CITY ARTIST, AARON DYSART We are thrilled to announce Aaron Dysart as our new City Artist! He brings 14 years of experience in visual art focused on environmental preservation, civic engagement, and exposing and simplifying hidden infrastructure and systems. His years-long connection with Public Art Saint Paul dates back to…
2015-2016 SIDEWALK POETRY CONTEST Congratulations to this year’s 8 winners and 5 honorable mentions! The panelists were: Heid Erdrich, J. Otis Powell!, Paige Riehl, Saymoukda Vongsay, and Marcus Young. We thank everyone who submitted. Thank you for supporting Everyday Poems for City Sidewalk, a work of art that turns our fair city into a…
Post by CREATE Artist Seitu Jones With today’s beautiful sunrise over St. Paul, I reflect on this date and time last year and remember how beautiful the sunrise was last year on September 14. I also remember how I felt as I began that day after spending two years developing, CREATE: The Community Meal, a…
The Board of Directors of Public Art Saint Paul is pleased to announce it has appointed Colleen J. Sheehy, Ph.D., as President and Executive Director. The appointment is effective July 1. Ms. Sheehy will succeed Christine Podas-Larson, the founder of Public Art Saint Paul, who is retiring June 30 after 28 years leading the organization….
Public Art Saint Paul was born in 1987. I was there at the founding and through leading the organization on a remarkable 28-year journey, I have come to deeply know and love our beautiful city on the great Mississippi. One week from today I will retire. Though I made this decision nearly two years ago,…