Artists with Impact
Marlina Gonzalez
Marlina Gonzalez is part of a storytelling dynasty. Her mother, Marina Feleo Gonzalez, is an award-winning screenwriter. Her brother, Jojo Gonzalez, acts onstage and onscreen. Her father, Arling…
Adrienne Doyle: Burn Something, Build Something
Which is more important: art or the people who make it? Some say art eclipses its creators, and some artists sacrifice themselves for their work. But Adrienne Doyle, a curator, writer, and zine…
A Whole Life: A Portrait of Sharon Mansur
Sharon Mansur describes her childhood home as a place of collaborative creativity. “My dad used to draw,” she says. “We’d look at the Sunday comics, and if there was one strip we liked, he drew it on…
“Blackness has everything in it” – Kenna-Camara Cottman
Kenna-Camara Cottman’s eyes light up when talking about three things; family, art, and the Northside. Kenna grew up immersed in the arts, thanks to parents “Auntie” Beverly and Bill Cottman. “I…
Duaba Unenra: Black People Exist In The Past, Present AND Future
Duaba Unenra comes from a family of creators. He can trace his own career path back to teachers, architects, musicians and entrepreneurs. He attributes many of his creative impulses to his mother,…
Ricky Collins builds from parties to profit-sharing
Ricky Collins’ entrepreneurial mindset took hold when he was just 15, while growing up in Minneapolis’ Northside. As a young rapper, he and his brother Nino were known for throwing outrageous…
Za’Nia Coleman’s Tangible Collective, tangible impact
A community baby turned community organizer, Za’Nia Coleman is creating space for cultural expression in a way unlike what is typically reflected at the center of the Twin Cities arts scene. The…
DejaJoelle brings forth prayers for healing
Webbed in DejaJoelle’s full-bodied silhouette is the ancestral story of a Black woman’s ability to transmute pain into purpose through healing, love and resilience. Just as all colors of the rainbow…
María Isa – Music, Movement, and Soul
Looking out the window at El Cubano on St. Paul’s West Side, María Isa can point out nearly each house and tell you the story of who lived there. Isa is an international recording artist, cultural…
Garrett McQueen, Perpetually in Motion
Atop a winding hill on the West Side of Saint Paul, Garrett McQueen records a broadcast associated with the Lakes Area Music Festival. McQueen is an Artistic Advisor to the Festival, and he’s…
J Erin Hutchinson dreams big in the South Shore
The Rural Regenerator Fellowship brings together individual artists, makers, and culture bearers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers and other rural…
Talon Bazille Raps, Performs, Records, Builds and Shares
The Rural Regenerator Fellowship brings together individual artists, makers, and culture bearers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers and other rural…
Sandra Kern Mollman: Creating with Intention
The Rural Regenerator Fellowship brings together individual artists, makers, and culture bearers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers and other rural…
Amber Hansen: Process and Place
The Rural Regenerator Fellowship brings together individual artists, makers, and culture bearers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers and other rural…
Alice McGary: Sowing Seeds of Unity
The Rural Regenerator Fellowship brings together individual artists, makers, and culture bearers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers and other rural…
Elisha Marin: Making Place, Fostering Connection
The Rural Regenerator Fellowship brings together individual artists, makers, and culture bearers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers and other rural…
Bethany Lacktorin and Creative Placemaking
The Rural Regenerator Fellowship brings together individual artists, makers, and culture bearers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers and other rural…
Molly Hassler: Crafting Community
The Rural Regenerator Fellowship brings together individual artists, makers, and culture bearers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers and other rural…
Mai'a Williams' Sister Projects Connect Place & Identity
The Rural Regenerator Fellowship brings together individual artists, makers, and culture bearers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers and other rural…
Annie Hough Creates Characters to Make the Truth Bearable
The Rural Regenerator Fellowship brings together individual artists, makers, and culture bearers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers and other rural…
Artists Respond Q&A: Briauna Williams
In 2021 the City of Saint Paul launched the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot program, and Springboard for the Arts launched a Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot program to go alongside…
Artists Respond Q&A: Kashimana
In 2021 the City of Saint Paul launched the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot program, and Springboard for the Arts launched a Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot program to go alongside…
Artists Respond Q&A: DejaJoelle
In 2021 the City of Saint Paul launched the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot program, and Springboard for the Arts launched a Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot program to go alongside…
Artists Respond Q&A: Katey DeCelle
In 2021 the City of Saint Paul launched the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot program, and Springboard for the Arts launched a Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot program to go alongside…
Artists Respond Q&A: Dr. Nicole Mary Milligan
In 2021 the City of Saint Paul launched the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot program, and Springboard for the Arts launched a Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot program to go alongside…
Atlese Robinson’s Journey Toward the Divine
When she was in elementary school, Atlese Robinson started journaling and writing letters to her mother. Robinson’s childhood included times of adversity and some traumatic experiences. She wanted to…
Create new worlds with Chamindika Wanduragala
Chamindika Wanduragala can turn paper bags into papier-mache. She can sew cloth into creatures. She stirs ingredients into food for family and peers, and she has converted many rookies into…
Ditch your comfort zone with Ka Oskar Ly
In a publicity photo for Ua Si Creative, three Hmong women pose against a pink background. Christina Vang smiles in dark red lipstick on the left; next to her, Ka Oskar Ly wears a dark brown sweater,…
Imagine futures with heather c. lou
Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay tried — and failed — to buy art from heather c. lou. She was strolling through Appleby Hall at the University of Minnesota, where both women worked at the time,…
Amoke Kubat is Still Exploring
An Artist Inhabits Her Identity Amoke Kubat begins at the very beginning. “I always loved making art as a child,” she says. In her formative years, after Kubat saw the Beatles movie “A Hard Day’s…