St. Paul
Laura Zabel leads the way for Springboard's goals of system change
Saint Paul, Minnesota's Springboard for the Arts has existed in some form for over 35 years, transforming as an organization several times over before its latest incarnation as Springboard. Executive…
Witt Siasoco uses art to create home
If you take Twin Cities artist Witt Siasoco's extensive body of work as a whole, a common theme emerges: home. Not home as a physical place, or even a symbolic one – "Home is where the heart is," and…
Artists can be the "connective tissue" of a neighborhood -- but first they need a place to live
On any given day, Quest Skinner may be transforming her latest conversation with a neighbor into a vibrant painting. “My art is an expression of the people I meet,” explains Skinner,…
Bringing People to Play in Urban Green Spaces
In 2013, Springboard for the Arts launched the Artist Organizers (AOs) pilot program as part of Irrigate’s artist-led community development. Supported by the Surdna Foundation, the pilot planted…
Making Home Where the Community Is
In 2013, Springboard for the Arts launched the Artist Organizers (AOs) pilot program as part of Irrigate’s artist-led community development. Supported by the Surdna Foundation, the pilot planted…
'Creating Community' Recap: Being open, being flexible, being principled
On a warm September evening that brought rainshowers, 45 people gathered in the open gallery space at Public Functionary in Northeast Minneapolis for ‘Creating Community,’ a conversation and…
Play with Your Food! (And Other Ways Artists Help with Health)
In 2013, Springboard for the Arts launched the Artist Organizers (AOs) pilot program as part of Irrigate’s artist-led community development. Supported by the Surdna Foundation, the pilot planted…
Creating Moments of Personal Motivation in Education
In 2013, Springboard for the Arts launched the Artist Organizers (AOs) pilot program as part of Irrigate’s artist-led community development. Supported by the Surdna Foundation, the pilot planted…
Mad King Thomas are the most earnest postmodern dance group probably ever
There is a pretty hard line between the high brow and lowbrow in art and culture. Postmodernists like to toy with that line. Mad King Thomas likes to play jump rope with it. …
Rapping in Vacant Lots, Repping the Neighborhood
In 2013, Springboard for the Arts launched the Artist Organizers (AOs) pilot program as part of Irrigate’s artist-led community development. Supported by the Surdna Foundation, the pilot planted…
Collaboration at the Heart of Real Estate and Community Development
In 2013, Springboard for the Arts launched the Artist Organizers (AOs) pilot program as part of Irrigate’s artist-led community development. Supported by the Surdna Foundation, the pilot planted…
Sharing, Building, Leading
What does the passion for local art look like on a national scale? What if the sharing economy valued sharing? What can we do to connect people to resources that support their creative…
The People's Creative Toolkit
Your story has to be told, and a lot of people have to listen. But how do you tell your story to get them to listen? And who is “them,” anyway? These are questions we have to address with every…
Photography & Participation: How Photovoice Engages and Rebuilds Communities
What is the role of photography in community engagement? How can increased engagement lead to effective community rebuilding and development? Photovoice, a participatory research process, provides…
From the Ground Up - Shaping the New Rural Narrative Through Arts and Community
Even if you have not spent a lot of time in a rural community, you’re probably familiar with at least one of the common narratives of small town America. One paints a bleak landscape of “brain…
PlaceBase Productions builds rural communities through participatory theatre
Ashley Hanson grew up spending much of her childhood in Aitkin, a small town of fewer than 2,000 people in northern Minnesota. Like many young people who grow up in small towns, she was dying to get…
Liz Miller creates installations that explore the beauty in devastation
Liz Miller is a Minnesota-based artist who describes herself thusly: "I'm an artist who is currently fascinated with weapons, invasive species, and pattern/ornament/decoration. My installations…
TU Dance makes modern dance accessible to a diverse community in St. Paul
TU Dance, a professional dance company and dance education center located in St. Paul, was founded by Uri Sands and Toni Pierce-Sands in 2004. Initially called Space TU Embrace, the organization…
Welcome to Creative Exchange (again)
"I believe in the magic of storytelling, not only for teller but also the listener," says agrarian artist Nikiko Masumoto, who lives and works in California's Central Valley. "The possibility of…
Joan Vorderbruggen is the one-woman powerhouse behind Minneapolis's Made Here
There's really no better word that can be used to accurately describe Joan Vorderbruggen than "dynamic." Vorderbruggen has a dynamic personality that she is able to use to lead dynamic public art…
Artists as community leaders
What a journey! Three years ago, Springboard for the Arts launched Irrigate, a creative placemaking project in partnership with the City of Saint Paul and the Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support…
IRRIGATE: Artist-Led Community Development
Cities and neighborhoods need creative thinking. Particularly when communities are facing big challenges, artists see opportunity in challenge, beauty in chaos and have practical skills and creative…
St. Paul City Artist Amanda Lovelee inspires joyful connections
Amanda Lovelee’s life and work have taken her all over the world. A native of upstate New York, she graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, has traveled extensively…
Artist/educator Asia Ward: Creating the unexpected through a singular blend of art and science
Bre McGee Science, magic, memory and art: These are among the tools artist and educator Asia Ward brings to her work. She’s a longtime developer of educational experiences for the Learning…
Public art as social activism: Ta-coumba Aiken creates art that heals the heart and soul
Ta-coumba Aiken grew up in Evanston, Illinois during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, the rise of the Black Panther Party and Black Power, and the prominence of the NAACP's civil rights…
The media is the message: Guante uses hip hop culture to educate and engage the community
Canadian philosopher and communication theorist Marshall McLuhan coined the expression "The medium is the message" in 1964 (long before the creation of the Internet), implying that it's not so much…
Oskar Ly's work reconciles her identities as a Second-Generation-Hmong-Queer-Asian-Woman-Artist
There are roughly 30,000 Hmong-Americans living in Saint Paul, Minnesota today, more than any other city in the country. The Twin Cities Metro area has a Hmong population of 64,000. While those may…
YOUR IDEA HERE: A Toolkit for Unlocking the Community Potential of Vacant Storefronts
Empty storefront retail space is an issue facing many neighborhoods across the country, and once that often requires collaboration between neighborhood councils, commercial property owners and…