October 3, 2025
Star Tribune
How a former teacher led hundreds to help create community art in Rochester Cassandra Buck is part of a statewide pilot program to install public art in parks — with residents’ help.
“You can have a great facility, but if people don’t have a mind to visit because that’s not their thing, there’s not much you can really do to push them. But if you do something that’s a little bit different, that piques their interest, they’re apt to come for that.”
—Renee Mattson, Executive Director, Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission
“We as human beings, we need to have art in our lives. That’s what I want to keep in my community for my kids and for other people’s kids.”
—Cassandra Buck, MNPAiR Artist-in-Residence
Image: Art made by community members informed Cassandra Buck—MNPAiR artist-in-residence at Rochester Cascade Lake Park, Oxbow Park & Zollman Zoo, and Rochester Quarry Hill Nature Center—who then made public art installations for all three parks, such as this mural installed at Quarry Hill. Photo courtesy the artist.
The nature of our work means our role is often behind the scenes. Though not named in this article, we would like to uplift this coverage on MNPAiR (Minnesota Parks Artists in Residence); you can learn more about the project on Forecast’s MNPAiR project page.
October 1, 2025
PRB+ Magazine
Creative Collaborations Artists-in-residence programs can help parks departments celebrate spaces and spark conversations about complex issues
Participants received career-boosting artistic supportand mentorship through Forecast while learning from site staff about the local environment and cultural traditions. Towards the end of the 12-month, 20-hour-aweek, paid residency, artists-in-residence activated their ideas, developing new work supported by an additional materials budget. Performances, pop-up activities, temporary installations, and other artistic outputs exploring community and belonging emerged from the experience.
“It’s workforce development to be able to bring artists into projects like this and help them build their skills.”
—Jen Krava, Director of Learning, Grants & Research, Forecast Public Art
“Artists can humanize the need and role of government. It is crucial that it’s relational. That people have a sense of government serving their needs. They’ve got to feel it. Artists can be another way—not the only way—to build trust that the work government does is of value.”
—Teva DawsonFounder, Group Creative Services
Image: Weaving Abundance, created by MNPAiR artist-in-residence Ifrah Mansour, is a multi-site participatory public art project. Through the meditative act of weaving, many hands came together to imagine abundance as enough-ness, belonging, and wholeness. Participants co-created seven sculptures sited at Dakota County Parks. Photo courtesy the artist.
September 29, 2025
The Ohio Newsroom [Listen]
Remembering Ray Brown, Alger's forgotten baseball star
… Plus, Strittmatter and ONU art professor Melissa Eddings-Mancuso received another grant too — to the tune of $110,000 from Forecast Public Art. …The money will help the village further improve the park with everything from a new outfield fence to a hand-painted mural depicting Ray Brown winding up for a pitch.
“I think it’s a story that needs to be told and it’s a point of pride for the community.”
—David Strittmatter, Assistant Professor of History at Ohio Northern University and board member at Hardin County Historical Museums
Image: A mural honoring baseball star Ray Brown, by Ohio Northern University art student Aubrey Davis. Photo courtesy David Strittmatter.
September 2, 2025
Hoodline
Forecast Public Art has announced a new grant to support diverse storytelling through monuments and memorials in rural Midwest communities.
… These curated artistic pop-ups form the interactive component of Vision 4.0, St. Louis Park’s community-driven approach to setting strategic priorities. A diverse roster of local artists is slated to inspire and engage residents across various city events through summer and fall. … Representatives from the Vision 4.0 community committee, along with city staff and Forecast Public Art, will ensure that… they will be available to answer questions, stimulate conversation, and collect feedback. It’s part of a concerted effort to mold the city’s future with the hands and ideas of the very people who call it home.
“The pop-up artist engagement series is part of the city’s Vision 4.0 community initiative to offer residents creative, interactive ways to share their hopes and aspirations for St. Louis Park.”
—City of Saint Louis Park, Minnesota
Photo: City of St Louis Park, Minnesota.
August 20, 2025
Minnpost
Artist Ifrah Mansour hopes her traveling eggs are an antidote for our times Mansour’s installation “Weaving Abundance” in Dakota County Parks is the artist’s response to notions of scarcity. “Weaving Abundance” is part of Minnesota Parks Artists in Residence (MNPAiR), organized by Forecast Public Art in partnership with Minnesota State Parks and Trails, the Metropolitan Council, and the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission.
“It’s been beautiful to have a long residency to really get to know the parks and how they are run. We were truly embedded.”
—Ifrah Mansour, MNPAiR artist
Image: Two massive polka-dotted eggs rest among long grasses at Thompson County Park in West Saint Paul as part of a project from MNPAiR artist Ifrah Mansour, “Weaving Abundance,” in Dakota County Parks. Photo courtesy the artist.
June 17, 2025
Ampers (Audio)
How Art and Nature Mix in a New Statewide Program
Artists across Minnesota are turning parks into their creative spaces through the Minnesota Parks Artists in Residence Program. Producer Jamad Jama brings us a story about how public art, nature, and the community are coming together for the perfect combination….
… The MNPAIR project spans across the state with beautiful installations blooming in every corner beyond the Twin Cities. Projects are underway in places like Lake Bemidji State Park in northern Minnesota, as well as Granite Falls Memorial Park in southwest Minnesota. To learn more about the artists participating, or to see what’s happening in a park near you, visit ForecastPublicArt.org
“I think it’s going to be really special for the community.”
—Maya Atem, Park visitor
May 17, 2025
KY3 News
“There’s a beautiful bronze statue there that’s inviting us to feel the love. She’s making the universal hand sign for love. And, we’re just so glad that we were able to finally bring this project to a conclusion.”
—Crockett Oaks III, Co-founder of the Lincoln School Project
Image: Reflection Plaza dedication, May 17, 2025. Photo courtesy Lincoln School Project,
The nature of our work means our role is often behind the scenes. Though not named in this article, we would like to uplift this coverage on the Midwest Memory Grant opportunity for rural communities.
February 26, 2025
Minnesota Women's Press
The Four Winds: A Seasonal Celebration of Dakóta culture, history, and art
As Dakóta women, deeply rooted in the homeland of Mnisota Makóce, artists Marlena Myles and Tanáğidaŋ Tó Wíŋ were inspired by the stories of indigenous women of this land. They were selected as Minnesota Parks artists in residency, in partnership with Forecast Public Art and Ramsey County Parks and Recreation, to share the beauty of Dakóta culture, history, and art. The goal is to inspire neighbors to reconnect with Grandmother Earth and change our relationships with the park systems. … Future seasonal celebrations at Battle Creek will honor Spring, Summer, and Fall.
“Before it was a park, the Dakóta land at Battle Creek Regional Park in Maplewood was a place where women collected plant medicine, foraged for food, and connected with the Earth and her sacred teachings.”
—Marlena Myles, Heather Friedli, and Tanáǧidaŋ Tó WíŋMNPAiR artists
Image: Dakóta artists Heather Friedli and Tanáğidaŋ Tó Wíŋ stand beside “Heart of Battle Creek,” a snow sculpture created by Friedli at the Waziya Winter-Wind Celebration festival, January 2025. Photo: Sarah Whiting / Minnesota Women’s Press.
ADVANCING DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL CHANGE AWARD
from the Minnesota Chapter of the American Planning Association
Awarded at the APA MN 2025 Planning Conference Awards Luncheon on September 25, 2025 in Willmar, Minnesota
Bloomington Citywide Creative Placemaking Plan
The City of Bloomington’s Creative Placemaking Commission looked to expand their impact by developing a comprehensive Creative Placemaking Master Plan for Bloomington, Minnesota that aligned with the City’s strategic plan and built off the previous South Loop Creative Placemaking Plan. In partnership with Creative Community Builders and 10 x 10 Studio, we worked with the City to develop and complete this plan. As the lead consultant, our team developed the plan by incorporating a thorough and creative community engagement strategy that involved local artists. We analyzed community input and wrote recommendations for the plan, which was approved by city council in March 2025. Through the plan’s development, the City hopes to leverage creativity, art, and placemaking/placekeeping strategies to promote social, cultural, and economic activity.
We are honored by this award and proud of the incredible work done by our local engagement artists and by Hawona Sullivan Janzen, our consulting team member. Throughout the project, the artists had nearly 1,000 community interactions.
This recognition highlights the collaborative efforts and meaningful contributions of everyone involved in shaping this plan—from local artists and culture-bearers to city staff, partners, and residents. We are excited to see these efforts receive recognition!