Key Takeaways
This pilot program showed that when artists are embedded in government systems, it leads to:
Unique collaboration; Deepened visitor connections through art; Increased public involvement; Environment of creativity; Artists and parks working together brings new perspectives and impacts.
Image: Sam Zimmerman's residency at Tettegouche State Park included the exhibition “Mewadisaad inon odinawemaagana” – He Sits with Relatives. This new collection of work features various animal, bird, and fish relatives that Sam experienced over the ten months throughout his time in Tettegouche State Park, including this piece, titled Asin-badakide-ziibi Amik / Baptism River Beaver.
MNPAiR is the Minnesota Parks Artist-in-Residence program. It is made possible by the Legacy Amendment.
What does that mean? The Minnesota Parks Artist-In-Residence (MNPAiR) pilot was an initiative designed to embed artists across all state and regional park systems in Minnesota. Coordinated by Forecast Public Art (Forecast), the program was a unique collaboration between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Metropolitan Council’s Metropolitan Regional Parks, and the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC).
MNPAiR had a unique structure: artists were embedded with their partner. This meant that the selected artists spent their time researching and engaging with a park, trail and/or park system and its communities and then used that research to develop new work(s). Unlike traditional residency opportunities, this program focused on how artists can serve as partners to and ambassadors for the parks, and contribute not just art, but ideas.
There was a specific focus of this program: belonging. The goal of the MNPAiR program was to enhance a sense of welcoming and belonging to park users. The intention was that the pilot help foster deeper community engagement and relationship-building in state and regional parks, improving access to Minnesota parks and trails, and increasing collective appreciation for park uses, outdoor recreation, and natural resources, especially in underserved communities.
For this residency, there were 12 artists-in-residence embedded in 13 different park & trail sites across the state. Their focus was to foster belonging using their skills as artists in collaboration with their park and trail site and its wider system.
The program was also a cohort experience where the selected artists met intermittently throughout the residency to learn from each other, from other artists who had been in similar embedded residencies, and to move through a curriculum focused on this unique cross-sectoral experience.
There are five key takeaways from this project:
- Unique collaboration
- Deepened visitor connections through art
- Increased public involvement
- Environment of creativity
- Artists and parks working together brings new perspectives and impacts.
Find more info below.
Image: For Ifrah Mansour's Weaving Abundance project across Dakota County Parks, the artist invited community members to weave together to seek refuge in nature and gather in joy, weaving, and beauty.
The MNPAiR project was a ‘pilot’ initiative, which means it was our first time trying something like this, and the first time anything like MNPAiR has taken place in Minnesota, or anywhere else we know of. With pilots come both exciting opportunities and unique challenges. We learned the value of thinking creatively and the importance of supporting project champions who believe anything is possible. It’s these kinds of collaborations that demonstrate how new ideas can flourish when we work together.
The funding that made this project possible is also unique to Minnesota. The Parks and Trails fund of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment is shared between the three agencies with 1% of the Parks and Trails fund set aside each biennium to be used for projects that benefit parks and trails, and the visitors to them, across all three systems. Examples of this are research initiatives, marketing and now, the MNPAiR project.
One of the most meaningful outcomes was how art deepened visitors’ connections to the parks. Through the MNPAiR program, the public was invited to experience what it feels like to create art in a park setting.
Many people come to parks with certain expectations—maybe a hike, a picnic, or simply enjoying nature. But this time, visitors were encouraged to actively participate in making something lasting. This experience was not only special for participants, but also for park staff, who saw firsthand how deep and long-lasting these connections can be and actively championed the projects
Unique collaboration
Art deepened visitor connections
Increased public involvement
Environment of creativity
Artists and parks working together brings new perspectives and impacts
Image: Nature art made at Lake Bemidji State Park by Nicole Rojas-Oltmanns with rocks from the lake. Nicole and Monica Rojas facilitated three nature art workshops with visitors and the local Boys and Girls Club.
5 Takeaways
1. This was a unique collaboration, which led to unique outcomes.
Unique collaborations are possible and beneficial. Collaboration across agencies and across sectors yields creative solutions and innovation. By thinking creatively and working with project champions, anything is possible.
2. Art deepened visitor connection to the park.
MNPAiR allowed the public to explore what art and creating art in a park feels like. Visitors to parks have a general idea of what they will encounter when they visit a particular park based on previous visits or conventional understanding of what the park offers. To encounter, and be allowed and encouraged to actively participate in making something lasting, was exceptionally meaningful to the participants as well as the park staff. The connection these participants have with the park will be long-lasting and they’ll be excited to show others what they helped create.
3. MNPAIR increased public involvement.
The MNPAiR experience increased public involvement at the participating parks with the broad outreach each of the artists made in their communities. We saw participation from children, young adults, adults and older, retired folks.
1. UNIQUE COLLABORATION, UNIQUE OUTCOMES
“This was not a solo experience, unlike previous public artworks where I designed and completed commissions in my studio, showing up only to install or deliver the final pieces. The residency involved a team of both park team members and the larger DNR team, presenting an opportunity to not only learn about the park but also to explore how art could be used to teach about Tettegouche State Park, leading visitors to have a sense of belonging when they visited.” — MNPAIR Artist
2. DEEPENED VISITOR CONNECTIONS
“Watching new visitors and communities of all ages explore a new space, brought together by art that was culturally meaningful. Creating memories of a park space in a new way.”
— Park Host Site
3. INCREASED PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
“The impact on park visitors was both visible and powerful. Families and individuals came together to create art, make new friends, and try something new. This hands-on, place-based learning deepened the connection between creativity and nature for many attendees.
— MNPAiR Artist
Image: During Cassandra Buck's residency, participants gathered at this cave at Rochester Quarry Hill Nature Center to paint this community mural, one of multiple installations resulting from Cassandra's time with three park sites.
4. MNPAIR created an environment of creativity.
Government can tap into its own creativity when it works closely with an artist. Parks found that they were working and thinking differently just by having an artist embedded on their team for a year. Working with artists also translated into thinking creatively about other projects or finding ways to incorporate artists into future work. Being exposed to art helps people see how the power of art can transform.
5. When artists and parks work together as partners, parks and visitors experience exponential impact.
Artists were treated as respected and well-resourced partners, given real time to build a portfolio of work that focused on belonging, and the space to dive deep into research. The artists were not regarded as an afterthought, as often can be the case in public art. Keeping artists and their work central—and giving them the space to be paid well for something they can work on over a longer span of time—yields impactful results.
Artists are multi-dimensional. These are the kinds of skills activated in an embedded residency within government: event coordination, grant-writing, partnership and relationship-building, site- and space-specific projects, working with elders, working with students, landscape architecture skills, educational experience, program design, and more.
4. ENVIRONMENT OF CREATIVITY
“I have never been an artistic person. I have more of an analytical mind. The artists taught me how to view the world and my work space differently, and how to present our public spaces differently to our visitors. My hope is that my organization can take what I have learned from the artists to change how we engage with our stakeholders. Not to be so strictly governmental, but open up and interact in different ways.” — Host Site Staff
5. NEW PERSPECTIVES AND IMPACTS
“My previous experience working as a landscape architect helped the success of my MNPAiR project, because I felt equipped to work inside the constraints of a governmental organization. I also recognized the opportunities that working on behalf of the government might afford you, that you might not otherwise have working as an independent artist, particularly in gaining access to governmental resources and professional networks, as well as forming connections between governmental departments and with Tribal nations.”
— MNPAiR Artist