Forecast Public Art

Forecast is a nonprofit organization that activates, inspires, and advocates for public art that advances justice, health, and human dignity.

Are you an artist?

Check out these pages to access resources and opportunities to hone your skills, advance your career, and find inspiration.

SUPPORT GRANTS OPPORTUNITIES PUBLISHING

ARE YOU A COMMUNITY DECISION-MAKER?

Check out these pages to hire an artist and incorporate public art practice into your engagement and planning efforts.

ARTIST SELECTION MONUMENTS TRAINING PLANNING

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Conversations, courses, info sessions, and more

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT FORECAST

Have an idea for how art can come alive in public, connect people, strengthen community, or shape civic life? We want to help you make it happen.

Forecast Public Artist Grant applications are due on October 18, 2026

The words "Public Artist Grant Applications Open!" hover over four scenes with artists performing their creative practices in nature, on stage, and among community.

Minnesota State Fair 2026
Joyful World Mural Park

4 artists will live-paint new murals during the Fair
August 27 – September 7

A text graphic full of colorful iconography reads, "2026 Joyful World Mural Park" and includes logos for Forecast Public Art, the Minnesota State Fair Foundation, and the Minnesota State Fair

This September, artists from Minnesota, Wisconsin, California and Washington will paint new murals in Saint Paul’s Creative Enterprise Zone. Chroma Zone has produced 73 murals by 82 artists, of which 73% are local.

Join our new series:
Creative Power, Civic Purpose: How Artists Strengthen Democracy

Registration is open.
Next session: September 24

Thirteen Minnesota-based artists are recipients of Forecast’s 2026 early- and mid-career grants. A total of $86,000 will support thirteen independent projects, leadership and professional development, risk-taking, multidisciplinary approaches, and collaborative problem-solving in the field of public art.

Midwest Memory supports the expression, elevation, and preservation of diverse stories through monuments and memorials in Midwest communities.

A Forecast initiative, in partnership with Justice + Joy and The Outside, with generous support from the Mellon Foundation.

a text graphic for Midwest Memory Grants with logos from Forecast Public Art, the Mellon Foundation, Justice + Joy, and The Outside, and a grid of 42 headshots

MNPAiR is Minnesota’s first statewide artist-in-residence program, embedding artists in parks across the state. As park partners and ambassadors, the artists are contributing not just art, but ideas.

Artist stories transforming everyday infrastructure: discover downtown St Paul’s Amped Art

A grid of four utility boxes wrapped in vibrant murals depicting stories about the culture of many who live in Saint Paul, Minnesota, such as bright Southeast Asian-inspired references, the Red Cap porters of Saint Paul's Union Depot, a map of the city during the Civil War era with a monochrome portrait referencing the Underground Railroad, and plants and animals native to this part of the Mississippi River

In partnership with Creative Community Builders and 10 x 10 Studio, Forecast worked with the City of Bloomington, Minnesota to develop and complete the Bloomington Citywide Creative Placemaking Plan.

a cover for the Bloomington Citywide Creative Placemaking Plan features a child reaching toward a strand of fabricated butterflies while riding on the shoulders of an adult

We advised the development of a collaborative Cultural Capacity Plan in Somerville, Massachusetts. The City hired Forecast to lead this effort; we brought in Mallory Rukhsana Nezam from Justice + Joy and Daniel Koff from social design studio Solomon Office.

Ebony Dumas, Public Art Now guest curator and Forecast Director of Planning and Engagement, sits with public artists Monique Verdin and Ashley Teamer to explore how they consider context in their work and create spaces alongside community.

A text graphic with the cta to watch now for Public Art in Context from Forecast Public Art with headshots of Ebony Dumas, Monique Verdin, and Ashley Teamer, September 25, 2025

From our FORWARD series, watch How Art & Culture Builds Civic Health. Moderated by Richard Young, with Phoebe Bachman, Lisa Hicks Gilbert, and Savannah Barrett.

"Watch Now: How Art & Culture Builds Civic Health" with headshots of moderator Richard Young with three panelists Lisa Hicks Gilbert, Phoebe Bachman, and Savannah Barrett

Browse FORWARD Issue 8: Civic Health. Artists are at the heart of civic renewal, with creative projects and partnerships building civic health infrastructure.

for the FORWARD issue 8 civic health cover the headline Artists at the Heart of Civic Renewal overlays a scene with a larger than life yellow puppet with a red heart on its chest greeting smiling children on the street

Starting January 21, 2026, Forecast began offering 20 small grants to Minnesota-based artists and culture bearers who are documenting what is happening to their communities, countering disinformation and telling the lived, human stories and strength of Minnesota’s people.
Applications are closed.

With Ramsey County and project collaborators, we invited MN-based artists/teams to apply for 3 temporary, site-responsive public art commissions at the RiversEdge site in downtown Saint Paul

Applications were due April 26
Stipend for each of 3 selected artists/teams: $10,000