Row 1 (left-right): C Fausto Cabrera, Juliane Shibata, Lindsay Buck, Tamara Isfeld, Xee Reiter. Row 2: Isabel Nelson, May Lee-Yang, Jearica Fountain, Rocky Casillas Aguirre. Row 3: Brenda Tran, Drew Arrieta (photo: Kori Suzuki), Jess Bergman Night, Katie Ross.

Forecast’s 2026 Early- and Mid-Career Grant Recipients

We are incredibly proud of the talented group of artists selected to receive Forecast grant funding this year. Thirteen artists are recipients of Forecast’s 2026 early- and mid-career grants. A total of $86,000 will support their independent projects, leadership and professional development, risk-taking, multidisciplinary approaches, and collaborative problem-solving in the field of public art.

Public artists help us connect with each other and understand our shared world. Our grant program gives public artists time and space to develop research and locally connected projects. We work to provide access to our grant applications for a diverse group of artists, who are working in all career stages and ranges of public art practices and media. We place particular emphasis on supporting and amplifying the artistic work of BIPOC and Native artists, LGBTQIA+ artists, artists who have experienced gender-based oppression, immigrant artists, artists from rural communities, and artists with disabilities. These have long been the only public art grants in the country that fund self-initiated artist projects rather than asking artists to answer a call. 

This year’s grant recipients are developing creative skills and planning projects to uplift their communities, represent multiple voices and center cultural narratives, expand Indigenous cultural interpretation opportunities, strengthen community pride, honor cultural heritage while uplifting future generations, amplify Indigenous voices and visions of liberation, build their community engagement portfolio, strengthen community connection and plan a festival, explore how public art can transform everyday spaces into platforms for connection, create solidarity, and more.

These artists are achieving this work through creative methods including restorative paper-making, collaborative ceramics, a mobile phone app, a dedicated hotline, mosaic, film, a multimedia exhibit, glass enamel, studio gatherings and mobile pop-ups, billboards, signage and murals, and using song, theater, and ritual as a healing.

This year’s recipients are (alphabetical by first name):

Mid-Career Project ($10,000 each)
C Fausto Cabrera
Juliane Shibata
Lindsay Buck
Tamara Isfeld
Xee Reiter

Early-Career Project ($8,000 each)
Jearica Fountain
Rocky Casillas Aguirre

Mid-Career Professional Development ($5,000 each)
Isabel Nelson
May Lee-Yang

Early-Career Research + Development ($2,500 each)
Brenda Tran
Drew Arrieta
Jess Bergman Night
Katie Ross

It is with great pleasure that we congratulate the artists selected to receive a total of $86,000 in 2026 Forecast grants:

“Forecast’s 2026 grantees prove that we need the creativity of artists in our shared spaces now more than ever. We are feeling the dissonance of the joy of announcing grant recipients in contrast to the tragic loss of life and continued federal actions that are terrorizing our communities. We believe culture and creativity are crucial drivers that help us create the kind of communities that we want to live in, and that artists have a powerful role,” says Jen Krava, Forecast’s Director of Learning, Grants & Research. “In 2026, our grantees will be bringing joy to their communities, sharing messages of solidarity on billboards, and creating restorative healing practices in an effort of de-incarceration. We are so excited to witness the work of this year’s grantees as they dream of a better future for Minnesota.”

We are thrilled for our grantees, and cannot wait to see what they accomplish this year!

It is our value that our applicants, panelists, and grantees reflect the racial, cultural, gender, artistic, physical ability, and geographic diversity of Minnesota and the 11 Native Nations that share the same geography, and the stories and perspectives of the artists and communities we serve.

2026 Mid-Career Project Grantees

Supports the creation of a new, publicly accessible, temporary or permanent artwork anywhere in the state of Minnesota by a Minnesota-based mid-career public artist (made possible by funding from McKnight Foundation)

C Fausto Cabrera  | @c.f.con003
Inherited Scars
Inherited Scars began as the artist’s personal effort to de-incarcerate after 21yrs—to process the paperwork and trauma that followed him home from prison. C Fausto started pulping and remaking those documents into handmade paper as a way to heal. This restorative practice has grown into a somatic process he now shares. The artist will guide participants through the same paper-making process, transforming their own paperwork into new forms of expression and release.
cfausto.art

Juliane Shibata   
Taking Shape: Malleable Public Art Installation in Collaboration with the Japanese American Society of Minnesota
“Taking Shape” is a collaborative large-scale ceramic public art installation planned in conjunction with the Japan America Society of Minnesota (JASM) for the 2026 Obon Festival at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory. Juliane will host ceramic workshops for JASM members and friends to create hundreds of floral-shaped pieces to display in the Ordway Gardens. The project will represent multiple voices and encourage viewers to participate by touching and moving the installation components.
julianeshibata.com

Lindsay Buck  |  @_freshleypressed
Heart+land: Stories of the Central Minnesotan Landscape
Lindsay’s project seeks to expand opportunities for Indigenous cultural interpretation in Greater Minnesota. An existing interpretive trail at two regional parks in Central Minnesota will be upgraded to include audio recordings from First Speakers of the Dakota and Ojibwe languages, honoring the oral traditions of both. Audio clips will include pronunciations of words featured throughout the trail and conversations about the landscape, and will be accessible to the public through a free phone app.
freshlypressed.ch

Tamara Isfeld
River of Western Spirit: A Community Mosaic Tribute to Granite Falls’ Western Fest
This project transforms the curved seating wall along Main Street into a vibrant mosaic celebrating Granite Falls’ Western Fest and PRCA Rodeo heritage. Designed and guided by the artist, community members of all ages will contribute tiles depicting rodeo imagery, Western symbols, and festival moments. The mural will be installed in public view, creating a lasting visual tribute that strengthens community pride, connects generations, and celebrates local culture through participatory art.

Xee Reiter  |  @xeeretier
From Past to Present — A Journey of Transformation
From Past to Present – A Journey of Transformation is a large-scale mural by Hmong American artist Xee Reiter at Hmong Village in East Saint Paul, celebrating the history and present of Hmong immigrants in Minnesota. The 128-foot mural, facing Phalen Boulevard, merges traditional Hmong symbolism with contemporary style, illustrating the community’s journey, resilience, and growth. This highly visible work honors cultural heritage while uplifting future generations through representation and storytelling.
xeereiter.com

2026 Early-Career Project Grantees

Supports the creation of a temporary or permanent public artwork anywhere in the state of Minnesota by an early-career Minnesota-based artist (made possible by funding from Jerome Foundation)

Jearica Fountain  |  @jearicafountain
What Are We Building For: Visions Beyond Survival
What Are We Building For: Visions Beyond Survival is a Minneapolis billboard project amplifying Indigenous voices and visions of liberation. Through public art and dialogue, it reimagines life beyond oppression, inspiring future decision making and action. It reflects the community’s vision of a future rooted in justice, belonging, and collective care, showing what we’re working toward and what our future can be.
instagram.com/jearicafountain_designs

Rocky Casillas Aguirre  |  @rokaturas
Signs of Solidarity: Pro-Immigration Art in Northfield
Latino artist Rocky Casillas Aguirre, will create an anti-ICE / pro-immigration public sign and mural in partnership with the City of Northfield and the Northfield Union of Youth. Both designs will include multilingual text and speak directly to immigrant and refugee families living in fear due to ongoing ICE raids. These public pieces aim to create solidarity and symbolize Northfield’s commitment to a just, free, and safe community for all people, regardless of immigration status.
rokaturas.com

2026 Mid-Career Professional Development Grantees

Supports Minnesota-based mid-career artists seeking to expand or advance their careers in the field of public art, through a project idea or participation in career-enhancing activities (made possible by funding from McKnight Foundation)

Isabel Nelson 
From Physical Theater to Ritual Arts: gaining the necessary foundation to co-create rites of passage as public-art response to incarceration, and a site of individual and communal transformation
Physical theater devising artist Isabel Nelson is moving into a creative chapter that leverages her skills as a director and creator of ensemble-created work into the creation of community ritual. An artist committed to using song, theater, and ritual as a healing response to incarceration, Isabel will use the professional support from Forecast to train with Ritual4Return, a New Jersey-based organization that co-creates rites of passage with formerly-incarcerated individuals to mark their return to community.

May Lee-Yang  |  @mayleeyang
Agency and Empowerment Through the Screen
May Lee-Yang will receive mentorship and training from Twin Cities-based Hmong filmmakers to increase her skillsets to create more video work that centers Hmong narratives.
lazyhmongwoman.com

2026 Early-Career Research + Development Grantees

Supports early-career artists in public art-related research and development or with the planning phase of freely accessible public art installation or activity in Minnesota (made possible by funding from Jerome Foundation)

Brenda Tran  |  @brenda.thuytien
Vietnamese American Nail Salons: From Refugee Camps to Greater Minnesota
Brenda will research the history and current landscape of Vietnamese-owned nail salons in the United States, with emphasis on Minnesota. She will conduct and record interviews with Vietnamese American nail technicians and their families, and supplement my findings with information from research papers, news articles, and films. The end goal is to create a temporary multimedia exhibition on Vietnamese-owned nail salons in 2026.
brendattran.com

Drew Arrieta  |  @itsdrw
Dream Machines
Dream Machines creates a living archive of the futures we dream. Through a dedicated hotline and public pop-up stations, people can anonymously record their visions while hearing those already shared. This R&D grant will support developing and testing the hotline and pop-up station, gathering community input to explore how public art can transform everyday spaces into platforms for connection, imagination, and collective dreaming.
drew.works

Jess Bergman Night  |  @im_a_tourist_here
Development of technique and samples for future community engaged large scale enamel and cast metal public art projects
Activities include development of a sample body of work incorporating processes of large scale glass enamel and cast metal elements. Through development of this work Jess will understand necessary technical details for creation of public art scale works incorporating both of these processes and will have a body of work to submit as samples for public art calls and to use with her community engagement work.
jessbnight.com

Katie Ross  |  @theartscreativestudio
Community Roots: Planning the Bloomington Street Arts Festival-A community-driven planning initiative using art pop-ups and mobile engagement to shape the future of the Bloomington Street Arts Festival
Community Roots: Planning the Bloomington Street Arts Festival will fund the planning phase for the 2026 festival. Through studio gatherings and mobile pop-ups using The Arts Creative’s art bus, the project will engage community members in creative focus groups and surveys to shape future public art opportunities. This initiative will strengthen connections between local artists, residents, and public spaces in Bloomington.
theartscreative.com

An independent panel selected the 2026 grantees 

Forecast follows a rigorous policy on the disclosure and management of conflicts of interest to ensure the integrity of the grant program. 

This year’s panelists are:

• Aneesha Marwah
• Carmen Mitzi Sinnott
• Talon Cavender-Wilson (Talon Cavender-Wilson was a Forecast 2023 Early-Career Research & Development Grantee.)

These grants are made possible by generous funding from the McKnight Foundation and the Jerome Foundation.

Find more about the grantees and Forecast’s support for artists.