A Summer of Bringing Beauty and Equity to the Built Environment

After a challenging 2020, Forecast was extremely proud to work with artists and partners to bring some magic onto our walls, festivals, fairs and public spaces in the summer of 2021. From murals to plazas to outdoor film projects, these projects brought joy, provoked new thinking and built connections and awareness in communities. Working behind the scenes with cities, neighborhood organizations, state fairs, power companies, developers and more, the Forecast team provided coaching, consulting, capacity building and technical assistance along the way to make these wonderful public art projects more accessible, sustainable and inclusive. We approached each project with community context in mind and with a focus on bringing more BIPOC artists and curators into the spotlight and into decision-making roles in the field. 
two masked people lean over a table outside as they write. A plant rests on the table in the foreground.

Join Us for Two Live, Interactive Courses About Public Art and Public Health

Join Tom Borrup from Creative Community Builders and Jen Krava from Forecast as they share information about what public art can do and how it can be a catalyst in the health outcomes of communities. The first course, Public Art 101: Purposes and Processes, will be on October 27 at 6pm CDT. The second course, Public Art + Healthy Communities, will be on November 10 at 5 PM CST. Both courses will be held via Zoom, and emerged from a two-year partnership with the American Planning Association to explore ways public art and placemaking contribute to thoughtful, innovative community health and wellness goals. Each course is $50 and participants do not have to attend course 1 in order to attend course 2.
"Making Change" overlays three colorful arrows pointing right

Making Change: E 4th Street Engagement | Reno, NV

Making Change is Forecast’s quarterly consulting newsletter. In each issue, we’ll share the who, what, and how, to give you insight into our process. This issue features engagement work we did with the City of Reno, NV, and Jen Krava shares more about herself as the Director of Programming.

A library devoted to art in public finds new home as a resource for creative North Minneapolis community

Forecast Public Art Executive Director, Theresa Sweetland, is proud to announce the donation of the internationally-recognized organization’s public art library to Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA). The collection of over 2,000 print, digital and multimedia materials will soon be a part of JXTA’s new facility in North Minneapolis. Forecast’s team connected with Juxtaposition Arts to talk through the goals and details of such a transition during the pandemic as Forecast adopted a new mission, moved to a more flexible, remote organization and expanded their training and public art consulting work nationally. “This donation ensures that this beloved resource lives on to inspire the next generation of public artists, designers and urban planners here in our home communities and I know it will continue to build with the energy and contributions of JXTA apprentices, educators and youth.” shares Sweetland.
a colorful mural includes a star burst in the center surrounded by a cloudscape and sunflowers

Murals, Murals, Murals!

Did you know that the Forecast team is working behind the scenes on mural projects in Minnesota and across the country? We love to support mural-making by helping our partners select artists through fair and equitable processes. We provide technical assistance to make mural projects more accessible, sustainable and inclusive, approaching each project with community context in mind and focused on bringing more BIPOC artists and curators into the field. 

Forecast’s Second Change Lab Research Fellow, focusing on Indigenous Visibility in Public Art

Forecast's second Change Lab Research Fellow, focusing on Indigenous Visibility in Public Art: Jessica Mehta. The Fellowship began on January 1, 2022
a grid of ten artist portraits with the Chroma Zone mural festival logo

Chroma Zone 2021 Festival Artists Announced!

Forecast is excited to announce, with the Creative Enterprise Zone, the artists painting murals in St. Paul for Chroma Zone 2021! Forecast facilitated artist selection, disrupting the mural festival status quo through the lens of racial and gender equity.
rendering of a bridge showing people milling about a variety of structures and green spaces

Forecast part of national team for Washington D.C. 11th Street Bridge Park

Forecast was selected through a national competition to join internationally recognized firms OMA and OLIN along with engineers at Whitman, Requardt & Associates on the celebrated 11th Street Bridge Park, a project of Building Bridges Across the River, in Washington D.C. Our team will work to facilitate a selection process to commission artwork for the Park, with a focus on amplifying the stories, culture and heritage of neighboring Black residents.
a clear plastic dome structure sited on a sidewalk is filled with creative paraphernilia

Reopening Business Districts with Artists: The Love Local Initiative

Forecast hired 18 artists to implement creative projects in 5 business districts for the Love Local Initiative, a Hennepin County project.
Theresa Sweetland

From the Director: Deepening Our Commitment to Be Part of the Change

As Forecast looks ahead at this new year, we deepen our commitment to being a part of the change and to anti-racism and justice. We commit to being a part of bringing about hope and democratic ideals. Our team is growing and changing, our programs expanding and our impact deepening.