NEW PUBLIC ART FOR RACIAL JUSTICE FUND

Your gift today will allow us to donate our time and expertise to artists and communities as they confront racial inequities in their public art and monuments.

We donated support to Mitzi Sinnott of All Here Together productions in producing a new mural in West Virginia focused on the Black history of Fairfield that is often overlooked. The first of three murals was painted as part of the Past to Our Future: 3 Building Mural Project. Ernel Martinez painted the mural on the side of Ebenezer Daycare with the help of the daycare children and community members.

about the fund

With this new Public Art for Racial Justice Fund, we will provide much needed guidance, coaching and technical assistance to artists and communities as they undertake the complex task of confronting racial inequities in their public art and monuments and create new, inclusive representations of their public stories and memory.

Give today and ensure that will, and not resources, opens up access to the support to bring urgent racial justice work in public art to life.

why now?

Communities are seeking our help in moving from intention to action to support BIPOC artists, change outdated public art policies and practices and listen deeply to their members’ wants and needs.

With the recent nationwide protests and calls for racial justice, awareness around systemic racism in monuments and public art commanded attention from the media and took root in cities and towns.

Monuments are being torn down, new temporary protest art continues to emerge and the streets have become the town square for this long overdue national reckoning. Desire for new approaches to address inequities in public art has skyrocketed and our phone has been ringing.

While overall demand to do this work is growing, the resources to undertake it are scarce in many communities where it’s most needed.

what will this work look like?

It has become increasingly difficult for Forecast to turn away the many neighborhood organizations, arts administrators, artists, community organizers and others reaching out to our team for help navigating racial justice in their public art programs, policies, and practices.

These are just some of the ways our team will donate their guidance, coaching and technical assistance thanks to this fund. Your support will make this work possible!

How to address racially unjust monuments
How to develop open, fair and equitable artist selection processes
Connecting with BIPOC communities about public art in genuine, culturally sensitive ways
Mapping cultural assets and public art to find geographies that have been underserved
How to support BIPOC artists in their public art careers
How to make decisions about upcoming public art projects through a racial justice lens
Review public art collections, programs, and policies for equity gaps

MEET OUR TEAM of skilled public art consultants eager to share their expertise where it is most needed.

how to help?

Our consulting team was hired to work with the Minnesota State Fair to equitably curate 12 muralists and produce Joyful World Mural Park this past summer 2021. Image: Hibaaq paints their mural. Photo by Andres Perez.

DONATE TODAY

The stories and identities represented in and by public art matter.

We’re counting on you! Your gift to Forecast will allow us to donate our time and expertise to the communities that so badly need it.

D O N A T E

EXAMPLES OF THIS WORK

Here are some examples of the ways our team donated our time and expertise in the last year—with your help, we’ll be able to say yes to even more of these imperative projects.

The first of three murals painted as part of the Past to Our Future: 3 Building Mural Project. Ernel Martinez painted the mural on the side of Ebenezer Daycare with the help of the daycare children and community members.

Past to Our Future: 3 Building Mural Reveal Day Celebration July 2021.

EQUITABLE ARTIST SELECTION PROCESSES

Provided guidance to All Here Together Productions on equitable artist selection practices and technical assistance on how to harness community-wide buy-in for a mural in Huntington, WV celebrating the community’s often overlooked, rich Black history.

Building Remembrance for Reconciliation is dedicated to using history and the arts to remember, reconcile and heal. They believe that telling the truth about the past helps to create racial and economic justice in the present.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Provided technical assistance to Building Remembrance For Reconciliation, a group of community organizers in Hastings, MN, as they developed a strategic plan for engaging their community around sharing the stories of Black settlers in the area and creating a monument commemorating an historic Black church that was burned down as an act of arson.

Forecast was hired to provide equitable artist selection for the Chroma Zone Mural Festival. Artwork: Thomasina Topbear paints on Missy Whiteman’s wall for final Chroma Zone 2021 performance.

COACHING

Provided guidance and coaching to Indigenous artists and property owners working on new mural projects that emphasized Native culture, history and practices, while working to decolonize public art practices.

Thank you for helping us reach our goal to raise $25,000 to launch this new fund!

Your continued support will help us reach even more communities. Please make a gift today.