Public Art Opportunity—Mississippi River Learning Center
This call is now closed.
Invitational Call for Artists/Design Teams
Great River Passage Conservancy, Mississippi Park Connection, and the City of Saint Paul – Public Art Commission Opportunity – Mississippi River Learning Center
Call Open : May 30 – June 17 at 11:59 PM CST, 2025
Art Commission: Up to $6,500 artist stipend (includes all materials and event expenses)
Commissions Available: 1 (open to artist teams)
Background
The City of Saint Paul, along with its partners, the Great River Passage Conservancy, and Mississippi Park Connection, is developing a 25-acre area within the Hidden Falls Crosby Farm Regional Park and Mississippi National River and Recreation area for the Mississippi River Learning Center (MRLC). This contract is to complete Engineering, Permitting, Architectural, and Landscape Architectural design to be prepared for Bidding.
To inform the design and functionality of the Mississippi River Learning Center, Forecast is conducting community engagement activities that focuses on getting feedback on the site’s programming, planning, and design from the River Learning Center’s project stakeholders. Community engagement consists of a series of events and activities that engage different constituencies through learning and community-building around the river.
Project Overview
Public engagement is a key part of the Mississippi River Learning Center design project!
The project engagement team, working under the direction of the City of Saint Paul’s Parks and Recreation department, includes VJAA and TEN X TEN architects, Forecast Public Art, and New Publica Communications. As the project team’s arts-based public engagement lead, Forecast Public Art is seeking one artist or artist pair to lead artistic forms of engaging the public to solicit feedback on the River Learning Center’s storytelling and interpretation.
Duties
The MRLC engagement artists will:
**Collaborate with Forecast’s project manager and lead project artist to co-develop and implement an arts-based community engagement event designed to
- Increase awareness of the Mississippi River Learning Center project within communities who are not yet familiar with the project; and
- Invite community members to share ideas of stories and interpretation they want at the site.
**Lead one community engagement event in August (specific date TBD), alongside the larger project team, to engage community members and build on existing relationships with neighborhood residents who care about Crosby Farm Regional Park and the future Mississippi River Learning Center
**Support the collection of ideas received during the community engagement event
**Assist with analyzing and synthesizing the information received through the engagement activity
Budget
$6,500
The artist or artist pair for the MRLC engagements will be paid a total of $6,500, inclusive of all materials.
Due to the nature of this project, please note that much of the work may take place at a variety of times including early mornings, evenings, and weekends.
Eligibility
Selected artists should have:
- Experience designing arts-based activities for community engagement. This may include experience in a variety of mediums including social practice, drawing/painting, photography, writing, performance, etc.
- Familiarity with the West 7th neighborhood in Highland Park and/or adjacent neighborhoods, and/or connections and relationship to St. Paul East African, Southeast Asian, African American, or Mexican communities.
- Comfort in the collaborative art making process.
- Comfort representing the project team in meetings and engaging with the public at community events.
- Comfort using technology including, but not limited to
- Communicating in a timely manager via email or telephone
- Online research tools
- Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides
Because of the rich cultural diversity of the community, artists with foreign language skills and connections to and/or experience working in historically-underrepresented communities – including immigrant and refugee communities present in the project area – are particularly encouraged to apply.
Apply through Submittable by Tuesday, June 17, 2025, no later than 11:59pm CST.
Questions? Please contact us by email at candida@forecastpublicart.org later than Friday, June 13, 2025.
Questions?
Contact Ebony Dumas, Forecast Director of Planning + Engagement:
LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE REVIEWED.
About Forecast
Forecast firmly believes that culture and creativity are important drivers of creating a more just society. As one of the country’s first nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing the field of public art, we are called to advocate for and advance public art practices that advance justice, health and human dignity. We are invested in public art that plays a crucial role in creating a sense of belonging, and supporting people to realize their potential and live healthy lives. We emphasize access for artists of color, indigenous artists, and groups that are traditionally excluded.
(651) 641-1128
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