Thomasina Topbear

2021 Mid-Career Project Grantee | $10,000

Reclaimed Spaces

Topbear will curate Reclaimed Spaces, a gallery exhibition and community event showcasing Indigenous graffiti and street artists. Reclaimed Spaces will take place at Indigenous Roots Cultural Center in the area known as Imniza Ska by the Dakota people. This event will reflect the unique perspective of what it means to reclaim land, sovereignty, Indigenous culture, and what the future looks like to Indigenous artists within the modern graffiti subculture.

Thomasina Topbear is a self taught Santee Dakota & Oglala Lakota muralist, she has been a member of the international all female crew Few & Far Women since 2015. Thomasina helped found City Mischief Murals, an all BIPOC mural collective that actively paints large scale community based murals in the Twin Cities. She has helped organized a number of local and national community based mural events focusing on youth, women, activism & BIPOC artists. Thomasina’s inspirations come from her Indigenous culture and graffiti background, she uses these influences to express her feelings on community, social justice, culture, feminism and togetherness.

The McKnight Foundation generously enables Forecast to provide Professional Development Grants for mid-career artists seeking to expand their work in the field of public art. Forecast mid- and early-career grants are designed to support independent projects, leadership development, professional development, risk-taking, multidisciplinary approaches, and collaborative problem-solving in the field of public art.