FSP Billboard Project

FRANCONIA SCULPTURE PARK ANNOUNCED FSP BILLBOARD PROJECT

In September of 2021, in celebration of Franconia Sculpture Park’s 25^th Anniversary, Franconia launched the FSP Billboard Project, a rotating curatorial and art platform to amplify artists of color in Minnesota. In recognition of Franconia’s 2021 curatorial theme of “Authority & Visibility in Public Space,” this inaugural project makes visible the innovative creatives that contribute to Minnesota’s thriving and diverse cultural ecosystem. Since the FSP Billboard Project has launched, Franconia has unveiled three unique billboards, by artists Yasmeenah, Jose Dominguez, and most recently by muralist Thomasina TopBear.

CURRENT BILLBOARD

“Mní Sóta Makhóčhe: Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds” Billboard by Thomasina TopBear

This billboard design was created by Thomasina TopBear using bright colors to bring a sense of joy and happiness to those that view it. Mní Sóta Makhóčhe (Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds) is the Dakhóta people’s name for Minnesota, TopBear believes that when we use the original names for spaces we can start to rebuild lost connections with the land we all now share space on.

About Thomasina TopBear

TopBear is a self taught artist, muralist, published illustrator and organizer from the Oglala Lakota & Santee Dakota Nations. She is a board member of the international all female paint crew Few & Far Women and co-founded City Mischief Murals, an all BIPOC artist collective centered on healing through art. Specializing in large-scale murals her work can be seen on the sides of buildings throughout the country. Thomasina has organized a number of events focusing on empowering and creating safe spaces for youth and fellow artists to practice their crafts. She draws influences from her Oceti Sakowin culture while using art to express thoughts on community, social justice, spirituality and togetherness.

Thomasina has worked with numerous institutes and organizations including, Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, Phipps Center for the Arts, Hennepin Theatre Trust, Minneapolis College of Arts and Design and Saint Paul College. She is a grant recipient of Forecast Public Art, Knight Foundation, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board. IG @tomierae

PREVIOUS BILLBOARDS

“How well prepared are you to meet the changes necessary to make the world a more human dwelling place?” Billboard by Yasmeenah

In September of 2021, Franconia Sculpture Park unveiled the first billboard in the Billboard Program series, designed by Twin Cites artist, DJ, and curator Yasmeenah.

Yasmeenah’s billboard asks Franconia’s visitors and those in the local community to consider the critical question: “How well prepared are you to meet the changes necessary to make the world a more human dwelling place?” Overlaid atop the yearbook-style portraits of twenty Black individuals, this project represents Black autonomy and self-determination. Featured from left to right are:

Yasmeenah, Nance Musinguzi, Breon Jones, Caleb Johnson, Kenda Zellner-Smith, Cristian Ybarra, Zania Coleman, Roxanne Anderson, Shaina McCoy, Asha Long, Zede Harut, Destiny Roberts, Bobby Rogers, Felicia Perry, Junauda Petrus-Nasah, Ifrah Mansour, Atlese Robinson, and Nadirah McGill.

About Yasmeenah

The ethereal and joyous Yasmeenah is a creative who is not afraid to reflect the times while prioritizing joy and celebration on the continuous path towards liberation. Yasmeenah is a first-generation Somali-American DJ, Curator, and Art Organizer based in South Minneapolis. Yasmeenah lives and examines the intersections of creation, music, queerness, and Blackness as she believes art is essential for radical movements.

“Happy to Be Here” Billboard by Jose Dominguez

The second ever FSP Billboard entitled “Happy to Be Here” was created by artist Jose Dominguez. Says Dominguez: “This work revisits that child-like sense of wonder and adventure that comes from finding a unique place and building a fort and making good friends that grow to be like family, about having a place where you can be yourself, feel safe, and be vulnerable.”

About Jose Dominguez

Born in Casa Grande, Arizona, the Minneapolis-based mixed media artist Jose Dominguez studied studio art at Winona State University. His kaleidoscopic paintings that incorporate whimsical imagery and text are visual riddles that are left open-ended for the viewers to keep coming back to.

This project is made possible by through a grant from the East Central Regional Arts Council through an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State’s general fund.