Artist Initiative

This project has increased my artistic abilities as I have furthered my photography, strengthening the theory behind my work and developing new compositional techniques. I have gained experience navigating the public art permitting process, leading workshops for children, and collaborating with other creators. My success in this area was judged by feedback from others in the field: my mentor, Wing Young Huie, Pillsbury House + Theatre, who provided additional funding, and especially art critics. I achieved the recognition from the press and my peers that I was looking for. A positive review by Camille LeFevre in the Walker Art Center’s mnartists.org blog was a high point of the recognition generated by the project, as was a write-up by Andy Sturdevant for MinnPost. 2: I believe that my project did allow more Minnesotans to engage with the arts. However, the metric I set up to measure this in my proposal was flawed. Many of the people engaged are members of under-represented groups. All of the installation pieces were in English, Spanish and Somali, and I lead several hikes for the Transitions Plus program for young adults with disabilities. I observed people from all ethnic groups and walks of life engaging with the work while waiting for the bus, walking their dogs, or shopping. However, when I polled them, I found that many of these people do also take advantage of other arts offerings in Minneapolis, from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to Pillsbury House and Theatre.