Cultivate Arts

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Creative engagement on the Blue Line Extension

Cultivate Arts is a collaborative effort to activate spaces, build connections, celebrate diversity, and promote opportunity through local artist-led creative placemaking projects in the Blue Line Extension corridor.

Cultivate 2024- Coming soon

We are currently planning this year's Cultivate program. Look for a call for artists coming this spring with events happening through the summer and fall.

Creative engagement on the Blue Line Extension

Cultivate Arts is a collaborative effort to activate spaces, build connections, celebrate diversity, and promote opportunity through local artist-led creative placemaking projects in the Blue Line Extension corridor.

Cultivate 2024- Coming soon

We are currently planning this year's Cultivate program. Look for a call for artists coming this spring with events happening through the summer and fall.

  • 2023 Cultivate highlights

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    From August to December 2023, Cultivate Arts engaged communities along the METRO Blue Line Extension corridor to build artist capacity, demonstrate arts and placemaking tools, and activate the creative economy through culturally representative arts-based activities.

    This project provided a creative approach to engaging corridor communities at 35 different events with over 3400 residents participating in workshops, conversations, concerts and other cultural programs that highlighted the diversity of the corridor.

    Cultivate Arts 2023 Overview (PDF)

  • Cultivate announces project artists for 2023

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    CULTIVATE ARTS 2023

    10 artists have been selected to engage communities in the Metro Blue Line Extension corridor with culturally representative arts activities to inform and educate community along with collecting their feedback about the developments of the BLRT project.

    From August through December, Cultivate Arts 2023 will host over 30 arts engagement activities reaching communities that typically do not participate in the project events and open houses.

    The artists selected include:

    • AfroContigo
    • Archives! For Me and You
    • BLRT Couture Dress
    • Colors and Cultures
    • Drawing in Community
    • Heal & Chill
    • Mixed Media METRO
    • Our Neighborhood on Display: Welcome and Cherish
    • Peace on the Blueline
    • Robot Mobile Disco

    Learn more the artists and their plans for this year by viewing the 2023 Cultivate handout.

  • 2023: Cultivate Arts Request for Artistic Services

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    Hennepin County, as a key partner in the METRO Blue Line Extension project, is requesting proposals for arts engagement activities within the project corridor that includes the cities of Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Robbinsdale, and Minneapolis.

    The goals of Cultivate Arts 2023 are to grow artist capacity, demonstrate arts engagement tools, and activate a creative economy by implementing culturally representative arts engagement activities within the Blue Line Extension corridor.

    If you are an artist interested in helping with public engagement for the project, please consider submitting a proposal and budget for 3-5 arts engagement projects to be conducted between August 1 through December 31, 2023.

    The maximum award amount is $5,000. 10 artists and/or artistic teams will be selected.

    Key Dates:

    Submit a proposal

    1. Review the Request for Artistic Services (PDF).
    2. Complete a proposal form (PDF) and email to Joan.Vanhala@hennepin.us by July 19.
  • 2022 Cultivate highlights

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    From July to November 2022, Cultivate Arts engaged communities along the METRO Blue Line Extension corridor to build artist capacity, demonstrate arts and placemaking tools, and activate the creative economy through culturally representative arts-based activities.

    This project provided a creative approach to engaging corridor communities at 31 different events with over 5000 residents participating in workshops, conversations, concerts and other cultural programs that highlighted the diversity of corridor.

    Cultivate Arts 2022 Overview (PDF)

  • Planned Cultivate Arts events and activities - summer and fall 2022

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    As the summer progresses we are excited about all sorts of Cultivate Arts events and activities happening in a variety communities throughout the Blue Line Extension corridor. Stay updated and keep an eye on the "Key Dates" tab on the righthand side of this page to find the days, times and locations of the various upcoming Cultivate Arts opportunities!

    For more information about the events and artists, click here.

  • 2018-2019 Cultivate Bottineau highlights

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    Previously supported by the McKnight Foundation, Cultivate Bottineau was a previous iteration of Cultivate Arts 2022 coordinated by Hennepin County Bottineau Community Works and Springboard for the Arts in partnership with the cities of Minneapolis, Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, Crystal, and Brooklyn Park, and other community partners from January 2018 to October 2019.

    • Over 200 local artists were engaged, from a few hours at an information session or an art activity, to over dozens of hours to create a large commission.
    • The nearly 50 lead artists worked with another 50 artists.
    • Over 50% of the lead artists are artists of color.
    • Nearly 50 collaborators worked with local artists.
    • Over 4800 community members attended, participated in, or encountered a local artist-led project activity. This does not include people who view permanent projects (installations, murals) as they pass by.

    Read the full report (PDF)

    View the one-page summary (PDF)

Page last updated: 07 Mar 2024, 08:33 AM