Bridging Cultures

THANK YOU TO THE COMMUNITY!

We couldn’t be happier with the results: a beautiful landmark gateway between Seward and Longfellow neighborhoods and a community cultural festival that brought a diverse mix of people together to celebrate, learn and enjoy an afternoon immersed in Latino culture!

“Bridging Cultures” was the name we came up with to brand this three-pronged event, which included a bridge paint-a-thon, a colorful yarn-bombed fence, and a glorious community gathering with Hiawatha Collegiate High School celebrating Latino culture. And now, for the first time in its history, the 36th Ave bridge has lighting over its walkways!

Please scroll to learn more!

The Project

The Bridge

36th ART and Hiawatha Academies strengthened our partnership in 2024, following the success of the two 80-foot murals entitled River Memory, created beneath the 36th Avenue Greenway bridge. Determined to complete the transformation of the entire bridge, we developed a compelling strategy to address the painting of the aging concrete structure, which was built in 1913 and serves as a vital gateway between the Seward and Longfellow neighborhoods. Given the need to power wash, prime and paint every surface of the bridge without disrupting traffic for weeks, the project focused on a weekend-long paint-a-thon, which took place from sunset, September 13th to midnight, September 15th. The avenue was closed to vehicular traffic and buses were rerouted, a first for a mural project in the Twin Cities!

Following a search for regional artists able to produce the paint-a-thon, 36th ART commissioned the talented artist and Indigenous culture bearer Thomasina TopBear and her amazing BIPOC mural-painting crew, City Mischief Murals. The City Mischief team, based out of Seward’s Ivy Arts Building, proved to be the perfect choice, and TopBear’s design was ideally suited to the bridge! Phase 2 of the River Memory murals is stunning and—combined with the incredible work done in 2023—will serve to inspire visitors, residents and students at Hiawatha Collegiate High School and for years to come.

The Festival

For the September 15th Bridging Cultures event, which took place as the paint-a-thon was nearing completion, we hired the renowned nonprofit Indigenous Roots, a multicultural event organizer. Working in partnership with Hiawatha Collegiate High School, the IR team produced an impressive cultural festival designed to celebrate the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month and help grow our community’s understanding and appreciation for the many branches of Latinx cultures that are housed in the school, whose student population is 90% Latinx, and that flourish throughout South Minneapolis.

We’re very proud of the festival organized and produced by Indigenous Roots, which featured dozens of talented artists and performers showcasing dance, music, spoken word, poetry, and fashion, not to mention a lineup of whimsical art cars, hula hooping with a giant puppet, make-and-take art activities and delicious food!

The Fence

For the Midtown Greenway’s Greenway Glow festival, which took place one week before the paint-a-thon, 36th ART member and Bridging Cultures project manager Jack Becker led an audience participation yarn bombing project on the 52-foot-long chain link fence atop the bridge. Becker’s design is a simple sunrise/sunset concept, with a large “sun” at the center, made from upcycled, shiny mylar diffraction hologram sticker stock, and hundreds of durable strands of repurposed fabric ribbons that make up the multicolored “sun rays.” Each of the rays were tied to the fence by festival goers and nearby residents—young and old—visiting the site. Originally expected to last just a week, this colorful fabric artwork has become much beloved. We recommend visiting on sunny mornings to see the colorful light show at its best!

“This project serves as a daily reminder of the power of art to bring communities together, fostering a sense of pride and belonging. It has also offered our students a unique opportunity to engage with contemporary art and understand the positive impact it can have on public spaces. We believe that continuing and expanding this project will further enrich our city's cultural landscape.”

–Melanie Johnson

Senior External Relations, Hiawatha Academies

Our Partners

City Mischief Murals

Indigenous Roots

Hiawatha Collegiate High School

“I'm very excited to be a part of this special event because of the large amount of community collaboration that is going into making this project a reality! I hope this mural encourages the neighborhood residents and visitors to pause for a moment or slow down to reflect on the beauty of this place!”

–Thomasina TopBear

City Mischief Murals

Artists

Thomasina TopBear

Thomasina 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-founder of 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 groups and organizations including Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, Phipps Center for the Arts, Hennepin Theatre Trust, Minnesota Public Radio, Minneapolis College of Arts and Design, University of MN 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.

Thomasina's Instagram:

Lynda Grafito

Lynda Grafito is a Colombian visual artist based in Minnesota. In Colombia Lynda Grafito collaborated as illustrator on two graphic novels: Cielo Rojo (2017) and Ciudad Perdida (2019) with L.E.C.H.E. Colectivo. She graduated with honors as a visual artist, for her project Aguablanca, un barrio de historias (2019). Her first international group show was Migani Mirror (2019) for a graphic representation of the graphic novel Dos Aldos, by Cohete comics at the MCAD Art Sale, MN. Since moving to Minnesota she has exhibited her linocuts and drawings in different group shows such as The Land Within Us (2022) at Fresh Eye Gallery, MN; Archive I: Divergent Origins (2023) at New Studio Gallery, MN; In Rotation (2023) at Augsburg University, MN, and was selected in the juried exhibition The First Print Pachanga (2023) at El Paso Print Pachanga, TX. Lynda has become interested in public art, she began participating in the Day of the Dead Parade (2021) on Lake Street, exhibiting her linocuts in local Latino businesses and continued creating murals around the twin cities with Copla Murals (2022). She was selected as a guest mural artist to the Chroma Zone Mural & Art Festival (2023) at Dual Citizen Brewing, MN. Currently, she is part of the Teaching Artist Learning Community (TALC) program at the Highpoint Center for Printmaking.

Lynda's Instagram:

Nick Jumping Eagle

Nick Jumping Eagle is an Oglala Lakota self-taught artist residing in the Twin Cities. He specializes in aerosol spray paint and has spent the last decade dedicating his time to perfecting this craft. Jumping Eagle is a current member of City Mischief and a co-organizer of Traditional Connections Graffiti Jam. He’s been assisting in large-scale project productions since 2021 and is well versed with many mural installation techniques, including poly tab, acrylic brush, wheat paste and more. A few notable projects he has assisted on are the Minnesota Public Radio Mural 2024, Ain Dah Yung Murals 2024, Dural Quba Cultural Center Mural 2023 and Eat My Words Bookstore 2023.

Nick's Instagram:

A special thank you to the following artists and assistants that helped create River Memory (Phase 2):