Thank you to the community for gathering to celebrate this new creative centerpiece in the corridor!
We will be sharing more images of the finished project soon. Stay tuned!
The Project
We’re thrilled to share details of our upcoming BRIDGING CULTURES event and invite you and your families to join us! Scroll down to read about the Bridging Cultures calendar, our partners, the artists, and our supporters!
36th ART and Hiawatha Academies are partnering again to complete the transformation of the 36th Avenue Midtown Greenway/railroad bridge, an aging concrete structure built in 1913 and a vital gateway between the Seward and Longfellow neighborhoods.
To follow up on last year’s success—two 80-foot murals entitled River Memory on the walls along the walkways under the bridge—36th ART commissioned the talented artist and Indigenous culture bearer Thomasina TopBear and her amazing BIPOC mural-painting team City Mischief Murals. The City Mischief team, based out of Seward’s Ivy Arts Building, will turn the entire bridge into a work of art during a 48-hour paint-a-thon starting the evening of Friday, September 13th and wrapping up on Sunday afternoon, September 15th. The public is welcome to come and observe (36th Avenue will be closed to traffic.)
Hiawatha Academies, and their Hiawatha Collegiate High School, located next to the bridge, are helping us celebrate the completion of River Memory. Since September 15th is the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month and 90% of the school’s students are Latinx, we came up with a free, family-friendly event called Bridging Cultures, scheduled from 1-5 pm in the school's parking lot adjacent to the Greenway.
We hired the renown nonprofit Indigenous Roots, a multicultural event organizer, to produce a cultural festival designed to help grow broader community understanding and appreciation for the many branches of Latinx cultures that are housed in the school and flourish throughout South Minneapolis. In addition, Bridging Cultures will help introduce the school community, including students and their families to the residents and businesses in the surrounding, predominantly white community.
According to 36th ART’s Jack Becker, who’s managing the project, “The event is also designed to help the school, which opened in 2018, cultivate a deeper relationship with its Seward and Longfellow neighbors and vice versa.” Bridging Cultures will feature cultural presentations, food, fashion, music, dance, stencil-making, plant art, Alebrijes and much more.
For more information about getting involved in or contributing to Bridging Cultures, please contact project manager Jack Becker at BeckerJack54@gmail.com.
“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
Based nearby in Seward’s Ivy Building, Thomasina TopBear and her team, City Mischief Murals, is a Black, Indigenous, Latinx and Pacific Islander artist collective that produces murals and creative projects offering leadership opportunities for youth and healing through art for communities of color. City Mischief artists have six years of experience producing large scale murals, live exhibition painting and community events.
Indigenous Roots is a renowned St. Paul-based nonprofit producer of community-based multi-cultural events and festivals. Their programming is focused on building youth leadership and development skills through academic and community opportunities and partnerships.
Hiawatha Collegiate High School (HCHS), part of Hiawatha Academies, offers each of their scholars a personalized high school experience that recognizes and builds on their unique talents and interests, preparing them with the knowledge and skills to thrive in college. All students enjoy a well-rounded program rooted in rigorous academics, comprehensive college support, strong and lasting relationships and meaningful extracurricular activities. HCHS is committed to proving that closing the opportunity gap is possible. The school encourages “service learning” opportunities for students in the surrounding neighborhood, supporting learning goals, earning stipends and helping neighbors—not to mention painting community murals and participating in neighborhood events!
“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:
