Public Art Saint Paul and Wakpa Triennial

Join Public Art Saint Paul and make a difference in the lives of Minnesota artists and communities with a tax-deductible donation. 

Public Art Saint Paul dedicated 2023 to our community by presenting for the first time the Wakpa Triennial Art Festival, which brought 84 days of new art and programs featuring more than 110 artists and 35 partner organizations, running from June 24 to September 16. (Wakpa means "river" in Dakota language. The Twin Cities inhabits Dakota land.) 

The Triennial partnered with many Dakota and Indigenous-led organizations, providing them with funds for programs and artist commissions, and many Indigenous artists were among the 90% artists of color who took part in the Triennial.  Artists' works were installed in a network of locations across Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Artists responded to the Triennial theme for 2023, "network of mutuality," a phase from Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (1963). The Wakpa Triennial was the largest art experience of new work to be presented in the Twin Cities. We were thrilled to activate our vibrant artistic communities through our networks of civic strength, creativity, and healing. 

In tandem with the Wakpa Triennial, Public Art Saint Paul celebrated 15 years of Sidewalk Poetry in 2023.  We hosted the 2023 Sidewalk Poetry Contest and selected 15 poems to be stamped on City Sidewalks. Anyone who is a resident of Saint Paul was eligible to submit a poem in any of our five accepted languages: Hmong, Somali, Spanish, Dakota, and English. A team of professional writers, all from communities of color, curated the Contest and selected winning poems. These new poems will join the 1,400 stamped sidewalk panels to enrich our community with viewpoints of the many cultures that make St. Paul home. 

Your donation today will directly support our successful conclusion of the first Wakpa Triennial in 2023. Help us to close the year strongly and lay the groundwork for the next Wakpa Triennial. Planning begins now for 2026!  Whether it's large or small, a gift of any size to Public Art Saint Paul will make a difference and support our mission to work with artists to shape public spaces, improve city systems, and deepen civic engagement.

 Thank you for your support!