Arts and Culture Commission

Arts and culture commission 2020

Important documents and links

Ordinance 855- Established the Arts and Culture Commission

Read the Cultural Plan

Art in Public Places Resolution 2017-073

Public Art Projects

Banner Policy

Art in City Hall - Call for Artists - "Artists Respond"

Mission

The City of Northfield's Arts and Culture Commission supports the arts, culture and creative experiences as ways for us to connect with one another, with ideas, and with ourselves.

Vision

We envision Northfield as a community which values, integrates and engages in arts and cultural experiences - in all our diversity - into the fabric of civic life.

Land Acknowledgement Statement

We stand on the homelands of the Wahpekute Band of the Dakota Nation. We honor with gratitude the people who have stewarded the land throughout the generations and their ongoing contributions to this region. We acknowledge the ongoing injustices that we have committed against the Dakota Nation, and we wish to interrupt this legacy, beginning with acts of healing and honest storytelling about this place.

Meetings

Second Monday of the month
4:30 p.m.

Northfield Public Library
Library Meeting Room
210 Washington St.

Agendas and minutes

City Meeting Archives Opens in new window
The City meeting archives contain agendas, minutes, handouts and additional information.

  1. City Meeting Portal Opens in new window
    The City meeting portal allows you to view live streamed meetings and agendas with clickable links.

Members

Name Title Term  expiration
Todd Edwards Member December 31, 2022
Cynthia Gilbertson Secretary December 31, 2021
Paula Granquist Member December 31, 2023
Karna Hauck Member December 31, 2022
Teresa Jensen Member December 31, 2021
Matthew Klooster Member December 31, 2022
Heather Lawrenz Chair December 31, 2023
Bob Thacker Member December 31, 2021
Juliane Shibata Member December 31, 2023
Kamalie Nieves Youth Representative (non-voting) 2020-2021 school year
Madeline McDermott Youth Representative (voting) 2020-2021 school year
Edie Meehan Youth Representative (non-voting) 2020-2021 school year
Sam Nelson Youth Representative (non-voting) 2020-2021 school year

Staff liaisons

Name Title Phone number
Natalie Draper Library Director 507-645-1801
Kathy Rush Vizina Administrative liaison 507-645-1800

Overview

The Arts and Culture Commission advises the City Council about the development of arts and cultural activities, organizations, and facilities in Northfield. The Arts and Culture Commission was created by City Council in January 2007 following a recommendation from ArtsPlan06 which identified its mission. Its purpose is to assist Northfield in becoming a community in which arts and cultural activities:

  • Are recognized as vital components of community life worthy of investment and support from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors
  • Are valued and promoted for their economic benefits and development potential, especially in the downtown
  • Include new ethnic groups in Northfield’s identity and sense of community
  • Represent an integral part of Northfield’s educational mission and programs for young people
  • Engage the talents and involvement of retirees and senior citizens
  • Develop a wider array of opportunities for collaboration between faculty and student artists at the two colleges and community artists
  • Cooperate to enhance the public perception of Northfield’s identity and quality of life in the community itself, the surrounding region, and beyond

Meetings are called by the chair. For transaction of business at any meeting, a majority of members shall constitute a quorum.

Membership requirements
Members are appointed by the mayor with the approval of the City Council.

Members, based on their willingness to serve and background, are appointed from various sectors of the community, including arts and cultural organizations, Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges, local schools, business community, independent artists, and the community at large.

Applying

  1. Apply for a board, commission, or task force

    Applications are also available at:

    City Hall
    801 Washington Street
    Northfield, MN 55057

    Northfield Public Library
    210 Washington Street
    Northfield, MN 55057

  1. 2020 accomplishments
  2. 2019 accomplishments

Despite the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Arts and Culture Commission achieved a number of initiatives and projects in 2020.

  • Selected Adam Turman through a Public Art Review Committee as the mural artist for the roundabout; to be completed spring-summer 2021
  • In partnership with the NDDC, SEMAC and the City of Northfield, purchased and installed the Threshold arch sculpture by Kris Swanson on the west side of the Cannon River
  • In partnership with building owner David Aase, partially funded the Love mural by Brett Whitacre, installed in September 2020
  • Approved the temporary installation of the sculpture Straight Through the Heart by artist Dale Lewis at Highway 3 and 3rd Street
  • Completed and won a SEMAC grant for the partial funding of artist John Sterner’s Native American Eagle sculpture, to be completed in 2021; this is in collaboration with the Northfield Human Rights Commission
  • Celebrated Mac Gimse as the 2020 Living Treasure recipient; due to the pandemic, he will also serve in 2021
  • Conducted the SEMAC and City of Northfield-funded 2020 Sidewalk Poetry contest, with poems in English and Spanish; capstone event was first Sidewalk Poetry virtual event create for winning poets
  • Conducted the Public Art Review Committee to select the Young Sculptors Project concept, to be completed in 2021
  • In partnership with the NDDC, conducted the Public Art Review Committee for the selection of artists for round 2 of Artists on Main Street, funded by Rethos: Reimagined and Springboard for the Arts, with additional funding from the Bush Foundation
  • Approved the creation of a Northfield Arts and Culture Commission logo
  • In collaboration with the Complete Count Committee, juried artworks and installed the art in City Hall show “The Beauty of the Count”
  • Celebrated the installation of the 2019 1% for the Arts Public Art project Art Information Kiosk in February 2020