Attention Artists! Saint Paul Public Library Innovation Lab Public Art Window Display Commission Opportunity!

Press release from the Saint Paul Public Library:

April 17, 2020

Would you like your art to be a permanent part of a 103-year-old historical building in downtown Saint Paul?

Learn more about the project and how to apply by attending one of these information sessions.

• April 18, 3:00 pm - Online Q and A session for the application via Webinar. Access to the info session here: https://zoom.us/j/725467595
• April 23, 6:00 pm - Online Q and A session for the application via Webinar. Access to the info session here: https://zoom.us/j/903155920

Request for Qualifications

RFQ deadline is May 15th.

If you have any questions, please email or call Aki at Forecast Public Art: aki@forecastpublicart.org | 651-271-2792

About the project:

Since opening in 2016, a community of makers and artists has emerged in the practically hidden Innovation Lab in downtown Saint Paul. One by one artists, inventors, creators, entrepreneurs, and tinkerers have discovered the Innovation Lab through a Google search, an aimless walk, or a desire to discover something new in the old, familiar George Latimer Central Library.

In late 2019, the Knight Foundation gifted the Innovation Lab with a generous donation to continue their support of Saint Paul’s downtown entrepreneurs and creative professionals by connecting them to technology, information, and community.

With this gift we will double the working space of the Innovation Lab, improve technology, and highlight our presence through the addition of public art that will be showcased through the windows of the Innovation Lab!

So why public art now? Many people are unaware that there is a makerspace in the Saint Paul Public Library!

Goals of the project:

• Create public art in the windows that attracts and brings in people from the outside.
• Use wayfinding to bring people up to the 3rd floor of the building.
• Create art that is accessible to all to show that this is a place for anyone to make art.
• Connect the Innovation Lab with other makers and artists.
• Create art visible from the outside that reflects what’s happening inside.
• Promote the Innovation Lab as a place to access technology.

This press release was produced by the Saint Paul Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.