Public Art Saint Paul, which seeks to bring art into everyday life, has named Aaron Dysart as its new City Artist. He will join current resident City Artist Amanda Lovelee in April.
Since 2005, the City Artist program has integrated art and the work of artists into the daily and long-term work of city departments. "City Artists create a new artistic, social, and civic practice. Minnesota's capital city is sprinkled with projects dreamed up and implemented by City Artists, including Everyday Poems for City Sidewalk, Urban Flower Field and Pop Up Meeting," according to an announcement from Public Art Saint Paul.
Dysart brings 14 years of experience in visual art "focused on environmental preservation, civic engagement, and exposing and simplifying hidden infrastructure and systems," officials said. His connection with Public Art Saint Paul dates back to 2008 when he was a Sustainable Art-Making Fellow, which led him to a fellowship in the City Art Collaboratory program. Most recently, Dysart was one of four artists involved with District Energy St. Paul on the Plume Project, an idea that emerged from field trips and conversations in the Collaboratory and was funded by a Knight Foundation Arts Challenge grant.
"My work stems from a fascination with how an individual relates to their surroundings and furthermore how a self-aware part of a system can understand their role in the larger interconnectivity of this system," Dysart said. "The many projects that have come out of the City Artist program have always captivated me and this position is truly a dream come true."
He has won awards from Franconia Sculpture Park and the Minnesota State Arts Board. His work has been featured regionally and nationally at Northern Spark Festival, the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Art and Josephine Sculpture Park. He has a BFA and MFA in sculpture and has taught sculpture and other art classes for ten years at Anoka Ramsey Community College.
"Aaron brings an inventive mind to our organization and a record of increasingly complex and beautiful art projects," said Colleen Sheehy, Public Art Saint Paul executive director. "He is a real maker, but also a strong conceptualizer. That is exactly what will propel our work forward, working inside the City of St. Paul and thinking about how we can integrate art into City systems to create a more vibrant and equitable community. I'm excited to see the ideas and projects that Aaron will propose."
