MANKATO, Minn. (April 13, 2023) — The spring season will bring new life to Greater Mankato in the form of new art experiences as the CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour readies for a new lineup of sculptures. The 2023-2024 tour will include 32 new sculptures featuring works from artists around the country and will be installed in the City Center of Mankato and North Mankato.

The public will have an opportunity to experience the 2022–2023 CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour before the exhibit is scheduled to be removed while attending the inaugural Mankato Art Crawl, taking place on Saturday, April 15. The event will feature art shops, galleries, and coffeehouses across Mankato where the public can witness local featured artists in action with live demonstrations as well as experience special offerings and activities at each participating location. On Saturday, April 22, a group of community volunteers will remove the sculptures to prepare the locations and bases for the next installation of CityArt’s exhibition that will launch on Saturday, May 20.
The 2022-2023 Walking Sculpture Tour has proved to be one of the most highly rated exhibitions in the program’s history. Each year, CityArt conducts a voting satisfaction survey and this year’s results were outstanding with 86% of respondents rating this year’s tour as Excellent, and 13% as Good. The tour continues to be enjoyed by community members and visitors alike with survey respondents coming from 40 different states, 98 zip codes and 5 foreign countries with the furthest voter traveling from South Africa.

“This time of year is always a bit bittersweet, as the current sculptures are removed and our City Center looks a little empty for a few weeks,” said Tami Paulsen, Co-Founder and current chair of the CityArt program. “But it’s also an exciting time as we know a new group of sculptures will soon bring vitality to our streets! The 2023-2024 exhibition is our largest in a decade and includes so many wonderful and dynamic pieces of art from sculptors all around the country. We are very excited to bring the 2023 CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour to the community.”

“The CityArt tour plays a key role in contributing to the vitality and vibrancy of the City Center,” said Jessica Beyer, President and CEO of Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. “The art draws visitors and enhances the experience of living and working in Greater Mankato. Since the sculpture walk’s inception in 2011, the average investment in the City Center increased by 414%, further illustrating the impact the arts have on economic development. The breadth of continued support for this program is evidence of its importance to our community.”

The CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour is an exciting exhibit of outdoor sculptures displayed year-round in the City Centers of Mankato and North Mankato. Local, regional and national artists submit their sculptures to CityArt in the fall and selected sculptures are installed and exhibited in the program for one year. During that time, the sculptures are eligible for various artistic awards and prizes and are also promoted to the public for sale or lease. CityArt is a collaborative program of the City Center Partnership and Twin Rivers Council for the Arts. For additional information, visit cityartmankato.com.

###

About CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour
The CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour is an exciting exhibit of outdoor sculptures displayed year-round in the City Centers of Mankato and North Mankato. Local, regional and national artists submit their sculptures to CityArt in the fall and selected sculptures are installed and exhibited in the program for one year. During that time, the sculptures are eligible for various artistic awards and prizes and are also promoted to the public for sale or lease. CityArt is a joint program of the City Center Partnership and Twin Rivers Council for the Arts dedicated to bringing public art to the community. CityArt initiatives include the Walking Sculpture Tour, CityArt On the Go, the Mankato Flood Wall Mural, the City Center Public Art Tour, and the Silo Art Project.

About City Center Partnership
City Center Partnership, a downtown development organization, is a business unit of Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. (GMG) which includes the chamber of commerce and economic development organization, Greater Mankato Growth, the local convention and visitor’s bureau, Visit Mankato and GreenSeam, which utilizes agriculture to build on the region’s extensive agribusiness assets to develop ag economy.

About Twin Rivers Council for the Arts
Twin Rivers Council for the Arts is a collaborative alliance of local arts and cultural organizations, individual artists, and community members who share a vision for the arts in Greater Mankato. Twin Rivers Council for the Arts serves as a unifying voice, advocating for and connecting arts groups to the community by providing services and shared resources to affiliate members throughout southern Minnesota.