MANKATO, Minn. (May 15, 2023) — CityArt is thrilled to announce the installation of the twelfth annual CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour on Saturday, May 20. This exhibition of thirty-two new pieces—representing nearly $400,000 of art from renowned sculptors throughout the country—are placed throughout the City Center and promises to captivate art enthusiasts and casual viewers alike. The upcoming exhibition will showcase new and original works of art created in a diverse range of styles, sizes, and mediums.

The public is invited to join the festivities. The Blue Earth County and North Mankato Taylor Libraries are again holding the popular Bookmark Design Contest with prizes, generously donated by Dino’s Pizza, being awarded in a variety of age group categories. Weather permitting, the libraries will also have tables set up in the City Center on the morning of May 20 for kids to create bookmark designs highlighting CityArt. Top winning designs will be printed and distributed by the libraries in the weeks ahead.

CityArt is also hosting its second annual community gathering and open house, Kick Off Your Walk Community Day, Saturday morning from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the beautiful Carnegie Art Center. Visitors will have the opportunity to personally meet and interact with the artists. CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour brochures with maps of this year’s tour will be available as well as materials for the bookmark contest. Young artists will also enjoy the face painting and chalk art stations. There will be live jazz music by the Hannah Bretz Trio and light refreshments while supply lasts. CityArt volunteer tour guides will lead free tours of the new sculptures at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Since the CityArt program’s founding in 2011, over $4.5 million in sculptures have been shown on our city streets, twenty eight sculptures have been sold to private individuals or businesses and over thirty-five sculptures have been added to Greater Mankato’s permanent public art collection. This type of large-scale public art programming would not be possible without the continued financial and in-kind investment from businesses, the cities of Mankato and North Mankato, area foundations and individuals.

“As co-founder of the CityArt program, it still excites me to see the way our community, and visitors alike, enjoy and embrace each year’s Walking Sculpture Tour exhibition. Our 2023-24 tour is our largest in a decade and includes so many wonderful, unique, and dynamic pieces of art from sculptors all around the country. We are very excited to unveil this year’s 2023 CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour on Saturday”, said Tami Paulsen, co-founder and current chair of the CityArt program.
The continued success of CityArt has allowed the program to expand into multiple additional public art initiatives including CityArt On the Go (traffic signal box murals), the Mni Mural (flood wall mural) and Silo Art—turning Greater Mankato into a major arts and cultural destination. The CityArt committee is currently exploring its next initiative: lighting the Silo Art murals! Through it all, the Sculpture Walk continues to grow.
Since CityArt was founded in 2011, thousands of local citizens and visitors alike have enjoyed the Walking Sculpture Tour and it is consistently identified as one of our community’s top-rated attractions. Last year, visitors came from over 20 different states and 5 non-U.S. countries. CityArt looks forward to dazzling visitors and locals with this new exhibition.

“We love how our communities have embraced the Walking Sculpture Tour, and it’s fun to see the footprint of the walk expand every year,” said Tricia Lewis, incoming chair of the CityArt program. “It enlivens our City Center and is accessible to everyone – and clearly enjoyed by all who experience it. It’s not surprising that it’s recognized as one of our area’s favorite annual activities.”
CityArt is a joint program of the City Center Partnership and Twin Rivers Council for the Arts. For more information about CityArt and this year’s Walking Sculpture Tour, please visit www.cityartmankato.com

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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.