560 - Bismarck Expressway Art Tunnel
Nicole Gagner (0:01)
Hi, my name is Nicole Gagner. I'm the lead artist on this mural. We're here today to tell you a little bit about our mural. The mural is conceived as a representation of the reasons that we live along the river and everything that lives along the river with us. It's really special that we live so close to the water and all of these other things, share that space with us, all of the plants and animals and the beauty of all of that together.
Andrea Falcon (0:25):
I am Andrea Falcon, and I was part of the artist installation team on this project. Many people were just so happy to see improvements on this, what used to be maybe a creepy tunnel is now a beautiful work of art.
Anika Kleingartner (0:41):
Hi, my name's Anika Kleingartner, and I was one of the lucky mural assistants on this project. It was spooky and gloomy and uninviting, and that is not our city. That's not our river banks.
Nicole Gagner (0:55):
We had over 14 paint parties across the community, and at each of those paint parties, altogether, there were over 688 local community members that had a hand in painting this. And then that's not even counting the art assistants and everybody else who were all involved in that. So, so many people came together to have a hand in beautifying this space.
Molly McLain (1:16):
Hi, I'm Molly McLain, and in this project, I was the lead portion on mosaics.
Melanie Moniz (1:25):
My name is Melanie Moniz. I am a citizen of the MHA nation. So I created and designed the orange dragonflies and butterflies that you see in this piece. And those dragonflies and butterflies are really significant to many indigenous people. These pieces specifically were created in honor and remembrance of boarding school survivors and the children that never made it home.
Kim Eslinger (1:46):
Hi, I'm Kim Eslinger, and I was an installer on this incredible project. The thing that really made my heart swell and just kind of spurred you on. It didn't matter how tired and dirty you were. You would have these people walking through, as they always do, because this was a part of their life, and they just marveled at the king. Seeing what this meant to the community has just absolutely made me fall in love with this place.
Anika Kleingartner (2:12):
It's art, and it's upscaling in the neighborhood, and I think that's so rad.
Molly McLain (2:18):
Personally, I loved creating the heron and the sandhill crane.
Andrea Falcon (2:24):
I really enjoy the florals and the animals, just really showcasing what is native to North Dakota.
Kim Eslinger (2:34):
There are so many little areas that just kind of jump out at me, but I really like the blending of the acrylic painting and the mosaic. Both are really loose in style, and they just complement each other perfectly.
Melanie Moniz (2:50):
When indigenous people specifically see this mural and they identify the shape and the style of the dragonflies and the butterflies, that'll hold a deep significance to them.
Kim Eslinger (3:02):
Whether they were artistic or not, they could play a part in putting this together. They got to paint on the panels that we then installed.
Anika Kleingartner (3:10):
As a community member walking through these halls and saying, I put that paint dab there and I placed this glass there.
Melanie Moniz (3:18):
Bringing forth truths we don't often see and representation to people in our community.
Molly McLain (3:24):
Such an honor to work with so many collaborating artists on this.
Kim Eslinger (3:31):
Again, it brings the community together. It gives us all a chance to take ownership of this really cool space. And they made it special.
Molly McLain (3:40):
It was a joy, a privilege, and an honor to work with these women and all of the other artists and collaborators, and funders on this project. It took so many folks to get this project rolling. It took years.
Katie Johnke (3:55):
Muralism explores ways art can bring communities together through the power of visual language to activate historically marginalized voices and stories. This mural styles a commitment to representation through stories, histories, and dreams for the future. By being inclusive in nature, research shows the value of arts for advancing health and well being in communities. By adding art like this community mural, it helps intersect the work of art, public health, and community development.