Parks & Recreation Signage Project Artwork

Andrés Guzmán is an artist with a focus on graphic design and illustration. Born in Lima, Peru, he moved to Minneapolis in 2006 and attended MCAD. His digital rendering of George Floyd in 2020 was one of the first created and posted on social media, and has been shared worldwide.

His distinct style is primarily created using Indian ink due to its permanency. However, he does not limit himself to one visual style or process. His body of work is rooted in pursuing social justice through publications, murals and commissions near and far from the community he calls home.

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CRICE is a mixed media artist from the southside of Minneapolis. He gains inspiration from Hip- Hop, graffiti and ancient symbolism. Often working on large format pieces in public spaces, his art seeks to create a sense of awe and relate to the viewer’s physical body. The themes found within his work relate to humanity’s origins, spiritual healing and racial and environmental justice. He uses art as a tool to strengthen and celebrate his community.

CRICE wanted to get involved with the parks signage project because he is passionate about making natural spaces more accessible for Black people. He believes that the inherent healing power of nature is a crucial ingredient in decolonization.

His artwork was inspired by the duality of nature and West African spirituality and symbolism. He believes we can further bridge the gap to our ancestors by merging modern aesthetics and historical imagery.

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Marlena Myles is a self-taught Native American (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee) artist located in Saint Paul. Her art brings modernity to Indigenous history, languages and oral traditions while using the land as a teacher. Growing up in her traditional Dakota homelands here in the Twin Cities, she enjoys using her artwork to teach Minnesotans of all backgrounds the Indigenous history of this place we call home. Her professional work includes public art, children’s books, augmented reality, murals, fabrics and animations, and she has shown her work in fine art galleries.

Marlena recently won a $50,000 Knight Foundation Arts + Tech Fellowship and has been awarded a $75,000 Joyce Award to develop a new community project at Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer.

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Xee Reiter is a multifaceted visual artist based in the Twin Cities. Her work ranges from but is not limited to, sketchbook illustrations, mural art, textiles and lettering. As a first-generation Hmong American, you can find her roots embedded in some of her work. 

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Witt Siasoco has been actively engaged in the intersection of the arts and civic processes through various roles – as an artist, graphic designer, and arts educator. Throughout his career, he has developed several community-engaged projects. Witt was recently commissioned by the city of Minneapolis to create a large mural for their new Public Service Center. As an arts administrator, Witt has held staff positions at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Walker Art Center, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and Forecast Public Art.

He was awarded a Jerome Foundation Fellowship in the Visual Arts for 2021-2022.

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