Bloomington

Community Mural Highlights Diversity in Bloomington

By City of Bloomington Staff

The City of Bloomington collaborated with the firm Ua Si Creative to create one of the longest murals in Minnesota. The new mural, titled WE, is located in the city’s South Loop District on the 9,000-square-foot walls at the corner of American Boulevard and 30th Avenue South.

“We are so pleased to announce that a stakeholder panel selected Ua Si Creative as the curator and producer of the WE mural in South Loop. Ua Si’s thoughtful process for artist selection and coordination, approach to the theme, and engagement with the community resulted in a captivating mural that highlights stories, enhances the walkability of the area, and contributes to the vibrancy of the South Loop,” said Alejandra Pelinka, Bloomington’s director of creative placemaking. Ua Si Creative is a collective started by Ka Oskar Ly, Christina Vang, and Teeko Yang that promotes culture, creativity and play to create meaningful experiences. Ua Si was selected by the City of Bloomington and Artistry (a Bloomington independent

theater and visual arts nonprofit) to curate and produce the South Loop mural in 2019, but had to hold off the execution of the project until COVID-19 restrictions eased. “Art deepens connections between people and places by intersecting culture and creativity. We were excited to partner with the City and Artistry to bring this vision to life and are hopeful this will inspire more community-powered investments for the wellbeing of local residents,” said Ka Oskar Ly, Ua Si co-founder. The theme of the mural, titled WE, reimagines the South Loop of Bloomington – past, present and future. South Loop is a place that houses many things, including intersections, creativity, diversity and growth. The mural intertwines narratives, roots and futures by intersecting differences and commonalities. Our truths, validated through experiences, live in our bodies, our words, our actions. These realities have pushed us together yet apart, breaking our spirits, searching for hope. WE find common ground when we listen, empathize and share stories. WE is a mural tapestry weaving the abundance of these narratives as depicted by local BIPOC and womxn artists. Selected artists executed the mural from August to September, and a Sunset Block Party was held on September 18 to celebrate the completion of the mural. For more information, visit blm.mn/southloopmural or contact 952-563-8744 or placemaking@bloomingtonmn.gov.

WE Artists: (back row, left to right) Martzia Thometz, Thomasina Topbear, Marlena Myles, Xee Reiter, Andres Guzman; (front row) Reggie LeFlore.