The Eastside Stories production group formed to amplify the voices of BIPOC residents and business owners in East St. Paul to foster a deeper sense of community. Other neighborhoods in the Twin Cities have done an excellent job of sharing their stories and history like Rondo, the Northside of Minneapolis and Camden town. Yet the East side remains a bit of a mystery to those outside and even inside our community. People don't know what’s happening if the  stories are not being told, so a small group of us came together to tell these stories. So far we have produced 13 stories in the series, and we will create three new stories during summer and fall of 2021.

The Summer Backyard Arts Festival will support a 4-plex of neighbors led by Keegan Xavi to co-create summer 2021 backyard art events and activities for the surrounding Northside’s Old Highland neighborhood neighborhood. Collective creation leads to strategy and direct action that support, bond and nourish our neighborhood in the face of a pandemic and in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.

In “The Uses of Anger”, Lorde passionately states: “...anger expressed and translated into action in the service of our vision and our future is a liberating and strengthening act of clarification, for it is in the painful process of this translation that we identify who are our allies with whom we have grave differences, and who are our genuine enemies...Anger is loaded with information and energy.” (Lorde, 1981). This artist-led community art project, inspired by Audre Lorde’s essay, allows members of the Rondo Community in St. Paul to recognize and validate their feelings of anger constructively through artistic expression. The lead artist, paired with a team of dedicated artistic…

Artist: Geno Okok with the City of Brooklyn Park and Waterside Market

This project will address the issue of social exclusivity and lack of attention to diversity within the city of Brooklyn Park. With 54% of its residents being BIPOC and 30% being immigrants, Brooklyn Park is one of the most diverse cities within the State. However, these communities are not part of the focal point of the city, and are often not recognized by City officials or in the city as being an intricate part of the community. We will create a large scale public mural that promotes social inclusivity of immigrant residents by highlighting the various cultures and diversity that…