Written by: Josh Blanc
The 32nd International Sculpture Conference, (ISC) coming to the Twin Cities October 22-26, 2026,. has prompted us to talk with major players in the sculpture community about their vision for public art in the future. https://sculpture.org/mpage/Schedule_TwinCities2026
In discussions with both John Hock and Alyssa Barguss both expressed the desire to get public art to be out in the community for the public to engage with. Both expressed the challenges with the Minneapolis Arts and Culture Public Art department and their lack of ability to work to achieve more public art by organizations on public lands. Both have focused on private land and willing patrons to try to showcase sculpture and bring art to the public. The International Sculpture Conference is an opportunity for sculpture enthusiasts to get a better understanding of what we have in the Twin Cities and the public to recognize public art they pass by daily and how it brings ideas, landmarks, and beauty to the city.
NE SCULPTURE I Gallery Factory
Over the years, John Hock has created an undeniable atmosphere where cultures mix, with creative wit, energy, and artistic expression as the staple at NE SCULPTURE I Gallery Factory John was interviewed after the August 13th Serpentine Arts event, Meximalismo, which included an exhibition and fashion show. Over two hundred people attended the exhibition and fashion spectacle. I asked how John has attracted artists from across the cultural spectrum. Hock said “Sculpture has been his whole life since I was 20”; having traveled and meeting artists from all over the world has given him a large pool of people to work with. He has expanded the NE SCULPTURE I Gallery Factory from only sculpture to painting, mixed media, video, photography, and now fashion shows, allowing artists to express their ideas and concepts. The gallery showcases some of the most dynamic artwork in the Twin Cities.
Meximalismo Fashion Show – To see all photos of the show click here photo by John Hock
One of NE SCULPTURE’S biggest and most profound projects is the billboard project at George Floyd Square. The project started shortly after the murder of George Floyd. Working with Peyton Russel Scott, who created the George Floyd portrait, the painting became an image that ricocheted around the world as one of the main art images that shook the establishment of thought on police and their interactions with Black people and all people of color.
John Hock with billboard project at George Floyd Square artists images – photo by Josh Blanc
Hock said, “I was able to secure the three billboards that face into the square from Clear Channel Outdoor.” John said he reached out to New York artist Dred Scott to make and curate suggested artists to create works for the billboards. Dred in turn recommended NES to National Academy of Design/Edwin Austin Abbey Memorial Trust Fund for Mural Painting, where we secured funding for 24 months. Hock says “We change the boards usually around every three months with 12 different artists’ works throughout the year. 34 artists have shown since 2020. Some artists have done more than one board.” Artists around the country have done art projects with billboards. Still, the George Floyd Square project differs in that it’s a multi-year effort that lets BIPOC artists of color create public art without editing by committees or government. The billboards towered over ICE agents as they raided the state of Minnesota. This project continues and lets tens of thousands of visitors to George Floyd Square see unfiltered public art to digest. OUR SJBP Web.
The ISC will be bussing conference attendees to NE SCULPTURE I Gallery Factory on Sunday October 25th ,1:30-6pm . John called it “a kind of Mini Art A Whirl”: music, stone carving, Art Cars, a Bonfire, the WOW Bus, a sculpture exhibition inside & out called “Proof of Life”, a sculpture show, videos, and a food truck. Andrew MacGuffie is working on an immersive community arts sculpture in the Sculpture Quad. Hock says about 25 local artists will be showing, plus some artists from around the country.
NE SCULPTURE I Gallery Factory
1720 NE Madison St # 14
Silverwood Sculpture Park
For artist and Silverwood Park Director Alyssa Baguss, the upcoming International Sculpture Conference is an opportunity to celebrate what has been built over the past 17 years and to ask what the future of sculpture in the Twin Cities might look like.
Baguss is a practicing artist with a current studio in the California Building in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District and more than 20 years of experience exhibiting regionally and nationally. A McKnight Fellow for Community Engaged Artists, she is also unique within Three Rivers Park District as an artist leading one of its parks, bringing an artist’s perspective to the leadership and development of a large public institution. She came to Silverwood with a background in arts integration, using creative practice to connect people with science, nature, and other subjects. When Silverwood opened 17 years ago, she was hired to build its arts program from the ground up.
“There was no curriculum, hardly any sculpture, and not even furniture,” Baguss says. “It was essentially a startup, and we had the opportunity to ask what a nature inspired arts park could be.”
Sara Hanson Bioscenic Travel Machine Silverwood Park
Silverwood sits on 120 acres that served for nearly a century as a Salvation Army youth camp, bringing children from the city into the outdoors. Sculpture became an important part of the park’s new identity. What began with one or two works has grown into 17 sculptures dispersed throughout the landscape.
“I think of them almost like breadcrumbs,” Baguss says. “They draw people through the park and signal that art is part of this place.”
Marjorie Fedyszyen Decline and Fall exhibition – photo provided by Silverwood Park
Being embedded within Three Rivers Park District also gives artists access to expertise rarely found inside a traditional gallery. For The Bio Scenic Machine Cyto Squad, Sara Hanson created an interactive kaleidoscopic sculpture using specimens collected at Silverwood and identified with environmental educators. For Decline and Fall, Marjorie Fedyszyn collaborated with forestry, natural resources, and invasive species specialists to transform a fallen ash tree from Silverwood into a suspended installation responding to Emerald Ash Borer.
These are some of the things Baguss hopes ISC visitors will notice at Silverwood: a model where artists can engage with environmental professionals, natural systems, and a public that may not have arrived looking for art.
Nearly half a million people visit Silverwood each year. Alongside more than 700 annual programs, exhibitions, concerts, and participatory experiences, visitors walk, bike, paddle, fish, drink coffee, or simply spend time outside. Art becomes part of everyday experience.
“It shouldn’t be a privilege to see art,” Baguss says. “It should be part of our everyday lives.”
Looking ahead, Baguss is also thinking about who will make the next generation of outdoor sculpture. Minnesota has a rich arts funding ecosystem, including Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs, the Minnesota State Arts Board, Regional Arts Councils, and other opportunities. These resources provide critical support, but funding structures also influence what gets proposed and who has the resources to make it. Sculpture presents particular barriers, including costly materials, specialized equipment, fabrication and engineering knowledge, transportation, and space to work at scale.
“I keep wondering who is making sculpture next, and what they need from us to make that possible.”
That question is part of what makes hosting ISC meaningful to Baguss. When conference attendees visit Silverwood in October, they will explore the sculpture trail and gallery, experience the park’s natural landscape, and hear directly from Fedyszyn about the interdisciplinary process behind Decline and Fall. Participants will also try paper casting, one of the processes Fedyszyn used in the work.
Baguss hopes visitors leave interested not only in the sculptures they encounter, but in Silverwood itself as a model: a place where artists, environmental professionals, and the public can learn from one another, and where sculpture is not separated from everyday life but embedded within it.
Silverwood Park – 2500 County Road E, St Anthony, MN 55421