Art History – 鶹Ƶ Wed, 21 Jan 2026 23:15:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /wp-content/uploads/2019/04/cropped-favicon_logo-32x32.jpg Art History – 鶹Ƶ 32 32 Washington Free Public Library Mural Painting /projects/washington-free-public-library-mural-painting/ /projects/washington-free-public-library-mural-painting/#respond Thu, 26 Oct 2023 23:27:33 +0000 https://portal.epicn.org/case-stories/washington-free-public-library-mural-painting/ Read More... from Washington Free Public Library Mural Painting

]]> Through a partnership with Arts Share, Erin Rappleye, a University of Iowa Masters of Fine Arts graduate student, designed a 2-story mural for the Washington Public Library as part of an effort to provide public art in the alleyway and enhance downtown Washington. There was a ribbon cutting for the mural in fall 2015.

]]> The IISC and Arts Share developed a low-cost public art project for a student in the MFA program. The project used recycled materials to create a sculpture that pays homage to an important member of the Mississippi River Valley’s ecosystem, the bald eagle.

]]> Students in Professor Anita Jung’s studio course collaborated with the City of Iowa City to develop a public art piece for installment in Iowa City. During the course of the class, students broke into groups and prepared proposals for the public art piece, which city staff chose from. Their proposals were informed by meetings with City staff and a guided tour of the possible sites for installment.

]]> Students from the School of Art & Art history developed two public art pieces. The first project emblematizes the Decorah eagles in a sculpture that celebrates the natural assets of Winneshiek County. The second playfully acknowledges the mythical gnome-like “nisse” of Norwegian culture through several small ceramic doors and windows that will be displayed in local parks for the mischievous “nisse” to use.

]]> MFA students in the School of Art and Art History created 10 small statues of nisse, gnome-like figures from Scandinavian folklore, for the 2015 Nordic Fest Celebration.

]]> In collaboration with Arts Share, graduate students in the School of Art & Art History worked with local businesses in the Czech Village/New Bohemia Main Street District to design window displays for the holiday season.

]]> Sustainable Communities Partnership

Website |

The Sustainable Communities Partnership (SCP) collaborates with cities and government agencies to integrate community-identified sustainability projects into St. Thomas courses across disciplines engaging students in real-world, applied research and innovative problem-solving. Our partnerships seek to catalyze systems-level change towards human and ecological well-being in the Twin Cities area while preparing students for the complexities of problem-solving in contemporary society.

Since SCP’s launch in Spring 2016, over 2,000 students from more than 100 courses across 26 disciplines have participated in over 150 local and regional sustainability projects.

Our focus is on multi-year partnerships with communities seeking to make systemic changes toward interconnected economic, social, and ecological sustainability. We partner with cities, watershed districts, regional government agencies, non-profits focused on city sustainability, and on-campus initiatives.

Inspired by the transformative impacts of efforts that bridge art and sustainability, SCP launched .  SCP Arts develops partnerships and projects through which students across majors collaborate with local artists, writers, and communities to translate their project findings into artwork, bringing to life community-identified sustainability goals for people of all ages.  We have collaborated with partners on public art installations, such as the , on community exhibits, including , , and .  We also collaborate with writers and researchers to engage in community-centered explorations of .

Fun Facts about SCP

“SCP has been essential in showing how our education ties in with the UST mission. This project has allowed us to analyze real-world data, collaborate with classmates, and present solutions to problems that affect real communities. We are applying skills we have cultivated in the classroom to projects that advance the common good,” stated an Economics student whose project team determined that Delano, MN (pop. 5,464) could generate net savings of $854,000 over ten years with energy efficiency upgrades.

Year Program Established | Fall 2015
Year Program Launched | Spring 2016
Country | US
Federal Region of Program | 5
Public or Private Institution | Private
Number of students at institution | 10,245

Highlight Articles/Videos

Partners

2016 | City of Delano • Population: 5,464
2016 – 2017 | City of Elk River • Population: 23,746
2016 – 2020 | Mississippi Watershed Management Organization
2016 – 2017 | Freshwater Society
2016 – 2017 | Tiny Footprint Coffee
2017 – 2019 | City of Big Lake • Population: 10,060
2017 – 2019 | PLACE’s Via Development in St. Louis Park, MN
2017 – 2024 | Metropolitan Council
2017 – 2024 | Metro Transit
2019 – 2020 | Pillsbury United Waite House Urban Farm, Minneapolis, MN
2019 – 2021 | City of Cottage Grove • Population: 35,632
2020 – 2023 | Caponi Art Park, Eagan, MN
2020 – 2023 | NūLoop Partners and Mpls Downtown Council, Minneapolis, MN
2020 – 2023 | City of Woodbury • Population: 70,840
2021 – 2022 | Saint Paul Almanac
2022 – 2025 | Center for Mission, Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis Creation Care Team
2022 – 2025 | Great Plains Institute, in partnership with GreenStep Cities

Contact Info

Maria Dahmus
Director, Sustainable Communities Partnership
(651) 962-6391
medahmus@stthomas.edu

Banner image graciously provided by: University of St. Thomas Photo 

]]> University of Iowa /stories/uiowa/ Thu, 28 Mar 2019 03:04:25 +0000 http://www.epicn.org/?post_type=case_stories&p=541 Read More... from University of Iowa

]]> Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities

Website | 

The Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC) is a campus-wide community engagement initiative located in the School of Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Iowa. We partner faculty, staff, and students with urban and rural communities to complete projects that enhance the sustainability of Iowa’s communities, while transforming teaching and learning at the university. Community needs are matched with the expertise and resources of university faculty, staff, and students through courses, independent studies and research projects.

Through developing projects that address community priorities while engaging faculty and students in high-impact, real-world projects, IISC draws stronger connections between the university and the state, advancing the university’s strong commitment to building mutually beneficial partnerships. These projects and partnerships enable IISC to address Iowa’s economic, environmental and socio-cultural challenges in ways that build a more sustainable future for the state, and more successful futures for our students.

Focus areas include community and economic development, cultural vitality, environmental sustainability, community health, and community education. These focus areas bring together departments from all over campus, such as Planning, Engineering, Art, Law, Public Health, Journalism & Mass Communications, and more. Over the course of a typical academic year, the IISC partners with 2-3 Iowa communities. More than 200 students contribute over 20,000 hours to the partnerships annually.

Fun Facts about IISC

IISC builds successful partnerships in communities all across the state of Iowa, whether it’s our own campus town of Iowa City, or a five hour drive to Sioux City on the western border. A recent community partner had this to say about the impact of partnering with IISC:

“Working with IISC has brought an outside perspective through both talented students and engaged faculty members, which complements our efforts to serve the community. The response from city leaders and citizens involved in the projects has been very positive.”

We continually improve our model to serve both urban and rural areas, as demonstrated by our partnership with a Resource Conservation & Development organization that serves a six-county region in southeast Iowa. Through this unique collaboration, we were able to serve rural communities within their service area. 

Year Program Established | 2009
Country | US
Federal Region of Program | 7Public or Private Institution | Public
Number of students at institution | 33,000

Highlight Articles/Videos

(University of Iowa Engineering News, 6/30/2025)

(Telegraph Herald, 7/11/2024)

City Partners

2009-10 | Wellman • Population: 1,408
2009-10 | Columbus Junction • Population: 1,848
2009-10 | Anamosa • Population: 5,533
2009-11 | Decorah • Population: 7,918
2010-11 | Oskaloosa • Population: 11,523
2010-11 | Charles City • Population: 7,457
2010-11 | Burlington • Population: 25,277
2011-13 | Dubuque • Population: 58,531
2013-14 | Washington • Population: 7,424
2013-14 | Muscatine • Population: 23,968
2013-15 | Cedar Rapids • Population: 131,127
2014-16 | Iowa City • Population: 74,398
2014-16 | Sioux City • Population: 168,714
2014-15 | Winneshiek County • Population: 20,709
2016-18 | Mason City • Population: 27,430
2016-18 | ECIA (regional council of governments)
2018-19 | Webster City • Population: 7,825
2019-20 | Keokuk • Population: 9,930
2020-21 | Waterloo • Population: 67,314
2020-21 | Manchester • Population: 5,065
2021-22 | Jackson County • Population: 19,485
2021-22 | Maquoketa River Watershed Management Authority
2022-2023 | Clinton • Population: 24,118
2023-2024 | Bondurant • Population: 9,511
2023-2024 | Dubuque • Population: 99,242
2024-2025 | Pathfinders Resource Conservation & Development
2024-2025 | West Burlington • Population: 3,184 / Burlington • Population: 23,637
2025-2026 | West Branch • Population: 2,526

Contact Info

Travis Kraus
Director
(319) 335-2798
travis-kraus@uiowa.edu

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