Support from the Gene Beiwen and Noel Van Tol Fund and the Marian Anderson Fund, both held at the Mankato Area Foundation, helped bring a vibrant new mural to Lower North Mankato.

Mankato Free Press (July 2026) — MANKATO — When artists Dinah Langsjoen and Dana Sikkila began imagining a mural for Belgrade Avenue, they started not with sketches, but with words.

Emergence. Interconnectedness. Creativity.

From there came images inspired by North Mankato’s natural landscape — blossoms, foliage, a red-winged blackbird — rendered through color and shape rather than literal symbols of the arts.

“We wanted to take that idea of emergence and other identification marks of the area, the landscape, like the foliage and the birds, and represent it through that,” Sikkila said.

The mural was commissioned through CityArt, an initiative that works to cultivate creativity and draw visitors to the area. But the finished piece is also a product of the artists’ friendship, their distinct working styles and their shared belief that public art should connect people to a place — and to one another.

Sikkila invited Langsjoen to collaborate after seeing the call for artists. Langsjoen, who grew up in North Mankato, brought memories of the city from childhood. Sikkila, who has lived in the area for about 20 years, approached it from a different perspective.

They walked and biked through the community, talking about what defined North Mankato and how its character could be translated visually. Langsjoen was especially drawn to the spring blossoms around Spring Lake Park.

“It’s honestly what I think of when I think of North Mankato,” she said.

Their working methods differed. Sikkila wrote down keywords and developed lists of images that could represent them. Langsjoen carried out what she called a “scatterbrained brainstorm” in her head. The contrast proved complementary.

“My scatterbrained brainstorm was balanced very well by hers,” Langsjoen said. “It was a faster approach, I think, to a unified idea because we both came at it our own way, but had that same thing.”

The greater concern was how two artists with individual styles could produce something cohesive without either disappearing from the work. That required candid conversations and trust.

On the wall, they avoided dividing the mural into “hers” and “mine.” Both painted throughout the composition, switching areas, sharing colors and using similar brushes so the finished piece would carry both of their hands without appearing visually fractured.

“We want to make sure that it’s cohesive-looking and that we both have equal hands in it,” Sikkila said.

That collaboration reflects the broader purpose of the mural, she said. Public art is not merely the object left behind. It includes the artists working together, the organizations supporting the project and the residents who stop to watch, ask questions or offer encouragement.

“The process of developing the work is also part of how we’re viewing public art,” Sikkila said. “It’s not just the end product.”

That process became tangible when three young girls stopped near the mural. Seeing their interest, Langsjoen invited each to paint a small portion. One worried she might make a mistake.

“I’m like, ‘No, you’re not. We’re artists. We’ll fix it if you do,’” Langsjoen said.

Those children will now pass the mural knowing they helped create it — a small but lasting connection between artwork and community.

Public art will never appeal equally to everyone, Sikkila acknowledged. Its value also lies in prompting conversation, whether viewers love a piece, dislike it or simply wonder what it means.

“Art is subjective,” she said. “Having a conversation around art — someone who loves it, or who doesn’t love it, or is questioning it — that’s still a conversation that’s being had.”

For Langsjoen, the mural may also help young people see art as something created not by distant or unknowable figures, but by artists living and working in their own community.

“It humanizes the artist,” Sikkila said.

And, Langsjoen hopes, it may become an early step toward more public art in North Mankato — inspiring another artist, another mural and another generation to add something of its own.