Bringing people together through public art
E
a conversation with
ach year the South Dakota neighborhood association and Zach DeBoer, Arts Council selects a Downtown Sioux Falls Inc. to SDAC Artist Fellow group of South Dakota create works of art that engaged artists to receive the Artist the community in interesting, Fellowship grant rewarding new ways. While not strictly individual artistic excellence. art-related, it also gave me the The $5,000 Fellowships, awarded time to run for city council in through a competitive grant Sioux Falls this past spring. process, reflect the variety and quality of art being produced in What are the unique South Dakota. challenges and rewards of A graduate of the University being an Artist In Schools & of South Dakota, Zach DeBoer is Communities? the owner of Exposure Gallery & Studios in Sioux Falls and a South Adjusting your lesson plan to fit Dakota Arts Council Artist In the personalities, abilities and Schools & Communities. DeBoer’s backgrounds of whatever group residency projects bring commuyou’re working with that week nities together for a series of can sometimes be tricky and creative workshops. As an artist require extra thought. However, and an active member of his I also view that challenge as a community, DeBoer has exhibited reward. Being forced to adapt his artwork in numerous venues and switch up my plans keeps me across the region and organized on my toes and keeps my ideas art events both at his own gallery fresh. I also love exploring and and other locations including public art murals, demonstrations, getting to know new towns I might not have visited if I weren’t artist business coaching and various tactical urbanism projects. a part of the program.
Arts Alive: How has your contact with art in a gallery setting with other artists affected your own art?
Zach DeBoer: When I opened my gallery, I started having less
and less time to concentrate on making my own artwork. I found a way to channel my creative energy into organizing art events, public murals and other collaborative projects where I could create artwork alongside groups of people. I see art as a tool that can be used to solve so many problems that face our communities: crime, personal health, traffic safety and other challenges can all be positively affected through the arts. Art is a universal answer and language that we can all benefit from.
What did this Fellowship allow you to explore as an artist? The Fellowship allowed me the time to work on a variety of projects including two street murals, a utility box wrap and two large scale art events. I was able to work more collaboratively with different groups like my
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Do you find that the geography or people of South Dakota have influenced your work? Between the two, the people influence my work more. Since most of my work is collaborative in nature, how and what is created depends entirely on who I’m working with. While not the same as geography, the environment where I install or create my projects also greatly effects the final product.
What are your artistic goals for the next year?
I hope to continue to work in the public realm to create projects that bring people together and create unique places. I also want to expand my work outside of Sioux Falls and start engaging with smaller rural communities to use art, design and community building to create change in their towns. Zach DeBoer helps kids to create at Riverfest in downtown Sioux Falls.
