In celebration of Franconia Sculpture Park’s 25th Anniversary, Franconia launched the FSP Billboard Project, a rotating curatorial and art platform to amplify artists of color in Minnesota. In recognition of Franconia’s 2021 curatorial theme of “Authority & Visibility in Public Space,” this project makes visible the innovative creatives that contribute to Minnesota’s thriving and diverse cultural ecosystem.

Located at the intersection of Highways 8 and 95 in rural Shafer, Minnesota, the 10 x 28 foot billboard entitled “Happy to Be Here” will be on view through June 2022. Says Dominguez: “This work revisits that child-like sense of wonder and adventure that comes from finding a unique place and building a fort and making good friends that grow to be like family, about having a place where you can be yourself, feel safe, and be vulnerable.”

About the Artist
Born in Casa Grande, Arizona, the Minneapolis-based mixed media artist Jose Dominguez studied studio art at Winona State University. His kaleidoscopic paintings that incorporate whimsical imagery and text are visual riddles that are left open-ended for the viewers to keep coming back to.

This activity is funded through a grant from the East Central Regional Arts Council through an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State’s general fund.