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Arts Across the Prairie: Placemaking in Rural North Dakota is a first-of-its-kind, statewide, public art program from North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA). This program will create eight large-scale public works – one for each geographic region in the state – that reflect the unique history, landscape, and cultural heritage of each region. All eight works will be placed in rural locations. This program is in collaboration with the North Dakota Department of Transportation (a first in the US) and North Dakota Tourism/Commerce.

Arts Across the Prairie was developed to celebrate the cultural heritage of rural areas, foster creative relationships across counties and regions, bolster NDCA’s role as a rural development partner, and spur economic development through tourism. Furthermore, as a community-driven initiative, it aims to promote civic pride, affirm distinctiveness of place, and strengthen cultural identity. This program will create public-private partnerships throughout the state and will provide a national model of this type of creative placekeeping.

Goals of Arts Across the Prairie:

  • Foster creative cross-county networking and regional collaboration
  • Promote tourism for in- and out-of-state visitors
  • Stimulate economic development and activity in rural areas of North Dakota
  • Build stronger arts communities across the state
  • Invest in North Dakota's creative sector with professional training and support to heighten visibility
  • Bolster NDCA's role as a rural development partner
  • Celebrate the cultural heritage of rural areas
map of North Dakota with outlines around every county and color coding for all 8 regions

Funds are currently being raised nationally and regionally. This program has a $5 million budget over seven years. The first-of-its-kind state partnership with North Dakota Department of Transportation will contribute to roads, pull-outs, parking, and signage at selected sites.

The North Dakota Legislature issued an appropriation of $1 million dollars specifically for the interest earned on this amount to be utilized on infrastructure and maintenance over the life of the program.

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