Franconia Sculpture Park is an outdoor sculpture park, that offers a unique combination of work, residence, and exhibition space for emerging and established artists. Its mission is to foster an inspiring environment for artists to expand their skills and promote the public education of three-dimensional art. The 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) park, with a rotating collection of over 75 contemporary sculptures, reflects the creative talents of local, national, and international artists and is free and open to the public, from dawn to dusk, 365 days a year. In 2009, Franconia was the only Minnesota arts organization outside of the Twin Cities to receive National Endowment for the Arts/American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. In 2010, the park was among the selected grantees to receive part of the $20 million allocation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund in the State of Minnesota.

History

Franconia Sculpture Park was founded in 1996 by a small group of visionary artists led by sculptor and educator John Hock

John Hock, Sculptor

John Hock is the founding director and now Artistic Director of Franconia Sculpture Park in Franconia, Minnesota. Hock is a sculptor, educator, curator and arts administrator. He was born and grew up in Washington, D.C. In addition, Hock is the chief curator and manager for the City of St....

. The group shared a vision for an arts community where artists would be given the physical space, technical assistance, and funding they needed to create and exhibit new work.
The park is governed by a dynamic Board of Directors that in 2010 includes: Nicholas P. Slade, Libby Hlavka, C. Fuller Cowles, Michael D. Bigger, Peter Curtis, Amy Hertel, Gar Hargens, John Hock, Jon Isherwood, David Linder, Douglas Padilla, Josine Peters, with an Advisory Board including: Michel Bergeron, Tom Borrup, Sage Cowles, Rico Gatson, Tasha Hock, Su-Chen Hung, Chris Larson, and Herman J. Milligan, Jr.
The original 16 acres (64,749.8 m²) park was two miles (3 km) east of the current location and in 2006 the park moved from its original location to the current 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) site. Since 1996, Franconia has established a reputation as one of the country's most innovative sculpture parks.

Artist Programs

Franconia offers programs that support emerging and established visual artists as they create new sculpture to be sited specifically at the park. Artists are selected to work and show at Franconia because of their determination, the way they challenge themselves, and the positive effect their new work will have on their career. Artists are encouraged to work on a physical and intellectual scale not generally available to them and to realize the potential of their individual ambition, talents and vision. Artists are creating new work at the park from April through November.

Education + Community

Since its beginning in 1996, Franconia has maintained a commitment to arts education and providing accessibility to a broad audience supported by its partnerships with schools and at-risk youth organizations that allow students to experience contemporary sculpture in a rural setting, talk with working artists, and explore the creative process through hands-on sculpture workshops. In addition, Franconia has a lively schedule of programs for art lovers of all ages including the Kids Make Sculpture workshops, weekly artist-led tours, twice monthly 3-D Symposiums, and the 3-D Summer Concert Series. At the core of Franconia's programming is a commitment to making visual arts accessible to both artists and audience.

Annual events

Each year Franconia hosts an annual Community Collaboration Hot Metal Pour in August, the Art & Artists Celebration in September, a Pie & Wine Potluck Soiree in November, and a Valentine's Day Iron Pour.

Location

Franconia Sculpture Park is located at the intersection of Highways 8 and 95, near Taylors Falls, in the St. Croix River Valley region of Minnesota, United States, North America.