Connecting Stories, Systems, Creativity, and Community for Real-World Impact
Art Residencies & Workshops
herARTS in Action creates interactive art experiences that connect creativity, storytelling, environmental engagement, education, and community participation. Through artist residencies, workshops, murals, mixed media exploration, and collaborative projects, participants are invited to engage with art as a tool for expression, learning, communication, and connection.
Programs are designed to be accessible, hands-on, adaptable, and community-centered, encouraging participants of all ages and abilities to explore creativity while building confidence, curiosity, collaboration, and systems awareness. Using collage, mixed media, storytelling, environmental themes, and interactive engagement, workshops and residencies create opportunities for individuals and communities to better understand themselves, each other, and the world around them.
School Residencies
School residencies combine visual art, storytelling, systems thinking, environmental engagement, and hands-on creativity through interactive educational experiences tailored to classroom and community needs.
Residencies may include:
- Mixed media and collage workshops
- Environmental and watershed-themed art
- Literacy and storytelling connections
- Community-centered collaborative art
- Creative exploration and process-based learning
- Arts integration across subjects
- Adaptive and accessible artmaking approaches
Environmental & Community Art
Environmental art projects help communities engage more deeply with environmental stewardship, public spaces, and systems awareness through collaborative creative experiences.
Projects may include:
- Stormdrain mural initiatives
- Watershed and stormwater education
- Public art and environmental engagement
- Community-centered mural projects
- Interactive environmental programming
- Art connected to sustainability and stewardship
Interactive & Community Engagement
herARTS in Action believes creativity can strengthen relationships, build dialogue, and foster meaningful community engagement. Workshops and collaborative art experiences are designed to encourage participation, conversation, and connection across diverse audiences and settings.
Programs may support:
- Community-building initiatives
- Intergenerational engagement
- Team and relationship-building
- Cultural storytelling and collaboration
- Community celebrations and events
- Inclusive and accessible creative participation
Mixed Media & Collage Workshops
Mixed media and collage workshops encourage experimentation, storytelling, texture, observation, and creative problem-solving through accessible and engaging artmaking techniques.
Workshops may incorporate:
- Paper collage
- Drawing and illustration
- Found materials and layered storytelling
- Environmental themes
- Reflective and process-based artmaking
- Individual and collaborative artwork
Exhibitions & Collaborative Projects
herARTS in Action also participates in exhibitions, collaborative installations, public engagement projects, and community-centered creative initiatives that connect storytelling, systems awareness, environmental engagement, and community participation.
Sarah's Artist Statement
I am a self-taught, multidisciplinary artist working primarily in collage, storytelling, and writing due to chronic health conditions. My art centers African and Black joy, strength, and complexity so that my multi-ethnic daughter can see herself reflected with dignity and power. I also explore environmental storytelling through water systems, using art and narrative to help people understand how local actions connect to global impact.
Whether through visuals or words, I draw from lived experience to bridge understanding between communities. I am a connector and bridge builder, and I create through that lens. My goal is not only to make art but to spark dialogue, challenge assumptions, and deepen empathy.
I believe in creating with people, not just about them. When sharing others’ stories, I honor their voices, permissions, and truths. My work is collaborative and shaped by relationships, community insight, and collective vision and influenced by the visual storytelling of Romare Bearden and the bold textures and perspectives of Mickalene Thomas.
Originally, I used hand-ripped paper rather than scissors to accommodate my physical limitations. The act of ripping became symbolic: tearing through layers of injustice, racism, inequity, and lack of access to water or opportunity, then reassembling those fragments into something new. Each jagged edge tells a story of survival and reimagination. Even when scissors were used for this work, the symbolic intention remained.
Featured Art Projects
Romare Bearden Exhibition
Sarah and herARTS in Action hosted an exhibition in collaboration with the Romare Bearden Foundation and Nanette Bearden Estate, New York. Ten pieces of art created by the late Romare Bearden were on exhibit alongside ten pieces of Sarah’s work.
Black & African Minnesota Author Festival
We featured 12 Minnesota Black and African Authors during Covid-19. Watch authors read their books, a Q & A session, and do an art activity!
Polaha Celebrity Art Auction
Actor Kristoffer Polaha invited his friends to create art as a fundraiser for World Water Day in 2016, and #ArtInAction was born. In 2021 we had our last and largest group of celebrity participants.
Bring herARTS in Action to Your Community
Residencies, workshops, and community art projects may be customized based on age group, audience, goals, timeline, and community needs.
Mileage applies for programming located more than 30 minutes from St. Cloud, Minnesota. Depending on the scope and location of the engagement, travel fees may include mileage, lodging, flights, meals, and related expenses.
To inquire about workshops, artist residencies, environmental art projects, exhibitions, or collaborative programming, please visit the Contact page or email: [email protected].