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BISMARCK - Arts Across the Prairie: Placemaking in Rural North Dakota has announced Shayna Grandbois and Derek Poitra as the selected artist team for Arts Across the Prairie in Region 3, themed "Heart of the Land, Spirit of Unity."
The selection committee was drawn to Grandbois's and Poitra's proposal for its invitation to gather and rest and its incorporation of key themes related to "Heart of the Land, Spirit of Unity," which stakeholders outlined and shared in a guiding narrative.
The artwork will feature two large-scale arches bending towards the middle, creating a dome-like area. The arches will be constructed from metal, featuring carved out designs relevant to the diverse peoples and cultures in north-central North Dakota's Region 3. Featured under the arches are benches and stone pavers inscribed with key words, altogether inviting visitors to gather, rest and be.
The project will be installed at a rural site located 7 miles north of Warwick on Woodrutten Road. The site highlights the area's varied landscape, featuring sweeping views of cropland, small and large bodies of water, and, in the distance, a view of the Devils Heart Butte.
"Being selected for this project is both an honor and a responsibility," Grandbois and Poitra shared. "We look forward to listening, learning and collaborating with the communities of Region 3 to create a work of art that is meaningful, enduring and deeply connected to the people and landscape it will call home."
The artist team will work through the 2027-29 biennium to execute the artwork, collaborating with stakeholders, NDCA, and other partners.
Grandbois and Derek Poitra, both Turtle Mountain Chippewa/Ojibwe artists, bring decades of experience, cultural knowledge and deep personal connection to their creative practices. Grandbois, a second‑generation stone sculptor based in Santa Fe, has spent nearly 30 years shaping monumental and expressive works that honor her heritage, the land, and the legacy of her late father, renowned sculptor Rollie A. Grandbois. Her sculptures have been exhibited nationally and internationally.
Poitra's artistic career spans more than 25 years across painting, sculpture and tattooing, each grounded in his Ojibwa heritage and a lifelong dedication to craftsmanship, symbolism and storytelling. His work explores light, form, anatomy and emotional resonance, whether on canvas or in the deeply personal medium of tattooing. Now living in St. John, Poitra's connection to the Turtle Mountain community, Northern Plains landscape, and Ojibwe traditions continues to shape his artistic vision.
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. The program is overseeing the creation of eight large-scale public artworks - one for each geographic region in the state - that reflect the unique history, landscape and cultural heritage of each place.