Minnesota State Fair announces 2022 commemorative artist
![Minnesota State Fair Minnesota State Fair](https://kstp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/STATEFAIR_1280X720.jpg)
Minnesota State Fair
The Minnesota State Fair announced Tuesday that artist Leslie Barlow has been chosen to create the 2022 fair commemorative art.
Barlow is a Minneapolis-based visual artist, educator and cultural worker who creates life-sized oil paintings. Her work looks at how race intertwines into our personal lives. Barlow draws on community dialogue and personal experiences as artistic inspiration.
![](https://kstp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Leslie-Barlow-State-Fair-artist-2022.jpg)
(Minnesota State Fair)
“I often paint the kinds of narratives and portraits that feel underrepresented in our visual culture, images that would have been meaningful for me to witness as a young person,” Barlow said in a press release.
The artist went on to explain her excitement for creating the special fair artwork.
“The Minnesota State Fair always brings those fuzzy feelings of nostalgia for me. As a kid, every year I looked forward to my whole family getting together at the fair, and it was the kind of anticipation and joy similar to the feelings you get when celebrating a holiday. As an adult, I still look forward to the art, the food, the music, and the chance run-ins with friends and fam amongst the chaos of the crowd.”
Barlow’s commemorative 2022 State Fair art piece will be unveiled in June and be available to purchase as a poster and on other merchandise. Profits support the Minnesota State Fair Foundation nonprofit.
Barlow attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout where she graduated with a BFA. She went on to earn her MFA at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She has been the recipient of a handful of art fellowships and grants. At the state fair last year, she was part of the group of a dozen artists who created pieces for the “Joyful World Mural Park” project at the fairgrounds.
The 2022 Minnesota State Fair runs Aug. 5 – Sept 5.