Experience Taking Shape: Exhibition at Normandale Community College (in-person)

After its display at the 2026 Obon Festival, Taking Shape, a large-scale ceramic installation by artist Juliane Shibata featuring ceramic cherry blossoms created through JASM community workshops, will be exhibited at Normandale Community College as part of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Normandale Japanese Garden. We hope you'll visit the exhibition and experience this evolving installation.

Taking Shape | Celebrating 50 Years of the Normandale Japanese Garden

August 18 – September 28, 2026

Location: Normandale Community College

Gallery of Fine Arts

9700 France Ave S., Bloomington, MN  55431

Exhibition dates: August 18 – September 28, 2026

Opening Reception: Wednesday, September 16, 4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.

50^th Anniversary of the Japanese Garden Celebration: Saturday, September 19,

12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

Gallery Website: https://www.normandale.edu/academics/degrees-certificates/art/fine-arts-gallery.html

After being displayed at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, Taking Shape will be exhibited at Normandale Community College in conjunction with the 50^th Anniversary of their Japanese Garden. In mid-July, Juliane will work with two sections of ceramics students at Normandale; their ceramic creations will contribute to the installation in the Gallery of Fine Arts.

About the Artist and Organizer

Juliane Shibata is a ceramic artist and educator based in Northfield, Minnesota. Her work is informed by the Japanese concept of mujō (mutability and impermanence) as well as the Pattern & Decoration movement. Juliane draws viewers to her work through the rhythm of repeated forms that visually energize the space around them. Her temporary installations in unexpected spaces draw attention to both the nature of our own existence in relation to the constructed environment and to traces of activity in and around the architecture we encounter.

Recent grants include a 2026 Forecast Public Art Mid-Career Project Grant, a 2026 Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, a 2025 Center for Craft Teaching Artist Cohort Grant, and a 2021 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists. Juliane has been a resident artist at Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Upperville, VA; Art Omi in Ghent, NY; The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China; Starworks Center in Star, NC; and the College of Biological Sciences Conservatory at the University of Minnesota.

Taking Shape is funded by Carleton College, Forecast Public Art, and the Minnesota State Arts Board.

This project is supported by Forecast Public Art through funding from The McKnight Foundation.

Juliane Shibata is a fiscal year 2026 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.