Art Restart Podcast: Shanai Matteson
Over the past two decades, Shanai Matteson has co-founded and led some of the region’s
most inventive and socially engaged cultural initiatives. Her celebrated Water Bar
& Public Studio has invited thousands in her community to “belly up” for a free tasting
flight of water while discussing water equity and environmental health with scientists,
activists and even policymakers.
In this interview, Shanai reflects on what it means to create art that belongs to a place and its people, how frontline activism reshaped her approach to community organizing and why persistence matters more than perfection. She also shares lessons from years of linking art, science and public policy and explains why, in her corner of rural Minnesota, tending to one another may be our surest path to a more just and sustainable future.
The Art Restart podcast is hosted by Pier Carlo Talenti and is produced by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts.
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Aug. 28, 2025