We were lucky to catch up with Dana Sikkila recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I guess I don’t have a specific event to where I knew I wanted to work in the creative field. Its been a mixture of growing into the field, having a passion for it, and really feeling I’m not good at anything else…. I need to be successful because I don’t know what else my hands would want to do or could do.

But I do know, my younger years did shape my passion today. I grew up in Litchfield Minnesota, and always struggled as a young person, trying to find my path as a creative individual. In high school we were never taught about creative working fields. Barely graduating high school I then moved to Mankato in 2004 to attend MNSU, at that time my view on education was not very heathy. But once I was surrounded by creative mentors and able to take more hands on classes in art and theatre, I excelled in my educator and my passion for art. Having this experience of transformation has really driven what I do today.

Dana, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

In my creative career I define myself as an arts administrator, educator, visual artist, consultant, and public speaker. I’m constantly juggling multiple jobs at one time, in the same day, in the same second. I truly feel the only way I get all my work done is due to my manic energy. I’ve been able to take something that’s seen as a downfall and use it to strengthen my multitasking, forward thinking, and communication.

My administrative career started in 2012 when I took over as Director for the 410 Project, Community Art Space in downtown Mankato, Minnesota. I was in graduate school for printmaking and had no previous administrated experience, I jumped into it naive, but I knew the importance of the space to the community as well as to myself. I had my first solo exhibit at the 410 Project in my undergrad, and letting the space close was not an option for me. So, I took it on, and learned as I went. Now, in 2022 I’ve been in running the space for 10 years, and the space has allowed hundreds of artists to grown, learn and network.

My work as a whole, focuses on providing art experiences to a wide variety of audiences, and using those experiences as educational and processes tools. If it’s teaching a child how to mix colors for the first time, to leading incarcerated inmates in art making to help process personal trauma. My practices span audiences and works with creatives in the creation of their work but also on how to sustain in life from their passion. Meeting with artists through one on one consultations I’m able to listen and support artists in their creative goals.

But I’m not working with others you can find my in my own studio, working in printmaking, painting, and mixed media. That multi-tasking flows over from my administration brain to my studio practice .

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

What drives my creative journey is being able to live and sustain my life through my true self. At 36 years old, I’ve been adamant about staying true to who I am as an artists, an educator and a leader. I don’t fit into your typical mold of an arts administrator. I remember walking into city meeting and not being taken seriously, that my appearance wasn’t what was seen as a professional, or with my name being Dana everyone automatically thought I’d be a man. I want to always keep creating and learning, the through that constant creating always comes the next opportunity. I also look back at my childhood and think about when I was happy and when I wasn’t. I had a loving family but I know if I would have had more creative outlets I would have had a different emotional journey. I want to make sure as an adult now that I’m providing ways for the young creatives in my community to have those outlets.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I feel I’ve built my social media presence in an organic way, building it a chunk at a time. I try to share a balance of my creative work along with who I am outside of my work. But to be honest, art is most of my life, there isn’t too much separation between my business and personal life. I use my social media to connect to others working in my field as well as people who are working in areas where I have goals. I communication a lot with people online so my followers know they can reach out to me anytime. It’s a balance of personal and professional, but also mixing in a few photos of my dogs.

Contact Info:

• Website: danasikkila.com
• Instagram: @murphysikkila
• Facebook: Dana Sikkila Murphy