Meeting approves final designs for 2027 Corn Palace ‘Safari’ murals

The meeting voted to approve the final, colorized renditions for the 2027 Corn Palace murals, selecting nine images from 54 submissions and directing small design changes to ease transfer to a corn medium. Director said the group should release the images to the public in time for tourist season.

“My name is Deanna Davidson. I’m a student at Dakota Wesleyan. I’m helping with the production of the Corn Palace murals for this year,” said Deanna Davidson after she came forward to answer questions about the designs. The student confirmed she could make adjustments if needed.

Director noted the displayed renditions were the final colorized images for the nine murals chosen from the larger pool. “These are the renditions, colorized for corn of the 9 murals we chose out of the 54 that they gave us originally,” the Director said, explaining the selection and the practical limits of the corn installation process.

Officials discussed a handful of specific changes recommended for installation: reducing or removing a small animal figure in one panel, simplifying fine detail on the meerkats to make the design more workable in corn, removing a cartoonish safari vehicle from one image, and using sourdough and rye grains for geometric border elements rather than attempting fine internal detail with corn. Staff said Jeff Hanson and the team who perform the corn installation will make final determinations when transferring the art to the corn medium.

A motion to approve the drawings and release the designs to the public was made, seconded, and carried. Following the vote the Director thanked the artist and staff involved. The designs will move forward to final preparation for installation; staff will make the minor, technical adjustments described before the physical transfer to corn.