Community shines bright in new Roseville mural
A collaboration between Arts Roseville, the Roseville Area Community Foundation, and Showtime Studio & Coffee
When community comes together, beautiful things become possible.
On Tuesday, Oct. 14, a new mural painted on the north side of Showtime Studio & Coffee was officially finished and dedicated. A rainy evening did not stop the enthusiastic gathering of community members to celebrate the mural and the collaboration between Arts Roseville, the Roseville Area Community Foundation, and Showtime Studio & Coffee.
Showtime co-owner Matt Sieberg said his building, located at 2700 Lexington Ave. N, had an old brick wall in need of some TLC. It was stained and discolored, and cleaning it would be expensive and environmentally harmful. So he approached Arts Roseville with an idea to commission a mural for that space. Sieberg is on the board of Arts Roseville, an all volunteer-led nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the arts and supporting artists in Roseville. The board approved the plan to apply for a grant from the Roseville Area Community Foundation to fund the project.
"One of the objectives of Arts Roseville is to create and facilitate creative projects. In doing so, artists who participate benefit in many ways. The Showtime mural is a great example of how it works," Bob Murphy, chair of the board for Arts Roseville, told the Roseville Reader.
In late 2024, Arts Roseville applied for a grant from the Roseville Area Community Foundation and Murphy and Sieberg presented their vision for the mural and how it would benefit the community. They were awarded $5,000 for the project and given a deadline to finish the mural by the end of 2025.
The Roseville Area Community Foundation is a local nonprofit that distributes a portion of the proceeds from pull tabs—lawful gambling—to local nonprofits on behalf of the City of Roseville.
"We [fund] an amazing amount of different varieties of things. We collaborate with the school a lot. Sometimes with sports, sometimes with the arts. Trying to make the community more positive," said June Stewart, a Roseville Area Community Foundation board member.
Sieberg identified an artist he knew through Showtime—Nate Malischke, who is also a breakdancer who goes by the B-boy name Nate Crash. Malischke has painted several murals around the Twin Cities and he leapt at the opportunity to paint a mural at Showtime.
"I don't really know any other place that's like this that supports the arts," Malischke said at the mural dedication.
Malischke started work on the mural in the summer, working layer by layer until the final work was complete. As he painted, people would walk by on their way to Showtime or other places in the neighborhood.
"I’m very encouraged and humbled by how many people come by and were smiling, saying, 'It’s awesome. This is so cool,'" Malischke said.
He was given an open-ended brief, with some basic concepts and ideas. Arts Roseville wanted it to be bright, beautiful, and representative of the community. The final result: a sun shining brightly over colorful flowers, with silhouettes of people dancing, making music, ice skating, and playing with a dog. The word ROSEVILLE is emblazoned in large letters vertically along the right edge of the wall. On the left, logos for The Roseville Area Community Foundation and Arts Roseville are painted.
"It speaks volumes and welcomes everybody to Roseville. It is a daily reminder for all who drive by and see it often that Roseville is a place of warmth, beauty and friendliness," Murphy said.
Roseville Area Community Foundation board member Michelle Kruzel said she was proud the foundation supported this project.
"Other work we don’t see because it’s behind the scenes, but this is really nice and tangible," Kruzel said.
Ramsey County Commissioner Mary Jo McGuire, who is also on the board of the Roseville Area Community Foundation, was at the event on Tuesday too.
"The mural is gorgeous. Now it’s making me think we really need more murals around. We have a mosaic mural we’ve funded at McCarrons Lake, and now we have a painted mural," McGuire said. "It is such a great, positive presentation."
Promoting the Arts in the Community
In addition to being a coffee shop and a place to take music lessons, Showtime Studio & Coffee rents out space to musicians and artists to practice and perform. They also host concerts and casual jam sessions for musicians to play together, among other community events. Showtime sponsors the breakdancing community by letting Malischke and other breakdancers use the space free of charge.
The Showtime owners are eager to come up with more ways to support young creators and connect community collaborators. They encourage others to do the same.
"If you own it, take care of it. If people can see it, make it beautiful," Sieberg said.
Another way they support the arts community is by hosting Arts Roseville monthly board meetings.
"This is so exciting. We love community events like this and we love community places like this. We really needed this in Roseville. I’m always looking for more opportunities to gather and we love having local opportunities to gather. We love music. We love coffee. This is a great combination," McGuire said.
Arts Roseville promotes the arts through a monthly Featured Artist program, by bringing in artists from the local community and the broader Twin Cities area to present about their craft. These events happen at the Ramsey County Library in Roseville on Saturday mornings. Most recently, Roseville resident Debbie Boyles, a textile artist, was the featured artist in October.
On Saturday, Nov. 29, two Arts Roseville board members, Eeris Fritz and Terry Storhaug, are collaborating with Showtime Studio to host a winter art festival. Local artists will be selling their work and musicians will be performing all day. Storhaug and Fritz will be hosting as Santa and Mrs. Claus, ready to take photos with kids and families. The event will be at Showtime 12:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Arts Roseville is already dreaming about their next community art project.
Disclosure: This reporter is a volunteer member of the board of Arts Roseville as of September 2025.
Naomi Krueger
