My first installation at Minneapolis St Paul International Aiport, Bloomington, MN. 122 Conversations: Person to Person, Art Beyond Borders is an artist-led project based on the art of engagement — art derived from the process of interconnection and cross-cultural dialogue. Organized by the Tweed Museum of Art in collaboration with Duluth Sister Cities International, and the University of Minnesota Duluth School of Fine Arts, the project celebrates the combined 122 years of relationship with Duluth’s five Sister Cities: Rania, Iraqi Kurdistan, Växjö, Sweden, Petrozavodsk, Russia, Thunder Bay, Canada, and Ohara Isumi-City, Japan. The project is a catalyst for positive social change, one individual at a time.
These works span six years of planning and creating and 60 Skype or in person interviews involving ten residents from each of the six Sister Cities, including the mayor of each city. The large-scale paintings were created in the studio and were inspired by the spirited interview exchanges. The work chronicles the essence of human interaction through relational listening into palimpsest paintings and video. They are created to be hung in a variety of ways, rolled on top, puddled on the floor, rolled at the bottom, and the length is customizable. Some clients frame them while others hang them with grommets or pont magnets.
