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Speaking of Home

To mark Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial (150th year anniversary) the public art project Speaking of Home will be installed over Nicollet Mall from July – November 2008. The location for the project is at the city’s nerve center of commerce and human traffic, the Skyway bridge connecting the IDS and Macy’s buildings between 7th and 8th Street.

Today, over 120 languages are spoken by children enrolled in the Minneapolis and St. Paul public school system. Speaking of Home project leader and curator Nancy Ann Coyne uses the IDS/Macy’s Skyway bridge’s twenty-three 13’x10’ glass windows to reinterpret the built environment through photography, while revealing Minnesota’s history of immigration and rich diversity. Speaking of Home, a pilot project, marks the first time—ever—that the Twin Cities Skyways will be used for any type of art or civic project.

Speaking of Home asks a cross-section of our new American community and communities of color from Minneapolis and St. Paul the question "What does home mean to you?" In a series of lectures, we will explore issues and ideas connected with the exhibit, such as the function of public art, immigration to Minnesota, affordable housing, and art and design in downtown cityscapes. All presentations will take place in the Macy's Skyroom on the 12th floor of the downtown Minneapolis Macy's store -- 11 floors above the exhibit.

Tuesday, August 12
"Speaking of Home: Immigration to Minnesota" - Conversation with Donna Gabaccia and IBé

Donna Gabaccia is the Director of the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota. IBé was born in Kankan, Guinea, and grew up between Koindu, Sierra Leone; Evanston, Illinois; and St. Cloud, Minnesota. He has his mailing address in Minneapolis, but ask him where is home, he would tell you The Middle of the Atlantic. IBé is a writer and spoken-word performer.
5:30 p.m., Macy's Skyroom, 700 Nicollet Mall

Tuesday, August 26
"Public Art as Conversation Starter ": A talk with Jack Becker and Peter Eleey

Public art succeeds by stimulating specific dialogue around its situation, and might best be judged by the quality of that dialogue. Hear Walker Art Center curator Peter Eleey and Forecast Public Art founder Jack Becker discuss the general condition of public art in the United States, and the challenges facing artists addressing diverse audiences.
5:30 p.m., Macy's Skyroom, 700 Nicollet Mall

Tuesday, September 23
"The Making of Speaking of Home: Artist's Conversation on the Creation of the Twin Cities' First Skyway Art Project

This conversation with Nancy Ann Coyne, Vickie Benson and Ben Heywood will explore the creative forces that led to the construction of the Speaking of Home project. Nancy Ann Coyne is a photographer and public artist. Since 1984, she has lived and worked in the US, Europe, Israel, and the Republic of Georgia as a photographer, consultant, and independent scholar. Vickie Benson is Program Director for the Arts at the McKnight Foundation. Ben Heywood is executive director of the Soap Factory, an exhibition space located in the National Purity Soap Company building in Minneapolis that showcases risk-taking visual art by new and emerging artists.
5:30 p.m., Macy's Skyroom, 700 Nicollet Mall

Please visit the Speaking of Home website for further information and events

Speaking of Home Project Partners

The Family Housing Fund
Forecast Public Art
Intermedia Arts
CommonBond Communities
Hope Community
The Jeremiah Program
The Skyway Advisory Committee of the Downtown Council
The City of Minneapolis Department of Public Works

Sponsorship

Current foundation and in-kind business support for the Speaking of Home Series includes Wells Fargo Foundation,The McKnight Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Carolyn Foundation, the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation, the Thrivent Financial Foundation for Lutherans, General Mills, Spectrum Trust of the St. Paul Foundation, Elmer L. & Eleanor J. Andersen Foundation, the Minneapolis Foundation, the Charlson Foundation, the State of Minnesota through the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission’s grant program, the RBC Dain Rauscher Foundation, the Archie D. and Bertha H. Walker Foundation, TCF Bank Foundation, Portland Color/Digital Imaging Service; HartungKemp Design Agency, Brad Palm, LLC, Borman & Schulkers Law firm, Albinson’s/ProColor, VISI Incorporated, Fisher Textiles and Hilord Chemical Corporation, with additional supporters pending.