LOOKING BACK ON ART IS... SHOW AND TALES
Audience members react to community art making event at TPT
"Art creates a space for us to remember that we have agency, that we are able to create, and that it matters that we are here"
In connection with the Saint Paul Art Crawl in 2018, Twin Cities PBS hosted ART IS... Show & Tales. Visual artist Ta-coumba Aiken curated the night, which also featured the work of Angela Davis, Yijia Li and Christopher Aaron Deanes.
In case you missed the event, Aiken shares his reflection on the night below.
ART IS…Show & Tales was a BLAST. It is always a challenge to take a visual arts venue and give it life. With the amazing collaboration and presentation of Christopheraaron Deanes, Angela Davis, Yijia Li and myself, we were able to conjure up the spirit of creativity through the sharing of our artistic skills. This could only help with the enormous contribution of our audience collaborators. The curiosity, faith, joy and willingness to share their stories through our mediums was courageous and awe-inspiring.
The phrase “It takes a village” rang loud and clear at this event. People from two years of age to eighty–six shared their stories as they created their piece of a puzzle in a patchwork quilt. From the amazing food by Tabota Seyon at Right on Thyme, to tunes by DJ Kool Akiem, the place was jumping. Super big HUGE thanks to TPT for their total amazing insight and creative skills to pull all of this together. TPT is one of the greatest gifts to Minnesota and the world. We are so blessed to have them. I am so blessed to partner with them.
My Grandmother Carie had a saying, “Nothing beats a failure but a try!” I create my art to heal people and their communities by evoking a positive spirit.
PEACE IN!TAC
– Ta-coumba, Lead Artist for TPT’s ART IS…Show & Tales
See more stories from our multi-media series Art Is…
