Client: Minneapolis St Paul Ineternational Airport

Overview

What does connection, humanity, or love mean to you? How can we embody these ideas in our lives? These are the questions that artist Labovitz is driven to answer with 122 Conversations. Color and conversation seamlessly integrate, encouraging audiences to contemplate human connection. This is the second iteration of the 122 Conversations project and is a large-scale installation of 50 scrolls 122 Conversations: Person to Person, Art Beyond Borders was 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 and in collaboration with Duluth Sister Cities, International and 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. This installation iteration included the creation of 7 new works.

Goals

The goal is to transform public space through color and scale, create wayfinding and a gathering spce. Additionally to add color, energy and inspiration for travelers as they wait in long lines at the airport.

Process

Organized by the Tweed Museum of Art and in collaboration with Duluth Sister Cities, International and 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.

Additional Information

The artwork in the exhibition represented 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 by Labovitz in her studio and were inspired by the spirited interview exchanges. Each of the artworks depict an interpretative vision of the conversations that include faces, words, and descriptions of the experiences that relate to the individuals involved.