Image credit: Sishirprithvi Bommakanti
Photo credit: Shun Jie Yong
Carry On Homes, the 2018 Creative City Challenge winner, is a multi-functional pavilion at The Commons hosting the stories of immigrants in Minnesota, where individuals come together to explore the concept of home through community gatherings, workshops, live performances and personal reflection. Home is a universal idea that transcends divisions by race, religion, gender identity, and class. At home, we belong, we feel safe, and we are loved. Join us at The Commons park in downtown Minneapolis, as we celebrate the immigrant cultures from around the world that have come to call Minnesota home.
Conceived by five artists from five countries: Peng Wu, Shunjie Yong, Aki Shibata, Preston Drum, Zoe Cinel and stemming from the Carry On Homes documentary photography project, this interactive sculptural installation reimagines the home as an open structure. Walls disappear, while invitations to engage appear in the multiple forms of a stage, a colorful mural, a reflecting garden, a photo gallery and a sculpture built from repurposed suitcases. This experience is free and open to everyone, everyday, beginning June 15, 2018 and lasting throughout the summer. This project was made possible by the City of Minneapolis’ Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy program in association with Northern Lights.MN and The Commons.
Carry On Homes Northern Spark performance schedule:
Friday, June 15
10pm-11pm: Social Jam
11pm-midnight: Chitra
Midnight-1am: Beijing Chinese Culture Center (Meihan Chen, Sha Sha, Liping Chai, Haiyan Su, Guangqing Lu, Hong Chen)
1am-2am: SciPreme from KFAI Radio
Saturday, June 16
9pm-10pm: Kalpulli Yaocenoxtli (Indigenous Roots)
10pm-11pm: Dua
11pm-midnight: Taylor Seaberg
Midnight-2am: Jacques Elate Joss/Douala Soul Collective from KFAI Radio
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Peng Wu is a social practice artist and designer based in Minneapolis. Internationally transplanted from China, he makes art to tell the stories encountered in the search for community and home. By responding to the tensions of social context, he creates public art that inspires actions for social change.
Shun Jie Yong is third generation Chinese immigrant from Malaysia and also a resident alien in the United States. He has been living here for nine years and still adapting to life in America. He is a portrait photographer who documents immigrants and refugees in the United States and in Malaysia.
Aki Shibata was born in Tokyo, Japan. She moved to the USA for her arts education, and graduated in 2007 with a BFA in Photography from the College of Visual Arts in Saint. Paul, MN. Shibata states that she “creates more places and ways to let people meet their peace.”
Preston Drum’s multimedia work explores notions of memory and performance through non-linear storytelling. His interactive installations often frame the audience as a participant in the art. He has been exhibited throughout the country at venues such as Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, The Minneapolis Institute of Art, and The Walker Art Center.
Zoe Cinel is a multidisciplinary artist from Florence, Italy, currently living in Minneapolis. Her work revolves around the effects of globalization and mobility on the human body, communication, identity, and community. Zoe sees art as platform for navigating her current status of a foreigner living in the US, using dialogue.