“The Builders: Shaping Minnesota’s Architectural Landscape on the Color Line”
A Public History Exhibition by the African American Interpretive Center of Minnesota
As co-curator I assisted with research on the exhibition which presented the social history of three black Minnesotans who impacted the architecture and design of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The lives and works of Clarence W. Wigington, Casiville Bullard, and William Hazel are still with us today, in our cultural landscape. More importantly, the exhibition will provide details on the racial, economic and social barriers that all three builders had to face in order to become successful.
Ice Castle blueprints for the 1937 St. Paul Winter Carnival from groundbreaking architect “Cap” Wigington.
Three main goals that AAICM achieved with the project:
With the use of maps and blueprints, the exhibition aimed to re-introduce the buildings that citizens from Minneapolis and Saint Paul feel they know. We wanted like the visitor to leave armed with knowledge that will allow them to identify and appreciate the work of these builders throughout the cities.
Using memoirs, letters, and family stories, the exhibition created a snapshot of the racial climate in which the builders performed their craft. We wanted the visitor to leave with a better sense of what 19th and 20th century life was like for black people who were born in or made Minnesota their home in this period.
AAICM also aimed to illustrate what career development looked like for black people in Minnesota in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Read more here.
