I always loved art, even when I was young, It could be because I was surrounded  by it all the time. My mom has always been into design, my grandmother house was a marvel when it came to aesthetics, and was quite known in Minneapolis back in the day. My dad was a musician as well as a scholar, and my family are just generally creative people.

The museum experience in the Twin Cities was very much known to us. We often hung out at the Science Museums, The Walker Arts Center, and the Artist Quarter, not to mention various other culture institutions. There is also the park systems and places like Sabathani, Martin Luther King Park, Powderhorn, Central Minneapolis and Downtown Minneapolis, also were cultural hubs that became mainstays in my childhood. i have only recently become familiar with the Rondo neighborhood in terms of history, and Sibley in St. Paul.

One of my favorite places in the Twin cities is the  Minneapolis Institute of Arts. I was aware of the museum before we moved across the bridge to 25th and Blaisdale, when I was nine. It was a few blocks up the street from our house. I had just started attending Wilder Elementary, and found solace in hiding in the large hallways ornately decorated in filigree. I loved this place immediately. My sister had a job in events, and we would often show up and find ourselves behind the scenes. I loved anything MIA. I would go there after school and just wander in the halls. It features art from all over the world, ancient art, and I loved to study the history of the world. The expanse and migration of cultures. The  way they decorated themselves, the pottery, and the story of their belief systems wrapped in legends. It was all I needed at the time. I was in band, choir, dance, and was class president in school, always going on trips to perform, practicing, or preparing. There was not a lot of time to be alone, or with my twin just walking around. We clowned made jokes, and soon became recognized by the security guards. There is a security guard that still works there that recognizes me to this day.

After all these years, I still retreat there, especially when I am stressed, it re balances me, a place that has been such an important part of my world, at times sanity.

The way I love art, has never been in compartmental boxes. I love art in the way i love languages, the way I think people are precious gems, the way I believe we travel through stories. I have pictures of my last trip.

check them out!