A New Streetscape for George Floyd
In Minneapolis, stores throughout the city are shuttered, and a particleboard streetscape has emerged almost overnight. While some of those new planks remain bare wood and nails, they are being transformed by the hour. Where windows into shops once stood is an almost uninterrupted memorial for George Floyd demanding that all Minneapolis residents fight white supremacy, that the city fund social services instead of police forces, and more.
The sources of the murals and their messages are varied. Many have been meticulously designed by street artists to urge change; others have been quickly scrawled by demonstrators in protest; some have been commissioned by store owners as statements of solidarity; and some are defensive, designed to protect the wares or people inside. Regardless of the specific message or intention of these art pieces, what has emerged is an opaque façade that is no longer about making products visible or putting eyes on the street. Instead, a message is clear: in this time of tumult, justice is demanded.
To provide a sense of how densely these murals are packed into the city, all the photographs included in this visual essay were made along Hennepin Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood, about three miles from where George Floyd was murdered by officers of the Minneapolis Police Department. These murals are but a sample of the pieces on these blocks and a fragment of those in the city as a whole.
Artists whose work is depicted include Antz Creationz (@antz.creationz), Josh Browne (@yungjustinanderson), Jose Dominguez (@hozay_dmngz), Andres Guzman (@andresitoguzman), Antione Jenkins (@antione_jenkins3), BrieAnna Lindquist (@BrieAnnaPumpkin), Truely (@truyajas), the students of PiM Arts High School, and numerous anonymous artists.
Figure 1. 2411 Hennepin Ave S. on May 28, May 29, and June 5, 2020. Artists Jose Dominguez, Andres Guzman, and Truely. Photographs by David Schalliol.
Figure 2. 2411 Hennepin Ave S. Artists Jose Dominguez, Andres Guzman, and Truely. Photograph by David Schalliol, May 2020.
Figure 3. 2741 Hennepin Ave S. Artist(s) unknown. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
Figure 4. 2319 Hennepin Ave S. Artist(s) unknown. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
Figure 5. 2815 Hennepin Ave S. Artist(s) unknown. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
Figure 6. 2819 Hennepin Ave S. Artist(s) unknown. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
Figure 7. Hennepin Ave S, various addresses. Artists unknown. Photographs by David Schalliol, May and June 2020.
Figure 8. 2232 Hennepin Ave S. Artist(s) unknown. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
Figure 9. 2404 Hennepin Ave S. Artists Antz Creationz, Josh Browne, and Antione Jenkins. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
Figure 10. 2405 Hennepin Ave S. Artist BrieAnna Lindquist. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
Figure 11. 2945 Hennepin Ave S. Artist(s) unknown. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
Figure 12. 3001 Hennepin Ave S. Artists students of PiM Arts High School. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
Figure 13. 2880 Hennepin Ave S. Artist(s) unknown. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
Figure 14. 2323 Hennepin Ave S. Artist(s) unknown. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
Figure 15. 2880 Hennepin Ave S. Artist(s) unknown. Photograph by David Schalliol, June 2020.
