Jadine Collingwood

Unlike some of the monumental sculptures in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, which strike imposing silhouettes on the downtown skyline, Shadows at the Crossroads, by St. Paul–based artists Ta-coumba T. Aiken, Seitu Jones, and Rosemary Soyini Vinelle Guyton, is made on a decidedly human scale, both in its physical form and its concept. Here, a look behind the scenes at the making of this intimate, locally resonant work.

The subject of the “room”—from the artist’s studio to domestic settings to public places—has captured the interest of artists throughout history. As many of us remain quarantined in our homes (or are perhaps are finally venturing outside), curators Siri Engberg and Jadine Collingwood take us on a virtual tour of works in the exhibition Five Ways In to explore how artists convey the routines, pleasures, and complexities of our lives indoors.

While his series Seven Rooms of Hospitality constitutes a clear indictment of the nationalist politics that have produced the global refugee crisis, Siah Armajani also finds hope in the project, attempting to revive the revolutionary internationalist energy of the avant-garde, alongside the communal impulse of vernacular American building.