New festival focuses on public art, local artist of color

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - At the corner of 27th Avenue South and East Lake Street in south Minneapolis, an old shipping container sits a dozen feet above a vacant lot. But the steel structure is really a piece of public art.

"It gives me the opportunity to reflect on things. It gives me the opportunity to tell stories and to document very specific things, in this case, the LatinX community in Minnesota," said local artist Xavier Tavera.

Tavera came up with "Evocation Of A Latin Dance Hall" to commemorate El Nuevo Rodeo nightclub which burned to the ground on that spot during the unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd, who once worked security there, as did the man who killed him, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Tavera carved the outlines of nine archetypes of the Latino community into the 42-foot-long container, lining up to get into the club that was on the second floor.

"To evoke the memory of a place where a lot of us had a lot of fun, that we are able to display the culture and to relax a little bit, listen to music and have a good time with friends," said Tavera.

Tavera's work is part of the first-ever Wakpa Triennial Art Festival, which features 35 projects from more than 100 artists scattered across Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Wakpa is the Dakota word for river and the public art projects include everything from murals to sculptures, many of them outdoors and most of them from local artists of color.

"Sometimes our art scene can be characterized as being primarily white European artists, but we know that there's an amazing group, you know, hundreds and actually thousands of artists of color working in the twin cities and this was an opportunity for them to speak to a broad audience," said Colleen Sheehy, Executive Director of Public Art St. Paul.

Tavera hopes people who see his work get a glimpse of Latinx culture in Minnesota.

"It's important for us to remember places and situations that made us feel good, that made us feel part of a community, and that we enjoyed a lot," said Tavera.

The Wakpa Triennial Art Festival started June 24 and runs through Sept.16.