Prince from Minneapolis Exhibit opens in Seattle at MoPOP April 6
The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in partnership with The Weisman Art Museum is excited to announce a new exhibition, Prince from Minneapolis opening April 6, 2019 and remaining on view through January 4, 2020.
Prince from Minneapolis features nearly 50 artifacts, including photography, artwork, instruments, and
costumes worn by the Purple One, examining the icon’s image, his influence on other artists and on
fans, and highlighting his unique relationship to Minneapolis and Minnesota.
“Prince embodied so many of the themes we like to explore at MoPOP,” said Brooks Peck, MoPOP
Curator. “He drew on the work of the greats who came before him, yet created his own, truly original
style and sound. He defied convention and broke boundaries, and he continues to inspire musicians as
well as artists of all kinds to this day.”
At the start of his career, Prince worked to create a unique and dynamic professional image. He
collaborated with photographers in his local community, and several Minneapolis artists participated in
the construction and dissemination of what is now his legendary image and identity. Four Minneapolis
photographers —Allen Beaulieu, Nancy Bundt, Terry Gydesen, and Robert Whitman—are showcased in
the exhibition, along with Troy Gua, a Seattle based artist, who uses art doll recreations of the megastar
in different settings, and the Mexican American de la Torre brothers, who created memorial spirit
figures in glass at Minneapolis’s FOCI glass studio days after Prince’s death.
“WAM is thrilled that Prince from Minneapolis will soon be landing and expanding at MoPOP, Seattle.
From early photographs of the mega-star by Minneapolis artists to artworks of all kinds – paintings,
blown glass and even a bicycle – inspired by Prince, the exhibition strives to manifest the well known
adage that “everyone has a Prince story,” said Diane A. Mullin, Weisman Art Museum Senior Curator.
“We look forward to the Seattle chapter.”
Also on view will be a portrait by famed Minnesotan seed artist, Lillian Colton, a painting representing
city walls covered with flyers and graffiti by the Turkish painter Burhan C. Doğançay, and a Prince bicycle
by independent frame builder Eric Noren of Peacock Groove. The bike won Best in Show and Best
Theme Bike at the 2017 North American Handmade Bicycle Show, and was commissioned by and is on
loan from Anna Schwinn, great-great-granddaughter of the legendary late nineteenth-century bicycle
pioneer, Ignaz Schwinn.
From Minneapolis to Seattle, San Diego, and New York City, and from mural painting to seed art, glass,
and a custom bicycle, Prince from Minneapolis showcases examples of inspiration and broad
geographical and cultural reach of the artist known as Prince.
Organized by the Weisman Art Museum
KEY DATES:
Press Preview: April 3, 2019
MoPOP Member Exclusive Preview: April 5, 2019
Exhibition Launch Party: April 5, 2019
Exhibition Open to Public: April 6, 2019 through and including January 4, 2020
For more info, visit www.MoPOP.org/Prince
ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF POP CULTURE (MoPOP)
MoPOP is a leading-edge nonprofit museum in Seattle, with a mission to make creative expression a lifechanging
force by offering experiences that inspire and connect our communities. MoPOP reaches
multigenerational audiences through our collections, exhibitions, community engagements, and
educational programs, bringing understanding, interpretation, and scholarship to the pop culture of our
time. For more information, visit www.MoPOP.org
ABOUT THE WEISMAN ART MUSEUM
Since its origin in 1934, the Weisman Art Museum has been a teaching museum for the University of
Minnesota. Today, education remains central to the museum’s mission to
create art experiences that spark discovery, critical thinking, and transformation, linking the University
and the community.