An exhibit for the people’s Prince

"Shining on" by Betsy Shannon has more than 15,000 beads sewn into fabric. It will be among the works in The People's Museum for Prince exhibit at Roberts Gallery in North Minneapolis. 

By David Pierini, Editor

Prince grew up in south Minneapolis and famously lived at Paisley Park. But the Northside can claim the late musician’s heart and soul.

As a young creative, Prince honed his musical gifts at The Way Community Center and even lived for a time at the Willard-Hay home of Bernadette Anderson, whose son, André Cymone, was a bassist for some of Prince’s early bands. His first box office show was at the Capri Theater.

A traveling museum will open not far from Ms. Anderson’s former house, as an homage to the deepest of his roots. 

The People’s Museum for Prince opens June 7, Prince’s birthday, at Roberts’ Gallery, 2400 Plymouth Ave. N. It is a grassroots counter museum, not affiliated with the Prince estate. Gallery owner Peyton Scott Russell, who serves on the museum advisory board, painted the gold First Avenue star for Prince following his death, 10 years ago, on April 21.

The People’s Museum is just that – community submissions with the works of local everyday people living alongside those of professional artists from around the world. Curator Emma Baláz believes fans are historians, too. 

Baláz is a curator in Australia, but like so many around the world, she traveled here to grieve.

 “I had to come to Minneapolis to help me work out how to move forward,” she told North News. “When I arrived, I realized I wasn't alone. I encountered so many people whose lives were transformed or deeply impacted by this one artist.  As a curator, it didn’t take long for me to work out that I should do something to help collect and lift these stories. 

“I truly believe the testimonies of Prince's audience are a vital part of his legacy, collectively just as important perhaps, as the official narratives of his life and work.  Without the audience, the art and artist are somehow unanswered, incomplete.”

The first pop-up of the museum in Minneapolis was in 2018. A special exhibit about his life in North Minneapolis is in the works.

More than 50 exhibits have been accepted for the exhibit, which runs through June 27.