Illuminating Legacies works at the intersection of multiple community efforts to use public art created by South Minneapolis African American artists to connect neighborhood residents to each other; to the rich, untold history of their community; and to Pillsbury House + Theatre. In 2020, 4 projects will be embedded and presented in the neighborhood so that people encounter them as they move through their daily lives.
Illuminating Legacies knits together several initiatives that Pillsbury House + Theatre has been part of over many years, including: Arts on Chicago, Art Blocks, the 38th and Chicago Small Area Plan, and the Future of East 38th Street, and the future of George Floyd Square. It presents a unique opportunity for expanded engagement among the stakeholders in these initiatives through the realization of a long term shared goal: making the important history of the area known by inscribing it artistically on the physical landscape. It will draw our diverse community into the conversation, artistically connecting the story of the present to the story of the past.
Pillsbury House Theatre’s mission is to create challenging theatre that inspires enduring change towards a just society. Through the Mainstage season and other community engagement programs, Pillsbury House Theatre (PHT) illuminates the differences that make each person unique and the similarities that bring people together, within an artistic environment that promotes understanding and leads to positive action. Housed within an urban community center in the most diverse neighborhood in Minnesota, the theatre is a company of artists working in partnership with diverse audiences to create transformational arts experiences.