Vibrant outdoor art installation with children playing among colorful sculptures.

Mother’s Garden

Daniel Minter

Through a series of monumental wood sculptures titled Mother’s Garden, Minter’s project addresses the cultural traditions and food of the African Diaspora and recent immigrants to Portland.

The work was created with help from the community during a community painting party featuring entertainment and inspiration by: Kesho Wazo, African Dundada, and Viva.

The project also featured a series inspired by the work, Welcome Feast. Anna Ackerman of World to Table matched chefs from Portland’s New-Mainer community with chefs from Portland’s blossoming restaurant scene to create menus for three public meals at the project site. Representatives of Portland’s communities were invited to share meals in a uniquely beautiful outdoor setting. Community members signed up to be entered in to a lottery for a free seat.

The program of outdoor public art and culinary diplomacy was designed to bring together Portland’s diverse populations through an inspiring sculptural installation and community meals. Local non-profits conducted youth programs in art, writing and food exploring the food cultures of their countries of origin and their new Portland home.

Children engaging in outdoor art activity at TEMPOart event.

Installation date

June 2019 to June 2021

Location

Kennedy Field, East Bayside

Materials

acrylic, latex, wood

Outdoor community event with diverse attendees dining at a table in front of a colorful mural.

Outdoor community event with tables, colorful banners, and people celebrating together.

Colorful human-shaped sculptures in an outdoor park art installation, featuring bright hues and play.

About the artist

Daniel Minter is an American artist known for his work in the mediums of painting and assemblage. He is a visual storyteller and accomplished illustrator. Minter’s artwork reflects abiding themes of displacement and diaspora; ordinary/extraordinary blackness; spirituality in the Afro-Atlantic world; and the (re)creation of meanings of home. Minter’s paintings, carvings, block prints, and sculptures have been exhibited both nationally and internationally at galleries and museums. He is the co-founder and creative visionary of the Portland Freedom Trail, a system of granite and bronze markers that constitutes a permanent walking trail highlighting the people, places, and events associated with the anti-slavery movement in Portland. Minter’s work also marks the Malaga Island Trail which remembers the Black, European and Native American residents of the island who were forcibly removed by the state of Maine in 1912. He has illustrated over a dozen children’s books and commissioned twice to create Kwanzaa stamps for the U.S. Postal Service. Minter teaches at the Maine College of Art

Mother’s Garden was made possible through the support of the Maine Arts Commission, DrummondWoodsum, Artist & Craftsmen Supply, Coffee by Design, Press Hotel, World to Table and Portland Trails.