With the addition of the Metro Transit Police Department offices in 2018, a new commons area was created connecting the new building with the existing Heywood Office Tower. Metro Transit’s original offices had many photos of vehicles, but few of the people who use and operate our transit system. Metro Transit approached Inna Valin to take photographs of our customers after seeing her work of people in public places. Ms. Valin spent a month riding our system and taking photos. This display is the result.
Inna Valin has been photographing and exhibiting her work across the USA and as far away as Japan for nearly 30 years. She is an autodidactic artist and recipient of several awards including the McKnight Foundation fellowship for photographers, The Jerome Foundation fellowship for emerging artists as well as fellowships from the Minnesota state arts board.
Artist website: innavalin.com
38th Street Station, and five other stations, originally had paver designs on the platforms created by artist Richard Elliott. Each platform was inspired by artifacts or architectural details found in the Minneapolis/St. Paul communities and were developed by working with museums, community members and curators. The specific designs selected as inspirational starting points were picked for their cultural and historical importance and fall into three groups; native motif, immigrant fabrics, and the culture that has developed in Minneapolis as expressed through its architecture. Each platform design stands on its own, but together they make a unified statement about the cultural history of Minneapolis.
Collectively, the artwork is titled, Then Till Now: A History and Culture Based Portrait Of Minneapolis As Expressed Through Six Geometric Platform Designs and originally appeared at Cedar-Riverside, Franklin, 38th Street, 46th Street, VA Medical Center and American Boulevard stations.
Unfortunately, the paver bricks did not hold up well with the severe Minnesota winters and the heavy foot traffic of a transit system. The only remaining paver design exists at American Boulevard Station.
reflectorart.com/dick/index.html
This image: To represent domestic life, Elliott drew inspiration from The Prairie School of architecture for 38th Street Station. A chair designed by William Gray Purcell and George Grant Elmslie in 1912-13 influences the main portion of the platform. The ramps and center designs are inspired by the front doors of the Redeemer Missionary Baptist Church, designed by Purcell and Elmslie. 200’ x 16’