The mission of the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota includes "art experiences that spark discovery, critical thinking, and transformation."

Sounds like the shared mission of teachers.

I was lucky enough to visit this museum during my visit to Minneapolis to take part in Twitter Math Camp 2016.

I knew of Diego Rivera and the great WPA murals, but I had no idea that there was a federal arts program for individual painters until I visited this museum that houses several of these painters (not the pictures shown below--If you know more about this program and have resources to share, please, please leave a comment.)

I am in love of the work of Jacob Lawrence, an african american painter from Atlanta (1917-2000) whose work is in the exhibit. I am in awe of the story each angle, each color, every square inch that the painting tells. A narrative of joy and labor, of pride and struggle.

 











I am not sure what the connection is between math education and this exhibit but I know there is one. It is about the conversation to recognize publicly that there are still American Citizens that feel marginalized. That perhaps in some circles, like the mathy one, there are students that don't feel included as part of the complex math community. I am trying to invoke the voice of Jose Vilson, our first keynote speaker. I want to connect, I want to be an ally. I am following #educolor. Being available, educating myself, and advocating for my students is a good place to start. 

The building itself has a history tied to mine. It was designed by a living architect, Frank Gehry. It is mathy, and urban and exotic. I didn't recognize Gehry as a root name from any country or ethnicity. This is what I found out, " According to an interview with Gehry on the genealogy program Finding Your Roots, he changed his name in 1956 to Frank O. Gehry in part because of the anti-semitism he had experienced as a child and as an undergraduate at USC." How about that, he started out as Frank "F'in" Goldberg! How lucky I feel not to have to hide my identity, though I still have to deal with ignorant cultural portrayals and misconceptions. 

Norma and I being artsy