If you recall anything about yesterday then maybe your brain remembers yesterday’s post where I declared August 8th through 12th “Tiny Museum Week”. This blog is very important…you should have it marked on your calendar! Anyway, we continue our exploration of micro-museums with a visit to Minnesota.
Right outside the entrance of Workhorse Coffee Bar is “The Smallest Museum in St. Paul,” a vintage fire hose case that displays teeny tiny exhibits on a monthly basis. Only open since last year, the project, funded by the Knight Foundation, is curated by the artists themselves along with exhibit manager Shannon Forney (seen in the above photo posing with artist Richard Chin). Some of the exhibits have included bicycle zines and comics, small crochet pieces, a tongue-in-cheek display of flora and fauna, and mini-skyscrapers. The museum has an active social media presence with its own Twitter and Instagram so check them out if you’d like to learn more about SMSP.
The positive of hanging a museum on the exterior of a building is that anyone walking down the street can look at it whenever they want…24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It reminds me of the mini-museums previously featured on this blog, like the Hoosesagg Museum in Switzerland or Mµseum in Somerville, Massachusetts. These museums are not actual physical spaces for visitors to walk around in but more like Cabinets of Curiosities. In my opinion, there should be more of these micro-museums, kind of like little free libraries. Let’s make it happen, people!
