- Kristen Zschomler – “From the Northside to Paisley Park: Prince’s Minnesota”
Kristen Zschomler has been grounding Prince in his Minnesota context through her work identifying key properties associated with the artist. The story of Prince is not simply that of a remarkable, outsized talent; it is inextricably linked to the story of place. Minneapolis, and later Chanhassen, helped shape his life and work and provided him the space and opportunity to flourish. This is evident at every level, from his commitment to hiring local personnel to the frequent call-outs to his hometown in his music to his choice to live and work in Minnesota throughout his life. For the past two years, as part of the regulatory process to identify places of historic significance associated with Prince, Kristen has been researching, fact-checking and clarifying the locations on Prince’s journey from Minneapolis’ Northside to Chanhassen’s Paisley Park; from a child prodigy to an international superstar. Her work presents a fascinating and revealing excavation that often challenges long-held narrative and perceptions about Prince. Kristen’s presentation will highlight key corrections to the Prince narrative that have come from her research, as well as discuss the response of fans touring Prince’s foundational locations and how that is changing their perception of him and his legacy. The contexts she presents also challenges long-held beliefs about Prince’s beloved hometown. Prince’s Minneapolis and his experience growing up there were shaped by positive and negative elements, from strong music and arts programs in the schools to racial housing covenants and school segregation that kept Minneapolis racially divided. Finally, Kristen will demonstrate the need to take this type of research out of the gray literature or academic setting and make it accessible to Prince fans and the general public, through a demonstration of the online digital tour she and colleagues from the University of Minnesota and Augsburg College developed (
http://digitours.augsburg.edu/tours/show/3).
- Emma Balázs – “The People’s Museum for Prince: Inverting the Curatorial Lens from Artist to Audience”
The People’s Museum for Prince is a curatorial response to the sustained public mourning for Prince and the memorialization activities emerging in his complex afterlife. The museum turns the spotlight on the audience, seeing those who loved the artist as a valid source of expertise and a rich source of content. Conceived as a space to honor and reflect on the intimate, personal dimensions of our connections to an artist, the first exhibition of the museum collected personal stories, artifacts and artwork in order to create a portrait of Prince through the lives he touched. More than a fan museum, it is also envisioned as a center of artistic, curatorial and scholarly research, and a gathering space for the Prince community. A long-term vision for the museum includes exhibition, education and community programs.
The first exhibition of the museum was held in Minneapolis in May 2018 and presented personal stories, artifacts and artwork from more than 30 Prince fans across the world. It welcomed near 1000 visitors and received strong local encouragement to continue. The vision for the museum is to establish a permanent home in Minneapolis, with nomadic manifestations in Prince cities around the world, calling for local contributions in each. Planning is underway for a new manifestation in Minneapolis in 2020, with other US and European cities being actively considered. In each city a new portrait of Prince will emerge, formed through the multidimensional lens of the artist’s diverse audience.
- Suzanne Wint – “Would Anybody Remember to Remember You?”: Philanthropy as Participatory Culture in Prince Fandom"
Within days of Prince’s April 21 death, his associates and friends recounted stories of the musician’s quiet philanthropy and generosity. Celebrations of his life around his June 7 birthday already honored this legacy of giving through donations to charities he had supported. As it became clear Prince had not left a will, many in the purple orbit jumped in to fill the gap, and two years on, charitable giving has become part and parcel of fan-organized events in the Twin Cities.
In this paper I consider two facets of sustained organized giving in Prince fandom: as a form of participatory culture, and in shaping Prince’s continued legacy. While participatory culture typically describes acts of direct artistic production such as creating fan fiction, videos or art (Jenkins et al 2009), I show how contributions to music and arts education programs in Prince’s memory are creating a new generation of musicians and new generations of Prince fans. By highlighting Prince’s silent giving, his fans and associates actively shape Prince’s posthumous legacy. And though Jensen (2005) claims that the dead celebrity can no longer shape her own image, I suggest that Prince crafted his afterimage and legacy by exhorting audiences to have “Love4OneAnother” (also the name of his erstwhile charity).
As case studies, I examine two non-profit organizations formed in 2017. PRN Alumni Foundation, comprised of former employees of Paisley Park and Prince, initially reached out to organizations directly supported by Prince that provide opportunity for youth. Purple Playground is a fan-based group that raises funds through events, merchandise, donations and grants for their youth music program Academy of Prince. This research is based on participant-observation at PRN Alumni Funk ‘n’ Roll Weekend fundraising events in 2017 and 2018, and communications with Purple Playground’s founder Heidi Vader around various fundraising events in 2018.
