Icon—dig it.
Icon—dig it. Nancy Bundt/Courtesy of MoPOP

MoPOP will be hosting an exhibition about late, legendary funk/R&B/rock multi-instrumentalist/producer Prince from April 6 to January 4, 2020. Hosted in conjunction with the University of Minnesota's Weisman Art Museum, the show, titled Prince from Minneapolis, focuses on the erection of Prince's persona via almost 50 artifacts (instruments, photographs, artworks, clothes that Prince Rogers Nelson—who died April 21, 2016—wore). The exhibition's mission is to delve into the superstar soul man's image, his impact on other artists and his fans, and his distinctive relationship with his hometown and native state.

In addition to pics of Prince by Minneapolis photographers Allen Beaulieu, Nancy Bundt, Terry Gydesen, and Robert Whitman, there'll be works by Seattle artist Troy Gua, who recreates Prince in various situations in art doll form and the de la Torre brothers, who "created memorial spirit figures in glass at Minneapolis' FOCI glass studio days after Prince's death," according to a press release. There's even a Prince-themed bicycle constructed by frame builder Erik Noren of Peacock Groove.

In that same press release, MoPOP Curator Brooks Peck says, "Prince embodied so many of the themes we like to explore at MoPOP. He drew on the work of the greats who came before him, yet created his own, truly original style and sound. He defied convention and broke boundaries, and he continues to inspire musicians as well as artists of all kinds to this day." To see some more of the museum's assets, go here.


Prince from Minneapolis opens April 6 at MoPOP.