New skyway exhibit highlights Minnesota authors;
history of book burning
Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
“Words, Banning and Burning” will be unveiled September 1 in the Town Square skyway, 445 Minnesota St. The 5-week exhibit will highlight up to 20 Minnesota authors and a few from other states, as well as the history of book banning and burning in the United States. It’s curated by local freelance writer Anthony Eaton and will be displayed in the floor-to-ceiling windows of a vacant retail space.
“I think the exhibit is really going to give a good representation of all the different types of writing,” said Eaton, noting that poets, playwrights and authors of a variety of genres may be included. “It will feature the cover of their book or maybe an excerpt of something they have written, along with their bio and photo…. On the smaller side of windows, I want to do something that talks about the history of book banning and book burning in the United States.”
This is the third installment in a series of temporary exhibits he’s presented in the space. The rotating exhibit – dubbed, “Through the Window” – runs through December. The first exhibit began in June and featured a colorful array of papers shedding light on prominent people who fought for LGBTQ+ rights, and most recently it housed the works of Jim Smola, a Minnesota potter, and stationery and stained-glass artist who passed away in 2022.
“I wanted to do something that would highlight my husband’s [Jim Smola] work,” said Eaton. “It was really a challenge to get some space in downtown. Finally, this space became available, and they [the building’s leasing company] offered it to me for six months, so I came up with a few other ideas and that’s where the concept of a rotating exhibit came up…. I thought this was a good opportunity to really bring something creative to the public in the Skyway system and fill up some vacant space. People don’t want to walk by empty retail spaces, they want to see something.”
In years past, Eaton designed window displays for retailers, and he and Smola had an artist studio at the Northwestern Building in Lowertown. All in all, he has an eye for curating and is single-handedly bringing the exhibits to life. Some of the cost to rent the discounted space is being covered by sponsorships from local businesses. Upcoming themes are a surprise.
From Thanksgiving to Christmas, people may have the chance to enter the vacant retail space and meet Eaton, who will be operating a pop-up shop with art, books and other items displayed in the rotating exhibits. If the shop can’t be inside the space, it will likely be in the skyway next to the exhibit. When this series is complete, Eaton hopes to find another place in the skyway or elsewhere to continue curating exhibits which have some level of social relevance.
“I’m getting really good foot traffic [in the skyway], so I’m very pleased with it,” said Eaton. “My hope long term is that some other property owners will see the potential value in letting creative people use and fill some of this space…. I would love to be able to continue to do these types of exhibits. Also, I would really be interested in helping other artists secure opportunities like the one I’ve got.” He noted that Minneapolis recently made money available to artists for space on Nicollet Avenue and that he’d like to see St. Paul do something similar.
Eaton, a longtime human resources worker, grew up in St. Paul but moved out of state for about 25 years. He returned in 2022 after his husband passed away from cancer and now lives at the Lowry. Since becoming a freelance writer, he’s worked on a few projects. One article that’s been picked up by several publications is titled “Reclaiming a symbol of hate,” and illustrates how the LGBTQ+ community has turned the pink triangle symbol, which was created by the Nazi party in Germany, into a symbol of pride. For more information, visit www.espressotalks.com.
“It’s [the skyway] one of the reasons that I chose to buy a condo downtown,” said Eaton. “It was the convenience. When I moved back here, I actually got rid of my vehicle…. I think that I’ve seen an improvement in safety downtown. I do give the city a lot of credit for the action that they’ve taken. I do think that having things in some of these spaces does help [with safety].”
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