122 Conversations

122 Conversations at Terminal 1, Minneapolis Airport

What does connection, humanity, or love mean to you? How can  we embody these ideas in our lives? These are the questions  that Duluth-born internationally acclaimed artist Anne Labovitz  asks with 122 Conversations. In this installation, color  and conversation seamlessly integrate, encouraging audiences  to contemplate human connection. This artist-led project was  organized with the Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, Duluth Sister  Cities International, and University of Minnesota Duluth, School  of Fine Arts. The project celebrates the combined 122 years of  relationship with Duluth’s five sister Cities: Ranya, Iraqi Kurdistan,  Växjö, Sweden, Petrozavodsk, Russia, Thunder Bay, Canada and  Ohara Isumi-City, Japan

Inspired by Sister Cities International’s mission  to promote peace one individual at a time, 122  Conversations is a culmination of the artist’s  six-year, world-spanning pilgrimage to utilize cross cultural exchange as a means for positive change. 

These elements culminate in a metaphor of our  hopes, dreams, love, and connections in seemingly  endless scrolls. It is the artist’s aim to unite the  audience through a common experience, one that  humanizes us through the process of seeing and  listening.

122 Conversations traveled to each of Duluth’s sister cities before spending five years at the airport in Minneapolis. In November 2024, thanks to Anne Labovitz’s generosity and grants from the Duluth / Superior Community Foundation and RBC Investments, 122 Conversations was installed as part of a Duluth Sister Cities exhibit at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC).