Utilizing one of the busiest skyways in Minneapolis, Nancy Ann Coyne’s Speaking of Home project transformed—for the first time in the city’s history—the glassed-in, second-story walkways so prevalent throughout the Twin Cities. The result was a 150 foot-long walk-through exhibition connecting the IDS Center and Macy’s, twenty feet above Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis’ famous serpentine pedestrian-friendly avenue. Timed to coincide with Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial, and concurrent with the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities, the project was designed to give voice to Minnesota’s expanding immigrant population.

The stories of 23 new Americans, represented by 13-by-10-foot photographs from their country of origin, were installed seamlessly within the large windows of the skyway bridge, accompanied by silk-screened translucent text panels. The panels featured excerpted quotes describing journeys to the U.S., reasons for leaving their native countries and individual meanings for the word “home.” Additionally, each subject’s word for home—in their native language—was installed on a panel overhead, adjacent to their photograph. Experienced both inside and outside the skyway bridge, the installation mixed and intermingled individual histories and stories with the surrounding dynamic character of the city. The project cast its audience as part of the piece, contributing to the ever-evolving story of immigration in American society. Approximately 90,000 people were exposed to the project on a daily basis. Speaking of Home received a 2009 Merit Award from SEGD.