A manifesto-guidebook to one of the American South’s most astounding art environments

In the summer of 1989, Joe Minter had a vision from God to create art that would honor the shared experiences of African Americans in this country. From that moment, Minter began building a sprawling collection of sculpture and installation works on land adjacent to both his home and the Shadow Lawn Memorial Gardens, a historically black cemetery, in the Woodland Park neighborhood of Birmingham. The result is a continuously evolving art environment that recounts both immediately local and world events that have affected humanity, with a focus on the contributions and tribulations of African Americans. Thousands of visitors from all over the world have visited his yard environment, and Minter’s sculptures are now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and many other museums nationwide.

On the 30th anniversary of his vision, Institute 193 and Tinwood have reissued To You Through Me: The Beginning of a Link of a Journey of 400 Years, Minter’s 2004 self-published creative manifesto and didactic field guide to the African Village in America yard show. Those who cannot visit in person can use this first-person guidebook to experience Joe Minter’s yard and learn from his years of thoughtful meditations on history, place and the human condition.