This project began as an
act of emergency digital preservation.

The work continues.
The project began in the hours after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officers. I started by photo-documenting the changing street art/protest works in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the suburbs during the civil unrest, and I continue to do so to this day. Other organizations prioritized 2d photo archiving, so I changed my focus to 3D scanning.

The goal is to 3D scan as many plywood murals and anti-racist protest works from the George Floyd Protests as possible and display them online. This allows these works to be activated in the digital space and reach a wider audience outside of the Twin Cities, Minnesota while the physical plywood murals remain in the stewardship of local organizations and culture bearers in my community. By 3D scanning the boards, I can create high-quality overlapping composite images that capture more detail than traditional photography.

It is my hope to create a digital record of these historic works that can exist in tandem and possibly exist longer than the physical plywood and spray paint murals. It is my hope that people will use my 3D scans as a resource to tell their own stories on their own terms.

It is through the continuing efforts of activists, community organizers, grassroots organizations, and the Twin Cities’ community doing the work to care and preserve the physical boards and protest works NOW that lets me focus on 3D scanning and creating a digital legacy and long term digital preservation of these pieces to hand down to the next generations. Thank you.

May we all work together to create a better and more equitable future.
—Jangojips