drew arrieta

I’m deeply honored and excited to share that my photo “signs of refusal” has been acquired by the @mnmuseum.

The photo is made up of 117 stop signs I photographed throughout Minneapolis, either on foot or while riding my bike, during Operation Metro Surge. I often think about how, during moments of resistance and uprisings, the things people leave behind are some of the first things erased. Signs, notices, messages, manifestos, and all the ways people take up space. I wanted to find a way to capture some of that before it disappeared.

A lot of kind people helped me bring this to the State Fair. A massive thank you to @lillie_billie for picking up and delivering the work, @darren.bs for helping me print this very large image, and @lili.avis and @mitreboxmpls for helping me make a custom frame for it.

It feels really special to have shown this photo at the State Fair and to now have it become part of a museum collection here in Minnesota.

cinematography in 2nd video: @whos.that.bint