Step into Daniel Minter’s exhibition at the Haggerty Museum and you’ll find hand brooms bound with ribbons and adorned with branches, a testament to the spiritual and communal act of cleansing and remembrance.

Minter, born during Jim Crow in Georgia, uses his art to explore empowerment through daily objects. The broom, a tool for physical cleaning, becomes a talisman for personal and communal growth, a reminder of the systems that both oppress and empower.

His sculptures, carved from wood and painted with stylized portraits, serve as vessels for spiritual and ancestral knowledge. Minter’s work reclaims the traditions of his people, bridging the gap between the tangible and the intangible, the seen and the unseen.

By setting up his art in natural settings, Minter creates a space for communion with the spirits, the ancestors, and the unseen. The blue, red, and green walls of his exhibition represent different facets of the natural world, each a portal to a deeper understanding of self and community.

Minter’s art is a service, a reminder that objects can remind us of our spirituality, allowing us to navigate the obstacles before us. In a world full of noise and distraction, his brooms and sculptures offer a quiet, profound reflection on the tools we use to find our way.