When asked about the Saint Paul artistic community and its foundation in Lowertown, Ta-coumba T. Aiken jokingly says, “I started it!” As a Saint Paul resident, Aiken has lived and breathed the artistic lifestyle of Lowertown for more than 30 years, working in mediums including sculpture, painting, metal, stone and glass.
When the artistic community was on the rise in Lowertown in the late 1970s, Aiken and his like-minded artistic colleagues banded together to create a better environment where artists could work and live in the same place, cutting out the excess costs of renting an off-site studio. This initial movement resulted in many in-home studios and artist lofts popping up around Lowertown, giving birth to what is now commonly referred to as “Lowertown’s artistic renaissance.” The creative revolution in this part of Saint Paul provided a foundation for several new artistic organizations, collectives and art programs such as the popular Saint Paul Art Crawl, which is held annually in April and October.
Throughout his many years as an artist in Lowertown, Aiken has not only solidified his name and connection to the artistic communities of both Saint Paul and Minneapolis, but also expanded upon his artistic works, bringing the joy of art to everyone he can possibly reach. “I started doing public art to give art to those who couldn’t afford to go to a museum or see an expensive show,” Aiken says about the many beautiful outdoor murals he has created throughout the Twin Cities, including a large mural at 4th and Wacouta. “One of my goals as an artist is to bring to the people a sense of joy—or something else,” says Aiken, adding that the special “something” is up to the people and how they interpret art for themselves.
