Courtesy of Explore MN Tourism and Meet Minneapolis
Ten years ago today, Prince Rogers Nelson passed away at his home, Paisley Park, leaving behind a rich musical legacy, a global fanbase, and a beloved home city—Minneapolis—that would be permanently altered by his absence. Almost instantly, mourners gathered outside of Paisley Park and First Avenue, “Purple Rain” echoed from every landmark and street corner, and as night fell, the city lit up purple, communicating one simple truth: It would never again be the same.
The weight of this day is still felt a full decade later—and, as if in constant communication with the art Prince left behind, it continues to inspire artists, musicians, creatives, and admirers across the Twin Cities, and the globe. This poignant dialogue between grief and creation is what informed the curation of The People’s Museum for Prince—a part memorial part art gallery dedicated to uplifting the work of creatives whose lives were touched by the musical legend. Opening June 7 at Roberts Gallery in North Minneapolis—right in Prince’s childhood neighborhood—the People’s Museum founded and curated by E.C. Balázs includes over 60 contributors from eight different countries, spanning artists, teachers, lifelong Minneapolis residents, and deeply devoted fans with rich stories to tell.
Adobe
One of these fans is the owner of Roberts Gallery himself, Peyton Scott Russell (known professionally as simply, “Peyton”), a North Minneapolis-based muralist and graffiti artist known for gold-leafing Prince’s First Avenue star late one night. A former artist at Paisley Park, and now, owner of a gallery situated less than a block from Bernadette Anderson’s home where Prince lived during his youth, Peyton’s artistic career is intertwined with Prince’s legacy in ways that feel both deeply personal and distinctly Minneapolis—or more specifically, North Minneapolis.
“I consider myself a Northsider through and through,” says Peyton. “People know that Northside pride is probably the richest pride there is—we really wave that flag. And we can all rally around Prince—he’s our most famous Northsider. Because I now own this space [Roberts Gallery], I’m trying to build on that legacy—moving beyond the provincialism of ‘the hood’ and highlighting the richness of this area where Prince lived and created.”
For Peyton, hosting the 10-year anniversary edition of the museum (which has been running since 2018) in his gallery space feels like a full circle moment, merging his roots and heritage with his own personal memories of the musical icon. During the 1990’s, he spent years working for and near Prince, first as a featured artist at Prince’s Glam Slam nightclub and later, as a scenic artist at Paisley Park. Decades later, he still reflects on this ephemeral time period as feeling a bit “dreamlike.”
“Paisley Park during that time was like the Willy Wonka chocolate factory. Time didn’t really exist there. Just strange things would happen,” he says.
One of the strangest involved a glistening gold phone—which Prince used to communicate with Peyton through someone in another city, even as the two stood in the same room. The surreal, almost mythic encounter marked the closest they ever came to speaking, and it has mystified Peyton ever since.
“I decided to thank him for that moment by gold-leafing his star under the cover of night. I didn’t ask [First Avenue] for permission—it was definitely a guerrilla act of street art,” says Peyton. “It was 24-karat back then; now it’s just painted gold. It doesn’t have the same luster. But when I first finished it, the sun would set in the west and hit that star, and wow—it was just luscious. Like someone flipped a light on.”
Photo by Nicholas Leiferman, Courtesy of Meet Minneapolis
For Peyton, who sees Prince as his number one creative influence, this defiant act of street art feels in step with Prince’s evocative, underground music style—two mediums that don’t ask for permission to blur the lines. This marriage of legacy and artistic liberty runs through the People’s Museum for Prince like a purple thread, compiling legendary stories much like Peyton’s through the modes of art, love letters, artifacts, film, and personal memories. Some will feel big—like “Dearly Beloved,” a six-minute documentary by Balázs filmed over the course of nine years, following a chronological pilgrimage through the homes Prince lived in from birth till death. While others will feel much smaller—intimate, yet quietly powerful.
That is the case for Seattle artist Troy Gua, whose “Le Petit Prince” project has moved people across the world. Long citing Prince as his artistic hero, Gua’s geography-spanning project reimagines the icon’s life through meticulously staged photographs of miniature Prince figurines, staged at various locations meaningful to his life. For the 10th anniversary of the icon’s death, Gua will display a visual journey through iconic moments in Prince’s childhood at the People’s Museum, narrating the enduring legacy of his connection to North Minneapolis.
“Placing ‘Le Petit Prince’ in real-world [but still miniature] settings shifts him from monument to experience. It collapses distance—making the encounter feel personal, even private,” says Gua. “For me, place is structure and memory, not backdrop. In the world of Prince, North Minneapolis isn’t just geography—it’s formative, shaping identity in quiet, complex ways.”
"1970s Andersons Door" by Troy Gua
The heart behind Gua’s work feels particularly aligned with Balázs’ curatorial vision, dispelling the towering mythology behind the legend and instead, zooming in on his collective impact—most poignantly expressed through quiet memories and small-scale, intimate encounters like Gua’s. The longtime project, which Gua first launched in 2011, has naturally evolved with distance and time, drawing him into a softer space that beautifully folds into Balázs’ emotion-driven museum—where memory feels like an embrace.
“Early on, ‘Le Petit Prince’ came from a place of preservation—an urgency to hold onto something luminous that felt suddenly gone. But over time, that urgency has softened into reflection,” says Gua. “The project has shifted from memorializing a fixed icon to tracing the afterlife of his influence—how it continues to evolve through interpretation. A decade out, the legacy feels quieter, more intimate. The work reads less as homage and more as an ongoing dialogue.”
Regardless of medium, the 60 displays that will be shown at Roberts Gallery on June 7 share a common source: authenticity. These are not polished, institutional works of art meant to be frozen behind glass. They are personal, in motion, and deeply human. In tandem, they trace a global community of artists who continue to create because of what he first created—proving that Prince’s art did not end with him, but is undeniably alive, evolving, and reciprocal.
"His Royal Badness" by Peyton
“I have a file of close to 400 songs [by Prince],” says Peyton. “And when I need a little inspiration or it’s a late night in the studio and I’m tired, I’ll put that on and it kind of fuels me and gives me the energy to work through the night, to get things done. When I need to lock in, when I need to focus and dig and be disciplined, I’ll always play Prince.”
While the People’s Musum for Prince does not open at Roberts Gallery until June 7, those looking to commemorate Prince’s memorial can dive into the museum’s regularly updated blog, view Gua’s “Le Petit Prince” archive online, or visit Peyton’s work at Robert’s Gallery, which provides a direct view of Prince’s former home. Paisley Park offers free admission to the public all day (April 21), while Meet Minneapolis encourages visitor to walk The Purple Path—a path of temporary sidewalk clings that highlight significant locations tied to Prince’s life, music, and connection to the city. Looking ahead, Celebration 2026—Paisley Park’s official, five-day 10th anniversary celebration, will take place from June 3-7 at various locations across the twin Cities, culminating in the opening of The People’s Museum for Prince, which will run through June 27. Admission to the museum is free.
Photo by Augustus Isaac, Courtesy of Meet Minneapolis
