Alebrijes at Raspberry Island

I finally got down to Raspberry Island in downtown Saint Paul to see Alebrijes: Keepers of the Island. It's an installation of 16 large-scale papier-mâché sculptures by artists working in partnership with the Minnesota Latino Museum and Mexican Cultural Center DuPage.

Alebrijes are a nearly 100-year-old folk art tradition from Mexico. The fantastic creatures sprang from an artist's near-death experience and vision before recovering.

Baron, a standing bird

Gigi, a blue bear

Bicéfalo, a two-headed dragon

Chamak, a fox

Jonas, a whale

Patapez, a fish with feet

Osita Emilia, a little bear

Blue, a racoon

Mykel, a toad with wings

Some of the artists' names that I saw repeated on the various sculptures were Perla Miriam Salgado Zamorano, Alberto Moreno Fernandez, Edgar Israel Camargo Reyes, and Alejandro Camacho Barrera.

The exhibit on Raspberry Island is completely open air and accessible when the park is open, and will be on display until October 26. You can reach it on foot by going down the staircase in the middle of the Wabasha Bridge, or from the west side of the bridge on foot where it is level for the most part. There is one short stairway, but I'm sure there is a way around that for those on wheels. 

The parking on Raspberry Island is reserved and not available, it appears, but probably could be used for a short time. The Saint Paul Parks site (linked above) recommends transit access and parking locations.