"You’re offered a one-way ticket wherever you’d like to go. All the necessities and modern conveniences will be there. What three things would you take along?"

Posing this question to the airport community, the artist spoke to over 1,000 individuals and received written feedback, stories, and images from nearly 250 participants. Their input has been reimagined here into a cloud-like composition of floating suitcases and bags swirling in the center of the rotunda, carrying with them the pieces of the multiple narratives that tell the story of Minneapolis - St. Paul airport.

The engagement process behind The Dreams We Carry was just as expansive as the artwork itself. With the support of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, the Airport Foundation MSP, and many community partners, the artist explored the Twin Cities, delved into the airport’s time capsule, toured the baggage system and airfield, and gathered with hundreds of people across the metro area.

Every part of this process reinforced a simple truth: public art at MSP isn’t just decoration. It’s dialogue. A mirror that reflects who we are—and a compass that helps point the way forward.

About the artist:
Kipp Kobayashi is a Los Angeles based visual artist whose work explores the visible and invisible marks left by human activity—how people shape, and are shaped by, the structures around them. Growing up Asian American in the U.S. has fueled his lifelong interest in identity and belonging. Through his art, Kobayashi deconstructs cultural assumptions and reassembles them into patterns that reflect a more nuanced, inclusive vision of who we are.