Kare11
MN designer tells stories through art in Target collaboration
Ameen Taahir is a multimedia designer who was approached by Target about a year ago for its “Heyday” tech brand.
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — If you walk into any Target store, you might come across a Brooklyn Park resident’s artwork in the tech section.
Ameen Taahir said his journey to become an artist started at a young age.
“My mom would tell you about 3 years old I was already picking up a pencil and drawing,” Taahir said.
Taahir, who is not only an artist but also works for the communications department at the City of Brooklyn Park, said he kept that creative streak into his adulthood not out of obligation, but as a way of storytelling.
“I like using art to just express myself and express certain emotions,” Taahir said. “And kind of work through that and also to be able to just tell a story, figure out how to tell my story.”
Taahir’s story struck a chord about a year ago with a local retail giant.
“Target — they reached out. They found a lot of my stuff on social media and my portfolio site,” Taahir explained.
From there, the multimedia artist was given creative control to design for Target’s “Heyday” line, a tech house brand. The story he told there was personal, with his designs featuring an emerald butterfly (his birthstone is the emerald), and the kind of visuals that uplift.
“I just thought about creating a piece where you know a younger me, a younger version of me, if they were to talk into any store, any Target, they could see themselves reflected,” Taahir said. “Being a person that is super big on representation and sharing my story, and historically speaking there’s been a lot of times where we don’t see people who look like me in certain art spaces.”
While Taahir has this national platform, he shared that he wanted to amplify a certain message.
“To be able to share your story, to be able to make those connections it helps us not feel so alone in whatever experience that we’re going through,” Taahir said. “So I want to continue to do that and I want other artists to continue to fully be themselves and step into their authenticity as much as they can.”
You can find Ameen’s work portfolio here.
You can find Ameen’s Target collaboration here.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11’s newscasts. You’ll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
Watch all of the latest stories from Lifting Voices in our YouTube playlist:
Police are investigating after three men were shot early on Saturday morning.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police are investigating after three men were shot in the Ventura Village neighborhood early Saturday morning.
According to Minneapolis police, officers were called to the area around East 21st Street and South 15th Avenue around 5 a.m. Saturday.
Officers found three men had been shot. One of the men died and the two others were taken to the hospital with what police described as life-threatening injuries.
Officials said the shooting happened at a small homeless encampment.
Police have not announced any arrests as of Saturday morning.
KARE 11 will update this story as more information is made available.
This Halloween the chocolate shop is getting very festive.
MARINE ON SAINT CROIX, Minn. — A small sweet shop in a Minnesota river town has won some BIG awards for its chocolates.
St. Croix Chocolate Company in Marine on St. Croix has won national and international awards including Best of Show in this year’s America’s Division of the International Chocolate Awards.
Their chocolates are available at the St. Croix Chocolate Company kitchen or online.
This Halloween they are selling a Halloween Countdown Calendar that features 14 prize-winning recipes made into ghosts, bats, skulls and other spooky configurations. They also have a Boo Bag-handled tote that comes with their “best of” Halloween assortment.
Owner and Chocolatier, Robyn Dochterman, joined KARE 11 Saturday to share what St. Croix Chocolate Company has to offer.
MINNEAPOLIS — Making pasta at home is relatively simple, as long as you have the right tools.
October is National Pasta Month and Red Rabbit‘s Corporate Chef, Adam Lerner, joined KARE 11 Saturday to show us how to make homemade noodles in the confines of your own kitchen.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings