A Badger Takes On City Hall

A 47-year-old, radically queer homeless man named Badger is probably not many people’s first vision of what an artist looks like. But to the residents of New Orleans, Gainesville, Asheville, Minneapolis, and other cities which Badger has temporarily called home who have been lucky enough to come across his work – large-scale installation pieces, usually constructed of found objects, and usually functional enough to double as a temporary shelter for anyone in need – there is very little question that the man is devoted to his work. The authorities, however, tend to take a dim view of art which they see as encouraging vagrancy, and this spring, Badger has been facing down the parks board of Minneapolis in a desperate fight to preserve what he creates.