Aiden told me on the way here that normally the public votes on all of the exhibits—and there are thousands—but voting ended last week, and all of the winners have already been chosen. His list has everyone organized by medium, and as we walk to our first destination, he tells me everything he read about it. What inspired the project, and how the textile elements were all hand-woven from the artist’s and his children’s clothes, representing the bond of family. Before we even reach the exhibit, I have a vivid mental picture of what I’m about to see. “Wow, you’re a total art nerd.”

Aiden smiles—his whole face lighting up like it’s a compliment—and jabs his head in the direction of a red brick building a block down. “This way.”

AIDEN

My plan was to take Olivia to everything on my list, but as we enter the first building I can already tell that it’s going to be a lost cause. I knew there was art all over the place, but I underestimated what that actually meant. As we push through the glass doors of our first location, it’s a sea of bodies. I look at my paper. “The massive pencil drawing of the Civil War soldiers is supposed to be this way.”

“It’s ridiculous in here,” Olivia says, her voice muddled by the noise surrounding us.

I smack the papers against my leg. “Should we wait?”

Olivia shrugs. “Totally up to you.” She smiles. “I’m just the chauffeur.”

I laugh. “I did promise you lots of cool stuff though.” I jab my head to the right, where I can see an elevator tucked into the corner. “Let’s see what else we can find.”

We push through the bodies around us and make our way to the shiny silver doors. Four floors up, we’re deposited on a floor that’s quiet and open, with wood beams and metal crisscrossing overhead. I pull my phone out and load the artist notes for this building so I can check what’s on exhibit. As soon as she steps out of the elevator, Olivia is headed toward a giant wall of windows. I’m scrolling down my screen when I hear her. “Aiden!” She’s waving her hand behind her. “Check this out.”