The Art of Reading: You Dreamed of Empires

The Mint Museum Randolph is hosting The Art of Reading: You Dreamed of Empires on Wednesday, October 21, from 6 PM to 7:30 PM. It's part of the museum's ongoing Art of Reading series, where a docent leads a guided tour through the galleries using a character from a featured book as the lens. Each month focuses on a different title, and the perspectives shift from royalty to octopi, so the vibe changes with every installment.

This one centers on You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue. The book takes the historic 1519 collision between the Spanish and the Aztecs and flips it on its head: hallucinogen-fueled dreams and indigenous cunning dismantle the colonizers' conquest. The tour itself winds through the Ancient American Galleries, where you'll see the art through the eyes of someone caught up in that hallucinogenic, high-stakes political encounter. It's a way to look at the collection from a specific, imagined point of view rather than just walking through and reading the plaques.

One thing that's worth knowing: you don't have to have read the book to join in. The tour works as a standalone experience, so you can come along even if you've never heard of Enrigue's novel. The session runs from 6 PM to 7:30 PM at the Mint Museum Randolph in Eastover, and it's included with general admission.