The Twin Cities art scene this weekend offers three mixed media exhibitions by local Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) artists, and disabled artists from across the country.
These exhibitions capture social, racial, and environmental issues through portraits, photographs, sculptures, and mixed media paintings.
Mixed media exhibition by disabled artists
The Minnesota Museum of American Art is hosting “Currents: Adaption, Brilliance, and Joy,” a mixed media exhibition showcasing the works of five disabled artists from across the United States.
Among the featured artists is Victoria Dugger, who is showcasing limb-like, hand-sewn sculptures adorned with various materials—beads, braids, acrylic nails, tassels, and pointe shoes—all shimmering in glitter. Her sculptures, which she refers to as “miss dolls,” are a visual representation of her identity as a Black and disabled woman, incorporating elements of what she describes as “playful and grotesque” imagery.
“When I first started creating them, they were really brown and I was using wax, so I kind of feel like they had a liberation,” Dugger said. “I just see them in such a different light, and maybe that really talks about my own mental state or how I feel about my own disability.”
One of her artworks on display is titled “Soft Tissue Cry Baby,” and features pink legs decorated with yarn, butterflies, blue synthetic hair, pearls, and bows. Dangling from antique garden chairs, the legs transform into fantastical creatures eager to be seen.
The inspiration for her sculptures stems from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, “The Red Shoes,” where a young girl finds herself unable to stop dancing while wearing enchanted red shoes. Desperate to stop the relentless movement, she amputates her legs, only to discover that the shoes continue to dance independently.
Dugger, who has been paralyzed since the age of three, found solace in sculpting, using it as a medium to explore and accept her disability. Her art also explores her experiences as a Black woman in predominantly white institutions.
“I would be the only Black person in class, and especially when I went to grad school, I just became more aware,” she said. “You don’t really see many Black, disabled women out and about living their life, and so I was kind of just thinking about how to challenge that in my art.”
Other artists in the exhibition include Ariella Granados, who is showcasing people with disabilities by channeling their alter egos in a photo series titled “Disabling Utopia.” Puerto Rican writer Aurora Levins Morales examines the body’s relationship to pleasure, pain, and political struggles based on her personal experience with chronic illness and disability.
Interdisciplinary artist Kelley A. Meister’s work explores environmental and social issues through various mediums, including found objects, drawings, video, and performance. Additionally, Lynda Mullan will showcase abstract rainbow-colored paintings with geometric shapes forming mosaic-like patterns.
Date: Thursday, December 14, through February 25, 2024.
Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
Location: 350 Robert St. N., St. Paul
Cost: Free
For more information: Visit https://mmaa.org/.
Paintings explore the immigrant experience
The Orange Advisory is hosting the “What We Are and What We Were” exhibition showcasing paintings and sculptures by Iranian artist Amir H. Fallah.
Fallah explores the historical systems of representation in Western art and disrupts traditional notions of identity by either removing or obscuring the central subject to create portraits. His portraits redirect the focus from the subject’s physical presence to a visual representation of the subject’s internal experiences. His work delves into the generational impact of immigration, addressing themes of movement, trauma, and celebration.
Date: Friday, December 22, and Wednesday, December 26.
Time: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Location: 655 19th Avenue N.E., Suite 104, Minneapolis. The gallery entrance is at the back of the building.
Cost: Free
For more information: Visit https://www.theorangeadvisory.com/.
Artwork by emerging BIPOC Twin Cities artists
Homewood Studios is hosting the “Amber Visions: An Exploration of Warmth, Resilience, and Healing” exhibition, showcasing the work of 12 emerging artists of color in the Twin Cities.
The exhibition is curated by Amanda Rose, an artist and gallery assistant at Homewood Studios, and will also display Rose’s acrylic, oil, and watercolor paintings that capture the experiences of women of color.
Other artists include Alondra M. Garza, whose photography, collage, and sculpture honor her Mexican heritage and Indigenous roots. Makalya Smith’s photography explores identity and environmental racism. Nicholas Nicome’s sketches incorporate West African Adinkra symbols to challenge systemic oppression and violence against Black people.
Find more details about participating artists here.
Date: Friday, December 22, through Saturday, December 30.
Time: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Location: Homewood Studios, 2400 Plymouth Ave. N., Minneapolis
Cost: Free
For more information: Visit https://homewoodstudios.com/.
