{"id":12789,"date":"2023-09-25T18:52:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T18:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=12789"},"modified":"2023-09-25T19:13:07","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T19:13:07","slug":"artful-connections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2023\/09\/25\/artful-connections\/","title":{"rendered":"Artful connections"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Olivia House \u201920<\/strong> works on the “To Illuminate Abundance” art show. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Olivia House \u201920<\/strong> knew something was bubbling up inside of her\u2014something she had to get out.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone was finally decompressing from a lot of what had happened in 2020, and I just remembered how much we were working as Black designers, and especially as Black femme designers,\u201d said House, a Minneapolis native now living in New York City. \u201cWe were constantly working since that summer, whether that was designing handouts and posters, designing curriculum around anti-racist training, and things like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me personally, I felt like I hadn\u2019t had a chance to take a deep breath and think about my work and the future. I felt like I was just responding to the things happening in Minneapolis and the rest of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

That feeling was the inspiration behind \u201cTo Illuminate Abundance,\u201d an art show that House and fellow Augsburg graduate Silent Fox \u201918<\/strong> curated at Augsburg\u2019s Gage and Christensen galleries in the winter and spring of 2023. The show featured the works of nine Black femme artists from the Twin Cities: Ashley Koudou, Kelsi Sharp, Leeya Rose Jackson, Marcia Rowe \u201922<\/strong>, Olivia Anizor, Sabrina Peitz, and Terresa Moses, along with the two curators.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overall theme of the show was the radical act of joyous making,\u201d House said. \u201cI felt that if I was feeling this way, other Black femme designers in the Twin Cities must be feeling that way as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

And House knew just the space for the show.<\/p>\n

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The contributing artists of the “To Illuminate Abundance” art show (Photo by Courtney Perry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe energy around Augsburg is that it\u2019s a community school. It just feels so Minneapolis, and that was really important for the show,\u201d she said. \u201cI definitely wouldn\u2019t have wanted to have this in a super-fancy gallery, because I just don\u2019t feel like that would connect with the theme. I really wanted it to feel like it could be accessed by anyone in the community. I don\u2019t think there are any other gallery spaces that embody that view like Augsburg\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“To Illuminate Abundance” show in the Christensen Art Gallery (Photo by Courtney Perry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jenny Wheatley<\/strong>, Augsburg\u2019s coordinator of galleries and exhibitions, agrees that \u201cTo Illuminate Abundance\u201d had a lot to offer the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Augsburg Galleries work to create supportive and meaningful experiences for artists, developing work that serves the Augsburg community, which is a reflection of our broader community,\u201d Wheatley said. \u201cOlivia and Silent exemplified that ethos by providing supportive opportunities for artists to explore what was meaningful to them and share those ideas with an engaged audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their show garnered a widespread positive response, including from local media such as Minnesota Public Radio<\/a> and Sahan Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOlivia and Silent had a vision to create meaningful connections,\u201d Wheatley said, \u201cand out of that\u2014out of the labor, imagination, and creativity\u2014a successful exhibition was created. That success was certainly measured in the public response to the show, but also in the experience the artists had creating and installing their work together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supporting students and artists<\/h2>\n
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Art gallery intern Gena Vang ’23<\/strong> helps create a temporary wall painting in one of the on-campus galleries. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTo Illuminate Abundance\u201d is just one example of the impactful experiences that the Augsburg Galleries strive for. Wheatley approaches her role at the university with a double-pronged focus in mind, making sure her efforts are spent both on students and artists. She employs students as gallery interns, empowering them with the responsibility of a variety of tasks, including maintaining the galleries, installing exhibitions, giving tours, and designing promotional materials for the shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I train the interns, I tell them that they will do a bit of everything in this job,\u201d Wheatley said. \u201cIt is rigorous, physical work. But most of all, they will develop as creative problem solvers. I tell them that I think of each show like a new puzzle that has never been done before. We figure things out as we go, and it\u2019s important that they are part of that process.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that working in tandem with the artists helps demystify the creative process and inspires the student interns\u2019 confidence in their own creative visions. It also helps ensure that the artists feel seen and heard every step along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the artist leaves feeling supported and wanting to make again, we have done our part in helping us all be more connected, because that is what it is all about: art as connection,\u201d Wheatley said. \u201cWhen we better understand ourselves, we better understand each other. When we better understand each other, we tend to be kinder, more caring individuals. Supporting artists, creating experiences for students, fostering connections: that is how I approach my work in the galleries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Community connections<\/h2>\n
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Photographer Yasmin Yassin\u2019s show \u201cShould Be Good Times\u201d (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In keeping with the goal of strengthening cultural ties to communities around Minneapolis, the Augsburg Galleries have fostered a relationship with Soomaal House of Art, the only Somali artist collective in the United States, located near campus in the Seward neighborhood. The Soomaal Fellowship, which was established in 2018, provides focused support for two artists working in both traditional and new media to collaborate with Augsburg instructors and students over an 18-month process that culminates in a gallery exhibit.<\/p>\n

The 2021\u201322 fellows were photographer and visual artist Yasmin Yassin and poet and visual artist Khadija Charif, who are both based in Minneapolis. They exhibited their work in separate shows at the Gage and Christensen galleries in Fall 2022. Augsburg and Soomaal House will welcome two new fellows into the program this fall.<\/p>\n

Charif believes the fellowship will help open the eyes of young Somali artists to the possibilities of making a career out of their art, and she hopes the exhibits at Augsburg were as meaningful to the audience as they were to the artists.<\/p>\n

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Artist and poet Khadija Charif\u2019s show, \u201cStrangers of My Sight\u2014In Truth and In Trial\u201d in the Augsburg Galleries (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWith Augsburg being an academic space, I hope that students would find anyone\u2019s work, anyone\u2019s craft, anyone\u2019s exhibitions to be of inspiration for them to do something similar\u2014to tell stories, to share narratives, to participate in peeling back the veils of their lives and their thoughts so that others can learn more about them and learn more about their own communities, cultures, and thought processes,\u201d Charif said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor myself, it was thrilling,\u201d she added. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to have something in your mind. But it\u2019s another thing when it\u2019s tangible and it\u2019s in a space where other people are seeing your most intimate thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that the experience also created tendrils that will reach beyond the campus and immediate neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beautiful thing about this collaboration is that it\u2019s inviting other artists to explore creating their work in academic institutions. After the exhibition, several artists from different backgrounds reached out wondering how they could participate and where they could collaborate with this fellowship and apply,\u201d Charif said. \u201cSome expressed interest in collaborating with students at the university, creating work that advances curiosity and allows the freedom of exploration and experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Artist and poet Khadija Charif\u2019s show, \u201cStrangers of My Sight\u2014In Truth and In Trial\u201d in the Augsburg Galleries (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s another example of how art appreciation is a two-way street, with both the artist and the audience growing from the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese were moving exhibitions that documented important perspectives and invited audiences into intimate conversations and meditations on human experiences,\u201d Wheatley said of the Soomaal Fellowship exhibits. \u201cIt\u2019s the work of the artists that garnered significant attention. And it\u2019s the work of the artists that I believe demonstrates in a meaningful way what the Augsburg Galleries are about.\u201d<\/p>\n

House agreed, adding that these unique exhibition spaces combined with the Art and Design Department\u2019s dedicated faculty make Augsburg an ideal destination for young artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the professors are so ready to be mentors in a way that\u2019s just really rare,\u201d she said. \u201cI developed a tight relationship with all of them, even some of them who I didn\u2019t have classes with. And it\u2019s a huge advantage to have multiple galleries. Each space is so different and has its own vibe. It\u2019s one of Augsburg\u2019s biggest strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Top image: Two people view the artwork in the “To Illuminate Abundance” show in the Christensen Art Gallery on Augsburg’s campus. (Photo by Courtney Perry)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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