Immigrant Status was a multi-disciplinary arts and community program series initiated in 2002 that was created in response to the loss experienced by Minnesota's immigrant community following the death of Senator Paul Wellstone. It explored the impact of current policies and conditions on new immigrants (defined here as having lived in the United States for 25 years or less). Immigrant Status artists created Faith in Women and Contributions visual art exhibitions, performances, and lead community dialogues and workshops.
"Nuweiba Bedouin" by Heba Amin
Faith in Women, celebrated immigrant and indigenous women, their faith and their strength. This exhibit looked at matriarchal societies and questioned gender differences as they relate to faith and its many definitions. Investigation of faith that women have when coming to this country and exploration of matriarchal societies, women in religious practices and "faith-based values." Faith in Women featured Lao weaver and Asian/Asian Pacific Islander community activist Bounxou Chanthraphone, her daughter, weaver and carver Laddavanh Ladda Insixiengmay, Ukranian sculptor Natasha Dikareva, Mexican multimedia artist Patricia Mendoza, Mexican artist Emily Villaseñor, Egyptian artist Heba Amin and Iranian artist Leila Habashi and mixed media artist Archana Vatsan.
Brown Bag Dialogues with guest artist speakerswere devoted to: The Defining of Immigrant Women and Their Rights From Trafficking to Feminism.
Young Immigrants, New Faith?
The Gender of Faith. Women Leaders: Challenging Misogyny, Racism and Taking Power.
Community Workshops were led by artists in the Faith in Women series. Workshops were devoted to preserving culture where artists and participants talked about their experiences as refugees and their goal to perpetuate the generations-old practice of weaving and soap/food carving. Participants brought something that describes their culture.
FILMS AND PERFORMANCES
Body Image featured films, videos and performances about issues of the body. Immigrant women artists perform spoken word poetry.
Conducting Women
included music, performance, poetry and dance by immigrant women artists. Featuring Ukrainian composer/pianist Tatyana Dikareva, Mexican conductor/pianist Gabriela Diaz-Alatriste and Graciela Diaz-Alatriste, singer-collaborator with Gabriela Diaz-Alatriste.
"In Touch" by Shakun Maheshwari
“Art creates the balance between the chaos around me and the peace inside me. If I can share my culture through my art, maybe you won’t be afraid of me. This is my contribution.” --- Shakun Maheshwari
Contributions
How are new immigrants reshaping the state of our art and the art of our state? How are immigrant artists making change through art? Who are the immigrant artists in your neighborhood? This exhibit showcased the creative contributions of visual, performing, media and literary artists who now call Minnesota home. Exhibits featured art created by Shakun Maheshwari (India), Hend Al-Mansour (Saudi Arabia), Toto Sugiarto (Indonesia), Niccu Taffarodi (Iran) and Betto Limón (México).
Koffi Mbairamadji and Edwin Beylerian served as curators and Selection Panelists. Lizbeth Lopez served as Curatorial Assistant and Selection Panelist. Heba Amin served as a Selection Panelist. Peter Haakon-Thompson served as Selection Panelist and Gallery Consultant. Margot Dedrick, served as a Curatorial Intern. Sankara Djeki served as Signature Designer.
Brown Bag Dialogues were coordinated by Robina Rai and themes included Contribution/Assimilation, Cosponsored by Family and Children's Services
Generational Contributions, Art and Health, and Art and Religion.
How do artists take traditional and contemporary POVs and create their own aesthetics? What do immigrants have to do be "assimilated" into mainstream culture and society? What have immigrants of different generations contributed to our communities? How does art heal? How do art and religion affect the social, cultural, economic, political aspects of our community lives?
Immigrant Status was made possible in part with the support from the The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, BlueCross BlueShield Foundation of Minnesota, Bush Foundation, The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation, KFAI Fresh Air Radio, The St. Paul Companies' Arts & Diversity Committee, The Wallace Foundation.
Community Partners include: Family & Children's Service, Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, St. Paul Jewish Community Center Trú Rúts Endeavors, and Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights.