Contacts: Carolyn
Marinan, Communications, 612-348-5969, www.hennepin.us/hennepingallery
Sarah Larsson, Outreach and Development
Director, Somali Museum of Minnesota sarah.larsson@somalimuseum.org, 952-818-0021 www.somalimuseum.org
Kirstin Wiegmann, Forecast Public
Art, 651-641-1128x110 www.forecastpublicart.org
The Somali Museum
of Minnesota is the only museum in the world devoted to preserving,
celebrating, and advancing Somali art and culture. The Somali Museum displays a
collection of over 700 artifacts from Somalia and the diaspora, and offers
presentations and performances about Somali art and history around Minnesota,
as well as in six states around the U.S. and Canada.
This exhibition -
“The Somali Museum of Minnesota: Treasures of the Diaspora” - at the Hennepin Gallery features
highlights from the museum’s collection. The display showcases the cultural
roots that Somalis in Minnesota share, and uses traditional arts as a platform
for all Minnesotans to experience the richness of Somali culture and glimpse
their Somali neighbors’ history and traditions.
The exhibition
includes contemporary paintings by featured artist Aziz Osman. Osman creates
innovative abstract work, as well as paintings depicting traditional life in
Somalia and sculptures rooted in African styles. His work is informed by
impressionism and abstract expressionism, and his paintings have been displayed
at the Somali Museum of Minnesota, Made Here, Hennepin County Medical Center,
Thrivent Financial, African Development Center, Midtown Global Market and more.
The collection from
the Somali Museum also includes:
-Woven mats
(kebed)
-Milk and
water containers (dhiil)
-Traditional
clothing and shoes
-Decorative
bowls and spoons (xeero and fandhal)
Special events:
Traditional dance performance: Somali Museum Dance
Troupe
December 8, Noon - 1 p.m.
Hennepin County Government Center Skyway
Level
The Somali Museum Dance Troupe
studies and performs traditional dances from around Somalia. A program of the
Somali Museum of Minnesota, the dance troupe’s mission is to empower
Somali-American youth to dig deeply into studying their culture and embrace
their potential to use art as a tool for building community as they grow into
the next generation’s leaders.
As one of only a few Somali
dance ensembles in the United States, the Somali Museum Dance Troupe has built
a powerful reputation within the Somali diaspora, and continues to impress
audiences with their performances of traditional dances from all regions of
Somalia. The Somali Museum Dance Troupe
also brings together Minnesotans from diverse backgrounds to experience and
embrace the beauty of Somali traditional culture.
The Dance Troupe performs at
events around the Twin Cities and beyond. Notable performances include Eid
Celebration at Mall of America, Somali Independence Day, Somali Hero Awards,
Minneapolis Sister City Celebration, West Bank Block Party, Open Streets, and celebration
for the U.S. Somalia Embassy. The Troupe has appeared and received invitations
to perform in Grand Forks, North Dakota; Washington, DC; Toronto, Ontario;
Columbus, Ohio; and Seattle, Washington.
The Troupe is composed of high school and college students from the
Minneapolis metro who are passionate about studying their Somali culture.
Brown Bag speaker: Maslah Jama
January 17, Noon - 1 p.m.
“Somali Culture: Mogadishu to Minnesota”
Hennepin County Government Center Auditorium, A-level
Maslah Jama is a
presenter with the Hennepin County Cultural Speakers’ Bureau. This lecture will
offer an intimate discussion about Somali culture and the ways that traditions
evolve as the Somali people move across borders and time, with special
attention to the roles that Somali traditions play in contemporary life for
Somalis in Minnesota today.
This exhibition and
corresponding events are supported by the Hennepin
County Multicultural Arts Committee (MCAC). MCAC was created by the County
Board in 1995 as part of the organization’s response to the Minneapolis
Initiative Against Racism. MCAC sponsors art displays, performances,
discussions and exhibits representing Hennepin County’s diverse cultural
canvas.
For this exhibition and corresponding events, MCAC is receiving support from Forecast Public Art, a
non-profit arts organization that connects artist talent with community needs.
The Hennepin
Gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6
p.m., at the Hennepin County Government Center, A-level, 300. S. Sixth St.,
Minneapolis. The exhibit is sponsored by Hennepin County Communications.
The Gallery is a
project of Hennepin County Communications.
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