Leslie Barlow: Within, Between, and Beyond


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          Leslie Barlow:
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             Within, Between, and Beyond
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<p><span style="font-size:large">Leslie Barlow’s MAEP exhibition “Within, Between, and Beyond” explores representation, race, family, and belonging. Comprised of both paintings and video interviews, the work shares stories of 16 Minnesotans who use the terms mixed race, multiracial, and/or transnational/transracial adoptee to identify themselves and their lived experiences. “Within, Between, and Beyond” invites us to hold space for, recognize, and reconsider our presumptions about race in Minnesota.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:large">Barlow lives and works in Minneapolis. Her life-sized oil paintings serve as both monuments to community members and explorations into how race entangles the intimate sphere of love, family, and friendship. Her work is tender, nuanced, and inspired by community dialogue and personal experience. Barlow is a recipient of the 2021 Jerome Hill Fellowship, 2019 McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship, the 20/20 Springboard Fellowship, and the MN State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant in 2016 and 2018. In 2018, she received the Minnesota Museum of American Art Purchase Award in the Minnesota State Fair Juried Exhibition. Barlow earned her BFA in 2011 from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and her MFA in 2016 from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Interviews were conducted and created in partnership with Lola Osunkoya, MA LPCC, and Ryan Stopera of Free Truth Media.</span></p>
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<h2>Selected Video Interviews</h2>
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<h3 class="Mia-bold">Atquetzali</h3>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/574184017?color=ffffff&#038;byline=0" width="840" height="500" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<h3 class="Mia-bold">Duaba</h3>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/574181445?color=ffffff&#038;byline=0" width="840" height="500" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p><span style="font-size:large">More information about the exhibition, resources, and MidWest Mixed can be found <a href="https://www.midwestmixed.com/resources">here</a>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:large">More information can be found about the MidWest Mixed Annual Conference <a href="https://mwm.swoogo.com/mwmbeyondthebounds/1188516">here</a>. </span>
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This exhibition is part of the <a rel="noopener" href="http://new.artsmia.org/exhibitions/maep/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program</a>, now located in the U.S. Bank Gallery.
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Generous support for MAEP provided by:<br />
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-69432 " src="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/01101456/McKnight_logo_whtonblk_rgb-1.png" alt="" width="300" height="54" srcset="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/01101456/McKnight_logo_whtonblk_rgb-1.png 800w, https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/01101456/McKnight_logo_whtonblk_rgb-1.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p>
<p>Additional support provided by RBC Wealth Management.
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<p>MAEP artist Leslie Barlow in conversation with collaborator Lola Osunkoya and independent curator and arts administrator Keisha Williams as they unpack and discuss “Within, Between and Beyond”. As mixed race, Black women in the Twin Cities, they will share their personal understandings of the limitations of a “single story” and what it means to them to hold a multiplicity of identities and intersections. Additionally, they will explore why identity representation is affirming, but not the end-all to building a more abundant future for generations to come.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/607598568?h=8836eef4d8&#038;color=ffffff&#038;byline=0" width="840" height="600" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
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<h2 class="border-top-3 padding-top">About the speakers</h2>
<p>Leslie Barlow is a visual artist and educator living and working in Minneapolis, MN. In her visual art practice, Barlow&#8217;s current work uses figurative oil painting to share stories that explore the politics of representation, identity, otherness, and race. Barlow is an instructor at the University of Minnesota, is a part of the organizing team at MidWest Mixed, a member of the mural collective Creatives After Curfew, and she also supports emerging artists as the Director of PF Studios and Studio 400. Barlow is a current Jerome Hill Artist Fellow and McKnight Visual Artist Fellow.</p>
<p>Lola Osunkoya is a licensed psychotherapist and owner of the counseling practice, Neither/Both LLC. Lola has created and facilitated racial identity-based content for local and national education, media, and community development platforms.  As an emerging artist, Lola uses writing and multimedia art to explore themes of identity, bringing theoretical concepts about race to mainstream art and conversations. Healing from the damaging impact of racism is a central theme of her work. </p>
<p>Keisha Williams is the Curatorial Department Assistant and Artist Liaison in Contemporary Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She holds an MA in Visual Arts Management and Curating (2017) and an MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies (2015). She is curator of “Joe Horton: Vessel” (2019), co-curator of “Mapping Black Identities” (2019-2020) and “Mapping Black Identities: 3 Films” (2019) exhibitions, and co-founder of the Curatorial Advisory Committee at Mia. She is a contributing author to the recent Routledge publication “Accessibility, Inclusion, and Diversity and Critical Event Studies”, 2019.</p>
<p>Generous support for Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP) provided by McKnight Foundation. Additional support provided by RBC Wealth Management.</p>
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<a href="https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/leslie-barlow-within-between-and-beyond/"><button class="background-black">Explore the Exhibition</button></a>
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<h2 class="Mia-bold">Event sponsor: </h2>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://new.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/block-logo_0000_Ameriprise_Logo.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="148" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-98116" />
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Virtual Artist Talk: Leslie Barlow

<p><span style="font-size:x-large;">In this discussion moderated by MidWest Mixed, participants and collaborators of the “Within, Between, and Beyond” project will come together for a roundtable about their experiences as interview and portraiture subjects. </span></p>
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/637184860?h=2cde50cda5&#038;color=ffffff&#038;byline=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script></p>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/637184860">Talk &#8211; Within, Between, and Beyond</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/artsmia">Minneapolis Institute of Art</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
<h2 class="border-top-3 padding-top">About the speakers</h2>
<p><span class="Mia-bold">Alissa Paris</span> is a mother, teaching artist, and space-maker who identifies as a queer, Black/latinx/white, cisgender womvn living on Anishanaaabeg &amp; Dakhóta people’s stolen land, Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2014, Paris co-founded and currently serves as the Executive Director of MidWest Mixed, a Minnesota-based volunteer-led organization dedicated to the diverse experience of multiracial and mixed-race people as well as transracial and transnational adoptees of color. For more than a decade, Paris has served as a Teaching Artist and led dance workshops across the Twin Cities region. As an engaged and active member of the local Twin Cities arts community, Paris has a passion for performing in works that drive dialogues for change. Her approach and practice are grounded in movement and incorporate bringing body awareness to our work. Paris is so honored to lead in the third biennial MidWest Mixed Conference this August.</p>
<p><span class="Mia-bold">Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara</span> is a mama, writer, and anthropologist committed to community building.  She is the creator of the now retired Mixed Dreamers blog on critical mixed race studies and the Rochester Racial Justice Toolkit. Her short stories have appeared in Joyland and The Offing. She currently works as the Diversity Program Director at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine &amp; Science. She also serves as host and associate producer of R-Town, a local civic and cultural affairs show on  KSMQ-TV.   Nicole holds a B.A. in anthropology/sociology from Swarthmore College and a master’s degree in migration studies from Oxford University. Raised in New York City, Nicole now lives in Rochester, MN with her family.</p>
<p><span class="Mia-bold">Seth Nfonoyim-Hara</span> is a biomedical engineer, outdoor and survival prep-enthusiast and papa to Zoraida and a Nova Sojourner. He currently works as a Senior Engineer at Mayo Clinic and serves the local youth, arts, and social justice communities in Rochester, MN through mentorship and allyship. Since college, Seth has been committed to cultivating community for mixed people and youth. Seth holds a BA from Swarthmore College and a PhD from the University of Southern California (USC). </p>
<p><span class="Mia-bold">Erin Sharkey</span> is a writer, arts and abolition organizer, cultural worker, and film producer based in Minneapolis. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University, and is the co-founder, with Junauda Petrus, of an experimental arts collective called Free Black Dirt. She is editing, A Darker Wilderness, a forthcoming anthology of Black nature writing for Milkweed Editions (2022). In 2021, Erin was awarded the Black Seed Fellowship from Black Visions and the Headwaters Foundation. Erin teaches with Minnesota Prison Writers Workshop.</p>
<p><span class="Mia-bold">Julia Gay (she/they)</span> is a dancer, playwright and stand-up comedian. She is a Chinese adoptee who writes and creates to bridge the vastness between memory, heart and home. Julia was a dancer with Ananya Dance Theatre from 2016-2020 and was the recipient of The Playwrights’ Center’s 2017-2018 Many Voices Mentorship. In October 2019, as part of Dreamland Arts&#8217; Theaterwalla program, Julia produced her one-woman show, Motherlanded, exploring her personal narrative as a Chinese adoptee. Learn more about her work at www.juliagay.com.</p>
<p><span class="Mia-bold">Lacey Mamak (they/them)</span> is an academic librarian at a community college where Lacey teaches students research strategies and information literacy across all disciplines and manages library electronic resources. Lacey holds a BA from Mills College and an MLIS from St. Catherine University. Raised in San Francisco, they have called Minneapolis home for almost two decades. Lacey believes in the power of storytelling and visibility as a way to create cultural change. </p>


Virtual Conversation: Within, Between, and Beyond

<p>Celebrate the beauty and diversity of all families this Family Day. Explore Leslie Barlow’s MAEP exhibition, &#8220;Within, Between, and Beyond,&#8221; which features stories and identities of mixed race and transracial adoptee participants. Get a coloring sheet designed by Barlow and be inspired to make your own unique family portrait using oil pastels. And hear the children’s story “Cooper’s Lesson” read out loud by author Sun Yung Shin in a prerecorded video.</p>
<h2>Free Family Day Artist Totes</h2>
<p>During September&#8217;s Family Day weekend (September 11–12, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.), you can pick up a free Family Day Artist Tote with an oil pastel set at Mia’s Third Avenue entrance. If you have a Family Day Artist Tote bag from a previous Family Day, you can bring it along to fill with new art supplies. Totes will also be available onsite if you need one.</p>
<p>Materials in the kit complement the Virtual Family Day program’s activities but are not essential to enjoying the activities. Totes are available while supplies last.</p>
<p><a href="https://new.artsmia.org/programs/youth-and-family/virtual-family-day/"><button class="background-black">Click Here for this month&#8217;s activities</button> </a></p>
<p>Family Day Major Sponsor:</p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-71982" src="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/04045423/BofA_rgb-BW-1-1200x134.png" alt="" width="285" height="32" /></p>


Virtual Family Day: Family Portraits

<p>Saturday, October 9th, 2021<br />
3-4:30PM<br />
Pillsbury Auditorium<br />
<a href="https://tickets.artsmia.org/events/017c131e-d9c2-25db-6128-95cf3235ac3c"><button class="black-background">Click here to register</button></a>. </p>
<p>As part of “Within, Between, and Beyond”, Ryan Stopera of Free Truth Media will host a free film festival featuring short films from local artists exploring the topic of identity. Excerpts from video interviews Stopera filmed of 16 subjects who identify as mixed race people or transracial adoptees will also be included in the festival. </p>
<h2 class="border-top-3 padding-top">About the artist</h2>
<p><span class="Mia-bold">Ryan Stopera</span> is a photographer, filmmaker, producer and educator based in Minneapolis. He has worked with community organizations for over 15 years including with individuals experiencing homelessness, children and families, and foster care youth, as well as in program development and affordable housing development.  He has shown work at The Walker Art Center, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Gamut Gallery, Public Functionary, Indigenous Roots Cultural Art Center and Third Place Gallery.  Ryan&#8217;s photography has been featured in Time, The Guardian, VH1 and more.  He’s the recipient of the 2018 Artist Neighborhood Partnership with CURA at the University of Minnesota, the 2019 MN State Arts Board Cultural Community Partnership Grant, the 2021 MSAB Artist Initiative Grant, and he was a 2020 Creative Community Fellow with National Art Strategies.  He is also the Co-Director of Free Truth Media, a media company using art as a tool for liberation.  Ryan is also part of the team at Public Functionary, an arts organization supporting grassroots cultural organizing and production across disciplines through the development of highly visible and resourced spaces that lead to creative collaborations and economic opportunities for early career and emerging artists.</p>
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<h2 class="Mia-bold">Event sponsor: </h2>
<p><img loading="lazy" src="https://new.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/block-logo_0000_Ameriprise_Logo.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="148" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-98116" />
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Leslie Barlow: Within, Between, and Beyond

Leslie Barlow: Within, Between, and Beyond

July 16, 2021 - October 31, 2021U.S. Bank Gallery Free Exhibition

Selected Video Interviews

Atquetzali

Duaba

July 16, 2021 - October 31, 2021
U.S. Bank Gallery
Free Exhibition