Minneapolis-based artist traces family histories across Tripoli, Baghdad, and Haifa through sculpture, sound, textiles, and natural pigments
Minneapolis—The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) will present “Rotem Zin-Tamir: Latitude 33°,” a new exhibition organized by the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP), on view November 21, 2026, through February 21, 2027, in the U.S. Bank Gallery. Through sculpture, sound, and painting, the exhibition explores how cultural knowledge and memory are carried across generations when people are separated from the places and objects of their past.
The exhibition takes its title from the 33rd parallel north, a geographic line that passes through Tripoli, where Zin-Tamir’s father’s family came from; Baghdad, where her mother’s family came from; and Haifa, where Zin-Tamir grew up. The line connects the places central to her family history across geographic distance. “My family story is one of migration, of objects that had to be left behind,” said Rotem Zin-Tamir. “My grandparents could only carry with them the intangible: stories, songs, recipes. I am still trying to piece together my identity, to understand where I come from, and to keep this heritage alive in me and my child.”
Zin-Tamir’s sculptures draw on four generations of women in her family. Working with natural dyes and pigments, printing, metalwork, and handmade textiles, she transforms materials and techniques associated with everyday life into contemporary sculptural forms. The works consider how objects can carry family history, memory, and cultural knowledge across generations.
Exhibition Highlights
- A new installation created specifically for the exhibition consisting of three large sculptural objects
- Sculptures incorporating Xerox prints of an embroidered textile made by Zin-Tamir’s grandmother for her dowry, alongside colorful collages created from pigments made from plants and spices, including sumac and henna
- A sound work created in collaboration with sound artist Nir Jacob Younessi, incorporating recordings of traditional Iraqi and Libyan Jewish songs sung in Judeo-Arabic by members of Zin-Tamir’s family
- Large-scale sculptures originally created for “Rima: Passages in Sephardic Sculpture,” Zin-Tamir’s 2024 solo exhibition at the Rochester Art Center
- An immersive sensory environment exploring migration, memory, displacement, and the transmission of cultural knowledge through bodies, materials, and everyday practices
Exhibition Details
Exhibition Title: “Rotem Zin-Tamir: Latitude 33°”
Dates: November 21, 2026–February 21, 2027
Location: U.S. Bank Gallery
Cost: Free
For more information about this and other upcoming exhibitions, visit artsmia.org.
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About the Artist
Rotem Zin-Tamir is a Minneapolis-based artist whose practice explores migration, transcultural identity, material culture, and belonging through sculpture and other sensory forms. Her work has been exhibited at institutions including the Rochester Art Center, Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Haifa City Museum, Locust Projects, and the Harn Museum of Art. She was a recipient of the 2021 McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship and has received support from the Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship, the Minnesota Jewish Arts Council, and an eExhibition Grant from Artis Contemporary.
About the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP)
The Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP) is a Mia program, juried by local artists, dedicated to supporting artists living and working in Minnesota. Founded in 1975 as a partnership between the museum and regional artists, MAEP reflects a unique, ongoing relationship spanning more than 50 years. Today, MAEP supports regional artists through juried exhibitions at Mia, as well as programs, workshops, newsletters, and other opportunities designed to serve artists at all career stages.
Support for the MAEP is provided by RBC Wealth Management.
About the Minneapolis Institute of Art
Home to more than 100,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) inspires wonder, spurs creativity, and nourishes the imagination. With extraordinary exhibitions and one of the finest art collections in the country—from all corners of the globe, from ancient to contemporary—Mia links the past to the present, enables global conversations, and offers an exceptional setting for inspiration. Learn more about Mia in our latest Impact Report.
General admission to Mia is always free, but some special exhibitions charge a nominal fee.
For more information, call 1-612-870-3000 or visit artsmia.org. Everyone is welcome. Always.