Artist Initiative
Artist Initiative
Naming is the first act of calling into being. The Names We Change is a series of video interviews investigating myriad immigrant diaspora responses to identity transformation in the way first names are kept or changed.
Ardell Brede: Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002.; Peggy Burnet: Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Chair of the Nominating Committee, Smithsonian National Board. Trustee, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Uri Camarena: Business consultant, Metropolitan Economic Development Association. Board chair, Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Officer at-large, Minnesota State Arts Board; Michael Charron: Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. Secretary/Treasurer, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Sean Dowse: Mayor of Red Wing, elected 2016. Former executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Philip McKenzie, Oboe and English horn player; adjunct oboe faculty, NDSU; Mary McReynolds-Pellinen: Executive director, Lyric Center for the Arts; coordinator, First Stage Gallery; Thomas Moss: Consultant to nonprofits and government agencies.; Dobson West: Senior advisor, Spell Capital Partners Fund.; Christina Widdess: Arts organization consultant; former managing director, Penumbra Theatre. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.
Guillermo Guardia: Sculptor; works in collections in North Dakota and Peru; Karissa Isaacs: Associate curator, Tweed Museum Duluth; Mary Beth Magyar: Sculptor; Arts Board grantee; Roderick Massey: Artist; Melanie Pankau: Artist and arts administrator; Arts Board grantee; Jane Powers: Mixed media sculptor and public art artist; Reed White: Painter and instructor; Arts Board grantee
Executive director Sue Gens (651) 539-2650
ACHF Arts Access
This work will deepen my artistic practice and provide a public forum for insight into the phenomena of `otherness` engendered in foreign first names. The work will be evaluated by the degree in which it carries the message and engages the audience and prompts diaspora immigrant volunteers to participate in ongoing video interviews. 2: This work will continue to develop my skills as an artist in video and community engagement, and further my ongoing exploration of life in diaspora. The quality of the video work will be evaluated by video artist peers. The work's success will be gauged by the number of participants who volunteer to contribute their story as a video interview.
This work deepened my artistic practice and provided a public forum for insight into the phenomena of 'otherness' engendered in first names. The amount of volunteer voices both from immigrant and LGBTQ communities that were willing to share their time and story with me is humbling and it became clear to me that I can continue to develop this project for many years to come. 2: This work continued developing my skills as an artist in video and community engagement, and furthers my ongoing exploration of life in diaspora. The work was evaluated by video artist peers and meets the general approval in sound, image quality, and editing. The number of participants that volunteered and continue to contribute their stories for video interviews gauge the work's success.