Mother Tongue

The Great Northern will commission Mother Tongue, a new multimedia work from interdisciplinary Minnesota artist Mary Prescott. In fall 2024, The Great Northern and Prescott will invite six local matriarchs from cultural communities represented in the Twin Cities (Hmong, Somalian, Indigenous, Mexican, Indian, Ethiopian, etc.) to a potluck meal. Each guest will bring a dish to share with the group that represents their heritage, telling the story of why it holds meaning for them personally. Through this project, The Great Northern will explore how cooking and family recipes can recover the lost legacies of immigrant women, particularly Asian women, whose cultures and histories have often been erased through misogyny, racism, displacement, and assimilation.