The Lanesboro Arts BIPOC Artist Residency Program launched with a pilot program in fall 2022/winter 2023, supporting five artists in residence. The Pilot Program was a suggestion of the BIPOC Artist Advisory Committee, in order for Lanesboro Arts to launch this new program with space and time to be intentional, responsive, and invite feedback before launching the program publicly.

In addition to feedback on lodging amenities, application process, and more, the Pilot Program artists also offered testimonials for future artists to watch or read for additional context. Below is a summary of the written feedback. Here is a link to a video testimonial from Mike Hoyt.

Feedback for Other Artists:

• The option of the cohort model nurtures collaborative work with other artists throughout the residency; thus, this allows for artists to work with other artists to come up with potential ideas.
• Application is seen as approachable, simple, straightforward, and easy.
• The two-week residency is a good option for those who can’t take a month off, although it goes quickly!
• This residency opportunity is dynamic in the way that since different artists have different goals, their focus is able to change throughout the duration of their stay.
• Because no product is expected at the end of the residency, this program allows artists to put their energy into what they feel is necessary—whether that creative endeavor is producing something tangible or not.
• The accommodation [art loft] was cozy and provided ample space, especially for one person!
• The staff makes you feel cared for, especially as things were well-organized and well-prepared.

BIPOC ARTIST IN RESIDENCE FALL/WINTER 2023-24

Charvis Harrell is a rising artist using his time and ability to display the beauty in the often-overlooked aspects of life. To understand the artwork of Charvis Harrell, one must understand the driving force behind his art and life. A third-generation mason, he had only enough time for art as a hobby until June of 2004. That summer, at twenty-eight, Harrell was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a disease that produces polyps within various organs in the body. This diagnosis put him on very light duty in his occupation, but, more importantly, it gave him a newfound appreciation for living. His desire to make the most of his time by paying tribute to the people and things that impact his life impacts his work. Through art, Harrell shines light upon the unsightly realities that we live in. Refusing to revolt, he continues his journey to examine the darkness.

Ed Bok Lee is the author of three books of poetry and prose, Real Karaoke People, Whorled, and Mitochondrial Night, as well as numerous short stories, plays, and essays. Lee’s poetry has been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, Korean, and Chinese. Honors include an American Book Award, an Asian American Literary Award (Members’ Choice Award), a Minnesota Book Award, and a PEN/Open Book Award. As a literary translator, he is a recipient of the 49th Modern Korean Literature Translation Grand Prize in Poetry. Lee attended kindergarten in Seoul, South Korea, studied and worked variously while attending university (at Minnesota, Yonsei (Seoul), Al-Farabi Kazakh National, Indiana, Berkeley, and Brown). With a background in journalism and political theater, he currently teaches at Metro State University, and for over two decades has also taught poetry in youth centers, prisons, public libraries, and many other programs around the nation and beyond.

https://edboklee.com/

Akiko Ostlund is a Twin Cities-based interdisciplinary storyteller, teaching artist, curator, and activist. The mediums she most commonly works with include poetry, music, dance, collage, and puppetry. Her work often includes themes of anti-oppression and social change. A native of Osaka, Japan, Akiko tells stories that reflect the narrative of immigrant women of color that are often underrepresented in white eurocentric society. For six years, Akiko has worked as an activist creating both visual and performing art pieces that center around social issues. Using puppetry, she aims to create moments for the audience in which they can slow down and be present, allowing them to take in the material more fully. As a non-native English speaker with a unique immigration story, Akiko also brings another cultural perspective which might aid in an interesting exchange. Telling stories for social change with new people is a crucial part of Akiko’s artistic practice.

In addition to creating and performing, Akiko has worked closely with the Minneapolis community through teaching at schools and museums, working for large-scale community art projects, curating shows, and working as an anti-oppression and wellness coordinator for the theatre company, Mixed Precipitation. These experiences have given Akiko vast experience in facilitating spaces where people with different backgrounds and abilities work collectively to achieve one goal.

https://www.instagram.com/akikoostlund1/

Tiphanie Copeland makes art with her full body. For Copeland, life is the canvas for creation. Our full selves are the living colors. She has always been fascinated with timelines and understanding the connection between people, places, and events. For her, time is expansive, and she is fascinated by examining the overlap of timelines within her community and how they interact with personal narratives. She is a walking Think Tank who (re)visualizes engagement with self and others. In her skill range, this tangibly looks like visual & performance arts. Group facilitation. Organizing. Public Speaking. Leadership and Program Development.

https://www.tiphaniecopeland.com/

Juan Perez’s creations are reflections of his odyssey, tales of migration and displacement, sharing intimate narratives woven from the collective memory, appropriated or borrowed. They offer a means of grappling with reality, in a strikingly candid yet poetic fashion. His works explore diverse rhetorical devices of imagery, revealing a quest for truth through the devices of accumulation, ellipsis, and derivation, across various artistic mediums.

Perez’s interest lies in excavating personal and intimate experiences, and how they intersect with and manifest in the public domain. The body, the land, and archives of all kinds form my essential resources, allowing him to generate images and sensory experiences, as he traverses diverse mediums such as photography, video performance, and installation.

https://www.perezlacruz.com/

Riza Shahid is a visionary hip-hop artist hailing from the vibrant Twin Cities of Minnesota. With a rich tapestry of R&B and jazz influences woven into his sound, RZ Shahid’s music transcends genres, delivering a chill and authentic vibe that leaves listeners captivated. His unique style can best be described as bouncy, groovy, and effortlessly cool, inviting you to surrender to the rhythm and immerse yourself in his world. As he gears up to release his highly anticipated EP, brace yourself for a musical journey like no other, as RZ Shahid pushes creative boundaries and challenges the status quo. Beyond his artistry, RZ Shahid is a prolific songwriter, a versatile artist, and an astute creative director, infusing his vision into every aspect of his work. Get ready to groove and prepare for the captivating content that accompanies his upcoming release, as RZ Shahid continues to redefine the boundaries of hip-hop and leave an indelible mark on the music industry.

www.rzshahid.com

Geno Okok is a Nigerian-American artist; at the age of seven, he started his passion for drawing and painting all through his youth. He eventually attended the Minneapolis Art Institute and received an Associate Degree in Fine Art in 2013. His work focuses on joyful moments in the lives of everyday people and documents the ways beauty, music, fashion, and grace manifest in the African spirit. He describes his style of painting as Expressionist Realism. He has partnered with galleries such as Gallery 13, Night Art Gallery, and Dow Gallery and has most recently worked on public mural projects in response to the police killing of George Floyd. In addition, he currently serves on the Brooklyn Park Task Force and as a member of the Advisory Council for the Center for Innovation and the Arts. He recently completed a public art piece at the Brooklyn Park Plaza next to Hennepin County Library with youth artists. The story and art were featured on Fox 9 News, Star Tribune, CCX Media News, and other media outlets.

https://www.facebook.com/geno4art/

PILOT YEAR 2022-23 ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE

Xiaolu Wang is a documentary filmmaker, curator, and translator born in the Hui Muslim Autonomous Region of China, whose practice is based in the mapping of interiority, with the use of video, poetry, memory, translations, and a decolonial lens. They contributed translations to journals including 單讀. Besides being a practicing cinephilia, they occasionally host podcasts, and frequently read Tao Te Ching. Their work has been generously supported by Metropolitan Regional Arts Council of Minnesota, Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, Jerome Foundation, International Documentary Association (IDA), APIA MN Film Collective, UnionDocs, and The On Being Project. They live on occupied Dakota homeland (present day Minneapolis) with two cats, Marvin and Moto, who sleep on separate couches.

R Yun Matea* is a moving image artist based in Minneapolis, on Dakota and Anishinaabe land. She was raised in California and Guatemala. Her practice in video and 16mm film is multimodal and research-based, and investigates race and labor, disease, and sites of historical and psychosocial trauma. R Yun is a recipient of the McKnight Media Artist Fellowship; Jerome Foundation Film, Video and Digital Production Grant; and University of Minnesota Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections Olson Innovation Artist in Residence Award. She earned her MFA in Film & Media Arts from Temple University and her BA in Geography from UC Berkeley. She has taught moving image studies and production at University of the Arts in Philadelphia, University of California at Santa Cruz, Minneapolis College of Art & Design and Carleton College.

Screenings and exhibitions of her work include: Center for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow; REDCAT Gallery, Los Angeles; Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles; Galerija Nova, Zagreb; Souvenirs from Earth International TV Project, Cologne; Raum für Projektion, Bergen, Olso & Buenos Aires; Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Minneapolis; PAPA Projects, St. Paul; Flaten Art Museum, Minnesota; Light Industry, Brooklyn; Mind TV/Media Independence, Philadelphia; Stella Elkins Tyler Gallery, Philadelphia; Philadelphia Film Festival, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia; Wits School of the Arts, Johannesburg; Festival Images Contre Nature, Marseille; Berlinale Talent Campus Editing Studio, Berlin.

[*formerly Keagy]

Mary Prescott is a Thai-American interdisciplinary artist, composer and pianist based in Minneapolis and New York City who explores the foundations and facets of identity and social conditions through experiential performance. She aims to foster understanding and create pathways for change by voicing emotional and human truths through artistic investigation and dissemination.

Prescott’s output includes several large-scale interdisciplinary works, improvised music, an immersive multimedia chamber opera, a 365-day sound journal, film music, as well as solo and chamber concert works.

As Co-Founder and inaugural Artistic Director of the Lyra Music Festival at Smith College, Prescott was named a New York Foundation for the Arts Emerging Leader. She has served on faculty at the Goppisberger Music Festival in Switzerland, the Louisiana Chamber Music Institute, and is a Teaching Artist with American Composers Orchestra.

Prescott holds degrees from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and Manhattan School of Music.