Stop in for Open Studio hours with Lanesboro Artist-in-Residence Akiko Ostlund on Saturday, April 23rd and April 30th from 10 – 11:30 a.m. in the second floor studio of the St. Mane Theatre.
In this open studio, Akiko will share tools and tips from her typical process of creating work initiated by voice and story. Participants are welcome to work alongside Akiko on their own puppet theater projects. This is a casual drop-in open studio for all ages!
Akiko will be working on a toy theatre piece examining racism as the Lanesboro Arts Artist in Residence from April 11 to May 9, 2022. During her residency, Ostlund will workshop her work-in-progress toy theatre piece, Racist Hotline, centering on an imaginary live radio/podcast show. Through this comedic puppet piece Ostlund hopes to examine how racism is normalized in daily life, and create a shared language with the audience in order to cultivate the culture that challenges the oppressive nature of the system we live in. Akiko’s work is often experimental, but she aims for a certain type of clarity. She creates work that shares stories of her people, who are constantly pushed aside and erased. These stories create a shared language which in turn becomes a tool to dismantle oppression
About Akiko Ostlund
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. For six years, Akiko has worked as an activist creating both visual and performing art pieces that center around social issues. 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. 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 brings another cultural perspective to community exchange. Telling these 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 theatre company, Mixed Precipitation. These experiences have given Akiko vast experience at facilitating spaces where people with different backgrounds and abilities work collectively to achieve one goal.
Learn more about Akiko and her residency project by clicking here.
The Lanesboro Artist Residency Program is supported by the Jerome Foundation.
