The 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺 presents 𝙎𝙀𝙀𝙉, an exhibition created as part of a years-long collaboration with WAAC. 𝙎𝙀𝙀𝙉 features currently-incarcerated artists, activists, and academics in collaboration with artists, activists, and academics in the Twin Cities community. Together they explore issues of incarceration, isolation, healing, and coming home. This exhibition is arranged across two galleries to evoke the experiences of “inside” (carceral) and “outside” (healing and community).

Date: Opening Saturday, February 8 and running thru mid-May
Venue: Weisman Art Museum, 333 E River Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55455

Opening day will feature drop-in artist activations in the galleries, a reading library, self-guided tours, and light bites and beverages.

Admission is free and open to the public. See you there!

Parking available in garage under museum, on street, in nearby surface lots, and in the East River Road Garage

ACTIVATIONS 

Cage[d] with Cheng Xiong
Featured Exhibition Gallery
Prolonged isolation profoundly impacts a person’s well-being, fundamentally altering how individuals perceive themselves and the world, with long-term consequences even after release. For inside artist Sarith Peou, a structured exercise routine has become a means of escape.
Black Label Movement dancer Cheng Xiong will enact Sarith’s exercise routine within the confined space of cage[d]. This live activation invites reflection on the harsh realities of isolation and the persistence of resilience, expressed through movement.

cage[d] activation schedule: 

• Saturday, February 8 – 11:30-12:30; 1:00-2:00; 2:30-3:30 
• Saturday, March 1  – 11:30-12:30; 1:00-2:00; 2:30-3:30 
• Saturday, April 5  – 11:30-12:30; 1:00-2:00; 2:30-3:30 
• Saturday, May 3  – 11:30-12:30; 1:00-2:00; 2:30-3:30 

What’s In Your Bin? with Erin Sharkey
Target Gallery
Imagine packing a bin—18 inches in length, 15 inches in width, and 15 inches in height—that holds the only items you’re allowed while incarcerated, such as clothing, hygiene products, legal documents, and personal letters or photos. What would you choose, and what do these items say about you? This activity invites reflection on the politics of the property bin—how limited space, systemic restrictions, and personal choices influence what people carry with them and what they leave behind.

When a Garden Becomes a Canopy of Verses with Diane Willow
Riverview Gallery
Inspired by artist Ronald “Bino” Greer II’s memories of his grandfather’s gardens as places of refuge during his incarceration, this activity invites you to connect with growth and renewal. Write your own words or phrases, drawn from Greer’s poetry, onto provided seed paper. Take your “seed poem” home, plant it, and nurture its growth as a living reflection of hope and transformation.

Live Drawing Session with Chris Fausto Cabrera
Riverview Gallery
Artist Chris Fausto will conduct a live drawing session, sharing his creative process behind An Inheritance. In this work, he uses handmade paper created through the practice of soaking sweetgrass, transforming traumatic documents into art that fosters healing.

Fong Lee and Kevin Yang
Featured Exhibition Gallery
Join artists Fong Lee and Kevin Yang in the gallery for a khi tes ceremony, an important Hmong spiritual practice symbolizing connectedness, renewal, and blessing. The artists will guide you in tying white strings to another person’s wrist, representing bonds of care and spiritual well-being. Whether it’s a long-time friend or a stranger, this simple yet profound gesture fosters a sense of community and shared humanity. Kevin and Fong envision this act as “a foundation for a world where people can better care for each other.”

Reading Library & Reflection Space
Riverview Gallery 
SEEN illuminates the stories and creative expressions of artists both within and beyond the carceral system. Developed collaboratively by the exhibition’s contributors, this curated collection of books, essays, and articles explores themes of incarceration’s human impact, systemic injustice, and the transformative power of art and storytelling. 

𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀: B Batchelor and Emily Baxter; Sarith Peou and Carl Flink; Ronald “Bino” Greer II and Diane Willow; Lennell “Fresh” Martin and Erin Sharkey; Von Johnson and D.A. Bullock; Jeffery Young, C Fausto Cabrera, and Korina Barry; and Fong Lee and Kevin Yang.