MANY WATERS: A MINNESOTA BIENNIAL
July 24 – October 2, 2021
“In 2015, the small river city of Alton, Illinois suffered significant flooding. In his picture of Alton, Billy Flynn captured the aftermath of what was a once-in-a-generation event, but now occurs every few years. Flynn calls it “the simple equation of climate change: warmer air holds more moisture, and more moisture causes more rain.” As the water subsides, it reveals the new infrastructure of necessity, sandbags. We can see just above them Morrison’s Irish Pub, trying to stay afloat in a newly dangerous landscape. Morrison’s looks like so many beloved local pubs, and Flynn’s image of it barricaded against rising waters is a vivid picture of the everyday toll of inaction to the climate crisis. The stop sign in the bottom right corner serves as both a futile plea to the rising water and a call to end climate change denial.”
“On view in M’s windows along Robert and 4th streets, its skyway Ecolab Entrance, and at NewStudio Gallery.
Many Waters: A Minnesota Biennial is a look into some of the imaginative and dedicated ways that artists and culture bearers from across the state are engaging with water. The exhibition will be on view from July 24 through October 2, 2021 in the M’s window galleries on Robert and 4th streets, in the M’s skyway Ecolab Entrance, and at NewStudio Gallery in St. Paul. Featured creative practices are based in both observation and engagement; some are solitary, while others are collaborative. Many Waters includes multisensory art in a wide range of media.
The exhibition is informed by the M’s proximity to the complex and storied Mississippi River, which goes by many names. A number of featured artists work in close conversation with the watershed, exploring and bringing to greater public consciousness its critical histories. In her video installation, Sisseton-Wahpeton media artist Mona Smith weaves together Dakhóta reflections on the river to foster remembrance, understanding, and acknowledgment of relationship to place.”
