Clans Gather
Chholing Taha, Multi-discipline Artist
Artist Reception 2 – 4pm, June 17, 2023
Exhibit May 26 – extended to September 2, 2023
“Clans Gather was created as an acknowledgement that all life is interconnected. The greatest power we have is when we interconnect as one on all levels of life, from prayers, being human, admiring the dragonfly to knowing where we stand within the star systems.” -Chholing Taha
Taha’s art strives for us to focus our lenses, just as she focuses her lens through her very practice. Her’s is a holistic artistic practice striving to communicate and commune with her own heritage and experience, at the same time encouraging others to find understanding and resonance with their own lived and inherited experience. “Wisdom finally comes when we realize we’ve all been affected by colonialism,” she sagely remarks. “[Not everyone] thinks they’ve been affected, but they certainly have, intensely.” Ultimately, Taha’s art emboldens us to align our own lenses so that we might open ourselves up to better understanding our own experience in the world.
Artist Bio
I am certified Native American artisan of Cree First Nations heritage. I have been art-crafting and writing intensively for the past 40+ years. My family and pugs now reside within the stunning boundaries of Minnesota. Born in the northeastern woodlands of the U.S. and Canadian borders in the 1940’s lives a territory where my spirit was exposed to a rich and varied natural environment. This precious experience continues to influence my artwork throughout my life. Living has been a circular journey. Traveling through sometimes stormy canvases and eventually flying into the open skies splashed across a human canvas. As with all living beings we will return back to the beginning at the end of the trail, a time for review, your heart light’s reflection. My art works may be found in museum, corporate and private collections throughout the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Japan. 2007 winner of the Eiteljorg Purchase Award 2008 First Place winner in Textiles at the Annual Eiteljorg Indian Market. 2009 & 2011 Best in Show at the In the Spirit Contemporary Art Exhibit.
Thanks to the Blandin Foundation and the McKnight Foundation for their support of programming in the Miikanan Gallery.
