TWO-SPIRIT STORIES
Penny Kagigebi, Curator for Community Collaboration
April 14 – July 11, 2026
Mary Giles Gallery
Artist reception Thursday, June 4, 5:30 – 7 pm
TWO-SPIRIT STORIES showcases the work of emerging Two-Spirit Native artists residing in Minnesota. In a celebration of traditional and contemporary handwork, these artists are affirming Indigenous and queer identity using themes of ceremony, community, and ancestral tradition.
Answering a call to pick up their gifts, to bring their medicine forward, TWO-SPIRIT STORIES offers craftwork and hand-built pieces that move past adornment to systems of identity, past utility into reciprocity. When we build with our hands, we invest energy and life force to be shared with relatives, loved ones and strangers alike.
Serving as Curator for Community Collaboration, Penny Kagigebi, (White Earth Ojibwe), invited Minnesota artists from tribes across the Upper Midwest to tell their stories. What is your story?
Participating Artists:
Raul Aguilar Jr.
Trevvy B
Chewiemonster
Alicia de la Cruz
Tylar Larsen
Awanaabe Syverson
(Header image, left to right: Flower Dreams by Alicia de la Cruz, Untitled by Chewiemonster, BAG Carried in Color by Raul Aguilar Jr)
This exhibition is a part of Minnesota Handwork — a year-long series of programming at Textile Center celebrating the importance of fiber art and the handmade.
Minnesota Handwork is a part of a national celebration called Handwork 2026, organized by Craft in America, with more than 250+ participating organizations. Learn more: minnesotahandwork.org
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Penny Kagigebi is also a FY 2026 Cultural Expression grant recipient from the Minnesota State Arts Board.