The Twin Cities arts lineup this weekend centers voices too often pushed to the margins. A North Loop art fair will put a spotlight on incarcerated artists, Mizna’s latest documentary screening follows Syrian musicians in exile, and a holiday comedy play will feature an all-Native cast. 

Art fair spotlights incarcerated artists

A black-and-white sketch of Prince captures him in punk glamour, his face twisted into a grimace. “The Pain of Prince,” created by North Minneapolis artist Lennell Maurice Martin, is one of several works from Art From the Inside, a program connecting incarcerated artists at Shakopee, Faribault and Stillwater prisons with the public through exhibits across Minnesota. 

Martin grew up immersed in Boston’s graffiti and hip-hop scene before moving to North Minneapolis at age 8. After studying visual communications as a young adult, Martin was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison at Stillwater, where his creative practice took root.

Art From the Inside will host its first-ever North Loop Art Fair on Friday, showcasing work by incarcerated artists like Martin and Jaik Elliott, alongside beadwork, paintings, photography and pottery from community artists.

Art From the Inside began in the aftermath of the 2018 killing of corrections officer Joseph Gomm, who was fatally attacked by an incarcerated man at the Stillwater prison — a tragedy that changed the course of former corrections officer Antonio Espinosa’s life and work. The Stillwater facility is now in the process of closing; it is to be entirely shut down in 2029.

“I wanted to do something to honor my friend’s death and try to bring peace and tranquility back into this space,” Espinosa said. “Is it possible to give people worth when they’re in their worst moments? Can we show them that they can do better,and that they have talents?”

Inside the system, the process begins with posting flyers, inviting anyone interested in creating artwork to participate. Those who respond, write a “kite” — a letter to their caseworker — which gets sent to Espinosa. Selection isn’t about experience; it’s about willingness, vulnerability and discipline. 

“They have to stay out of trouble so they can continue to work with us,” Espinosa said. “It’s been a joy to go back into the system and see the fellas that I used to discipline at times, and listen to their stories because we all have a story. Everybody has a story, and they want to be heard.”

The nonprofit’s art and wellness fellowship also teaches incarcerated participants breathing techniques, stress management and conflict resolution. 

Lori Ritzinger Burks, a volunteer who transcribes handwritten reflections from program participants, said she sees the same theme over and over in the notes she reads.

“When you’re incarcerated, you’re invisible,” she said. “You have family but the world doesn’t care. That’s the feeling of the incarcerated.”

When Espinosa brings back handwritten notes from exhibition visitors, the sense of connection is immediate.

“You see these grown men running around in a unit, showing their buddies what somebody said about the artwork,” Espinosa said. “It’s incredible for me to see how proud they are. That’s what we need. We need to try to uplift people instead of suppressing people.” 

Espinosa recalled running into a formerly incarcerated man at Menard’s, a decade after his release. The man hugged him, exchanged numbers and wanted to stay in touch.

“It was gratifying for me that he recognized me and hugged me,” he said. “When people come out looking for jobs and looking for opportunities, people close the doors on them because they have a criminal record and then they go back to what they know. We don’t want that. We want people to feel like they have second chances in their life.”

For Espinosa, art has become a vehicle for more open conversations around incarceration, humanizing the people who create the work. 

“All I’ve been hearing is, ‘When’s the next exhibit?” Espinosa said. “People’s reactions are generally wanting to understand the person who created the art. It kind of opens up their compassion.” A black-and-white sketch of Prince captures him in punk glamour, his face twisted into a grimace. “The Pain of Prince,” created by North Minneapolis artist Lennell Maurice Martin, is one of several works from Art From the Inside, a program connecting incarcerated artists at Shakopee, Faribault and Stillwater prisons with the public through exhibits across Minnesota. 

Martin grew up immersed in Boston’s graffiti and hip-hop scene before moving to North Minneapolis at age 8. After studying visual communications as a young adult, Martin was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison at Stillwater, where his creative practice took root.

Art From the Inside will host its first-ever North Loop Art Fair on Friday, showcasing work by incarcerated artists like Martin and Jaik Elliott, alongside beadwork, paintings, photography and pottery from community artists.

Art From the Inside began in the aftermath of the 2018 killing of corrections officer Joseph Gomm, who was fatally attacked by an incarcerated man at the Stillwater prison — a tragedy that changed the course of former corrections officer Antonio Espinosa’s life and work. 

“I wanted to do something to honor my friend’s death and try to bring peace and tranquility back into this space,” Espinosa said. “Is it possible to give people worth when they’re in their worst moments? Can we show them that they can do better,and that they have talents?”

Inside the system, the process begins with posting flyers, inviting anyone interested in creating artwork to participate. Those who respond, write a “kite” — a letter to their caseworker — which gets sent to Espinosa. Selection isn’t about experience; it’s about willingness, vulnerability and discipline. 

“They have to stay out of trouble so they can continue to work with us,” Espinosa said. “It’s been a joy to go back into the system and see the fellas that I used to discipline at times, and listen to their stories because we all have a story. Everybody has a story, and they want to be heard.”

The nonprofit’s art and wellness fellowship also teaches incarcerated participants breathing techniques, stress management and conflict resolution. 

Lori Ritzinger Burks, a volunteer who transcribes handwritten reflections from program participants, said she sees the same theme over and over in the notes she reads.

“When you’re incarcerated, you’re invisible,” she said. “You have family but the world doesn’t care. That’s the feeling of the incarcerated.”

When Espinosa brings back handwritten notes from exhibition visitors, the sense of connection is immediate.

“You see these grown men running around in a unit, showing their buddies what somebody said about the artwork,” Espinosa said. “It’s incredible for me to see how proud they are. That’s what we need. We need to try to uplift people instead of suppressing people.” 

Espinosa recalled running into a formerly incarcerated man at Menard’s, a decade after his release. The man hugged him, exchanged numbers and wanted to stay in touch.

“It was gratifying for me that he recognized me and hugged me,” he said. “When people come out looking for jobs and looking for opportunities, people close the doors on them because they have a criminal record and then they go back to what they know. We don’t want that. We want people to feel like they have second chances in their life.”

For Espinosa, art has become a vehicle for more open conversations around incarceration, humanizing the people who create the work. 

“All I’ve been hearing is, ‘When’s the next exhibit?” Espinosa said. “People’s reactions are generally wanting to understand the person who created the art. It kind of opens up their compassion.” 

How Syrian refugees used music to survive exile

Mizna, an arts organization amplifying the voices of Arab, Southwest Asian and North African artists, will host a documentary screening on Saturday to reflect on the changes in Syria one year after the fall of the Assad regime, which lasted for 50 years. For decades, activists and political opponents had sought an end to authoritarian rule. While the recent change has opened the door to rebuilding,“Wajd: Songs of Separation,” by filmmaker Amar Chebib, tells the story of three musicians who became refugees during the Syrian revolution. Over five years, the documentary follows their struggles to rebuild their lives in exile, using music as a way to cope with loss and displacement.

A Native family’s Christmas

If the holidays feel a little tame this year, New Native Theatre has the remedy with “A Christmas in Ochopee,” a comedy by Miccosukee playwright Montana Cypress. The play, set in the 1980s, drops a Native family into the middle of the Florida Everglades, where nothing goes according to plan. The Weetleys, played by an all-Native cast, gather under one roof to celebrate the holidays with frybread on the table, an alligator eyeing dinner and Christmas money riding on a basketball bet. 

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