In the Twin Cities art scene this weekend, Cambodian artists celebrate Khmer New Year with portraits of elders and reflections on war and displacement; a documentary photographer transforms personal relationships into shrine-like installations; and the Funny Asian Women Kollective marks 50 years of Southeast Asian immigration to the United States with a night of comedy. 

Cambodian artists honor heritage and elders

At the Xia Gallery & Cafe in St. Paul, Cambodian artists are celebrating Khmer New Year, observed from April 14 through April 16, with the exhibit “My Soul of Gold.” The exhibit showcases portraits of Cambodian cyclo drivers and elders, alongside a display of traditional wedding dresses. Paintings are shaped by mythology and the impact of Khmer Rouge, a communist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, years in which nearly 2 million people died through forced labor and mass execution. 

Inspired by kintsugi — the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold — the exhibit explores how Cambodian artists are “filling in the cracks” left by war, displacement and historical erasure. The show takes its name from a 17th-century Khmer poem by Preah Reaj Somphear, an exiled king, titled “ព្រលឹងមាសអើយ (prolung measa aey),” which translates to “Golden Soul.”

The exhibit includes paintings by Cambodian American writer and visual artist Sara Gregor, and portraits by Cambodian photographer Hao Taing.

Gregor, who curated the show, was drawn to Taing’s work documenting Cambodian life, particularly his Apsara Granny Project, which reimagines elders in the styling of apsara dancers, a role once reserved for performers in the royal court. Taing contributed eight portraits: two from Apsara Granny, and five of cyclo drivers.

As Taing captured scenes of everyday life on the streets of Cambodia, the sight in one specific instance of a cyclo — a three-wheeled bicycle taxi — sparked a vivid childhood memory. 

“I started as a street photographer,” he said. “I’d bring my camera to the streets to take photos of people, and it happened to be one of the cyclo drivers. It gave me a big throwback of my grandma taking me around the city on a cyclo.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he began photographing cyclo drivers as a way to preserve their stories, many of which had never been told. 

“These cyclo drivers — people see them as uneducated. They have never been through school. Their lives have been through war and all they know is being a cyclo driver or being a farmer at home,” Taing said. “They have this feeling of, ‘Who cares about my life? I’m a cyclo driver,’ but this is a real person, an uncle, a father of someone’s family.”

“We are all trying to fill in a crack here,” he added. “We have not lived through the Khmer Rouge, but we’ve been told the stories that have been passed on from our grandparents and from our parents, and we are just filling in the cracks through our art.”

Exhibit traces the intimate ties of local artists and organizers

St. Paul-based documentary photographer Drew Arrieta will debut “Infinite Bonds,” a solo exhibit at Resource, blending photography, audio interviews, personal mementos and handwritten letters to explore the power of love, connection and interdependence. 

The exhibit features four installations, each centered on a pair: interdisciplinary artist Za’Nia Coleman and her mother Jean Taylor-Coleman; chosen family and longtime friends Margaret Ogas and Veera Vasandani; emerging life partners Boo McCaleb and Gayatri Narayanan; and community organizers Sean Lim and Pine Holtz.

Each pair contributed letters of gratitude, which are displayed for visitors to read; recorded reflections on their relationships, which can be heard throughout the exhibit; and shared personal items that serve as artifacts representing their connection.

Arrieta said he initially questioned whether the project might feel overly sentimental, but the ongoing sense of isolation in today’s society pushed him forward. 

“I feel really lucky that this project is coming out at this specific moment in time when I think people are feeling really lonely and isolated,” Arrieta said. “I think being in community and being with each other has made people feel like we’re not alone. We have community. We have these bonds that are infinite and abundant.”

Two workshops will accompany the exhibit: “Between Us” on Sunday, April 20, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, where participants reflect on romantic, platonic, familial and chosen bonds through writing prompts. On Wednesday, April 23, from 6 to 7:15 p.m., the “Ways to Hold” workshop invites pairs to explore connection through movement exercises.

FAWK celebrates 50 years of Southeast Asian immigration in America

The Funny Asian Women Kollective (FAWK) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian resettlement in the United States with “The FAWK Hmong (+Friends) Super Show,” an evening of stand-up, storytelling, sketch comedy and short films at the Ordway. The lineup features FAWK co-founders May Lee-Yang, Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay, and Naomi Ko, alongside comedians and writers Bee Vang-Moua, Eve Vang, Yingya Vang, Kaohly Vang-Her, Lin Sun, and Ntxawm Kam. FAWK, founded in 2014, uses comedy to challenge stereotypes and amplify the voices of Asian women.

READ MORE

Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park may close amid efforts to restore sacred Dakota land

Paint the town purple: Minneapolis honors Prince with concerts, block parties and a new museum

Palestinian American artist Lamia Abukhadra reframes Gaza’s viral images in new Minneapolis exhibit