Inside St. Paul’s Second Shift Studio, eight textile-like talismans pulse with color. Neon pinks, citrus yellows and lime greens surround tigers that look both playful and on guard. 

The tigers coil against backgrounds of jogakbo, Korea’s geometric style of patchwork where uneven squares find unity. No two talismans are the same. Each tiger shifts slightly in hue, as if moving through time. 

Across the Twin Cities this weekend, artists are tracing how culture and identity are carried forward — steady at its core, even as it shifts across borders, generations and lived experiences. 

A lineage of tigers

In her debut solo show “To Tend To,” Minneapolis-based artist Bo Young An returns to the tiger as both a symbol and guide. 

“The tiger is a very symbolic creature in Korean folklore and Korean culture,” An said. “During the Lunar New Year, people would have these tiger talismans in front of their homes to protect their family.” 

In the exhibit, 33 clay jars are displayed side by side, marking her 33 years of life and the number three as a spiritual symbol of mind, body and spirit. 

“As I’m getting older, I feel like I understand my mom’s superstitions and family traditions,” she said. “With this body of work, whenever I felt any negative emotion, I walked away from it. That’s why in the beginning of this year, I couldn’t touch it. I feel like this work is sacred. I didn’t want the process to feel so heavy when the world is already so heavy, so I was trying to find balance through repetition.”

Born in Korea and raised in Thailand, An grew up between languages and cultural frameworks. She studied art in Seattle and worked in pharmaceutical consulting in Korea before ultimately relocating to Minneapolis in 2020 to pursue a master of fine arts degree at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. 

Her first three years in Minnesota were spent trying to stay afloat as she navigated visa restrictions, supporting her family and trying to carve out a space in the Twin Cities arts community. 

“I moved to Minnesota not really knowing anything or anyone at all but I think through all of these artistic avenues, I was able to build a home away from home,” An said. “This show is an all-encompassing love letter to the Twin Cities. It’s really such a wonderful and warm place to be, despite everything that has happened.” 

Catch the final weekend of “To Tend To,” where An reflects the accumulation of time, care and persistence in holding her culture close. 

Afrobeats at Union Rooftop

Spend a night out in the Minneapolis club scene and chances are you’ll catch a set from West African DJ McShellen. 

She moves fluidly between Afrobeat, R&B, hip-hop, dancehall and electronic music, setting the soundtrack for community film screenings, dance parties, art gallery openings and benefit shows supporting families impacted by ICE’s actions in Minnesota. 

This Friday, she joins local DJs Wasted Grief, Caiked Up and Sasha Bangzz at Union Rooftop for “Her Night.”

The event is hosted by She’s Invited, a Minneapolis-based organization curating monthly events for women, in partnership with Breakaway Minnesota, a national touring music festival. 

Planting ancestry at the Arboretum

Diasporic artists are exploring cultural and natural heritage in “Where the Seed Remembers: A Celebration of Earth, Lineage and Memory.”

The exhibit at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s Reedy Gallery brings together photography, painting and mixed media works that trace Black, Latin, Indigenous, East African and Afro-Caribbean traditions. 

“The show is really an act of remembrance more than anything,” said co-curator Joshua “Brotha Asé” Gillespie. “These are the people that I think are going to be pillars in the community to help us remember the roots that we have.” 

A community altar invites visitors to add notes and photos for their own ancestors.