Mni Memory
Hello everyone! I’m Kamala Nair, the Associate Curator of Clean Water and Climate at MMAM. The museum’s Director of Development, Mike Linnemann, asked me to write a blog post about some fun things happening at MMAM that you might not know about, so here’s the inside scoop!
Honoring Dakota Project
A recent partnership that we’ve been developing and are super excited about is with the Honoring Dakota Project (HDP). On the evening of May 21, HDP presented a meaningful conversation on the history and significance of the He Mni Čaᶇ Wakpadaᶇ, or Jordan River, that flows beneath Red Wing presented by Kachina Yeager at the Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing, MN. Kachina’s thesis serves as a reminder that though the river may be buried, “...the water, her memories, her story, and her hopes for the future still run underneath it all.” MMAM had the opportunity to partner on this event along with Red Wing Arts, Art of the Rural, and Sheldon Theater. The museum supported the event by helping print off a map of the Mississippi, designed by Kachina, that participants were able to stick their water stories on, and also creating custom buttons at a MMAM table. Scott Pollock, MMAM’s Executive Director, and I had a great time helping attendees make buttons related to their water memories and loved seeing the multiple minds blown, including mine, by our amazing button making machine.
Garden Boxes
Have you noticed any new plants in our garden boxes? This is also a new project we are thrilled to be working on with HDP. A couple weeks ago, we transplanted some sweetgrass generously shared by the WSU Arboretum from their native gardens into our garden boxes. If all goes well, HDP will be able to harvest sweetgrass later in the year and we hope to eventually have some sage for harvest in the future as well. Thanks to your generous support we’re able to support our mission of creating meaningful art experiences that explore our relationship with water and our climate mission through events and partnerships like this.
Kamala Nair
Associate Curator of Clean Water and Climate
Minnesota Marine Art Museum
MMAM Climate Mission:
MMAM is committed to actively staying informed and participating in meaningful and sustainable climate action. As we explore our relationship with water, we will uphold the responsibility that cultural/social institutions have to be a resource for building climate resilience through our operations, development, and engagement programs. Through connections driven by intention, we strive to be a community asset centered on diversity, inclusion, art, and science.