Visit us at our headquarters in the East Side of Saint Paul, or at our offices in Minneapolis, Willmar, and Austin.
Office hours. Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. Saturday-Sunday: Closed - Click here for holiday closure dates
Visit us at our headquarters in the East Side of Saint Paul, or at our offices in Minneapolis, Willmar, and Austin.
Office hours. Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. Saturday-Sunday: Closed - Click here for holiday closure dates
Enjoy beautiful art exhibits and expand your knowledge of Latino arts and culture at our events.
From October 19th to November 28th, 2023
ARTISTS
Lucino Sosa (Hedgiee) is a Minnesota-based multidisciplinary artist whose work transcends categorization. Sosa, a mixtec native of southern Mexico, immigrated to the United States in 2005 and established his own unique blend of photography, illustration, poetry and other media to uncover the roots of grief, joy, and trauma. Through his cathartic works, Sosa seeks to share space with other persons of color who have been systematically excluded.
Kevin Martinez is an artist with Latino-Arab American Heritage. He specializes in oil paintings, graphite, charcoal, and graphic design. Through the creation of oil portraits he finds moments of excitement in daily life, while forming a bridge between past and present issues of race, religion, and trauma.
Flor Shurabe Soto learned to work with engrudo (paper mache paste) at the age of 9 thanks to her grandmother in Mexico. However, it was only after moving to Austin, Minnesota, as an adult, that she began working on art to keep herself busy during the winters. Shurabe has become known in Minnesota for her piñata and altar creations that reflect the colorful Mexican culture.
Opening Reception. Thursday, October 19th, 6 pm - 9 pm.
A family-friendly evening and conversation with the artist, free food like pan de muerto, coffee, and chocolate abuelita and beverages, and a live performance will be available for your enjoyment.
Please call CLUES Latino Art Gallery at 651.379.4275 or email arte@clues.org
Date and time: from August 17th to September 22nd, 2023
Venue: CLUES Latino Art Gallery: 797 East 7th Street St. Paul, MN 55106
Description:
'Immigrant Roads' is a contemporary series of narrative paintings which examine the legacy of Mexican-born immigrant families who built the Santa Fe Railroad in Kandace’s natal state of Kansas during the early part of the 20th century.
About the artist:
Kandace Creel Falcón, Ph.D. is an interdisciplinary feminist scholar, writer, and visual artist based in rural Erhard, MN. Drawn to inquiry and mixed-media methods of painting, fabric arts, and writing, their work is committed to sharing narratives for social transformation.
Kandace Creel Falcón is a third generation Kansas born Mexican American visual artist and writer. Their work is driven to disrupt conventional notions related to femininity and domesticity through mixed-media methods of painting. They currently live and work out of their home studio in rural Otter Tail County, MN. Click here to learn more.
Date and time: From August 3rd to August 6th, 2023
Venue: CLUES Latino Art Gallery: 797 East 7th Street St. Paul, MN 55106
Description:
This is an exhibition where drawings of a group of children that they did during nature walks, called Sunday walks, will be shown. These children captured essential values through a walk and have shown them in their drawings.
Curators:
Yuyu Godinez y Rebecca Zelaya
Artists:
Noelia Kellyn Itzcoatl Giselle Miguel Alexis John Osito Cuauhtli Tlaloc Bree Yasmin AlizaItzel Adrian Kike Miranda
Date and time: From June 29th to July 21st, 2023
Venue: CLUES Latino Art Gallery: 797 East 7th Street St. Paul, MN 55106
Description:
A solo exhibition by the artist and author Pamela Mercado-Michelli. The artist will be showcasing her new children's book titled "Daniela y Mateo viajan a Argentina", which she made in collaboration with the illustrators Noelia and Membri.
About the Artists:
Pamela Mercado Michelli. An Afro-Latina originally from Puerto Rico, Pamela is a mother and children’s book author who enjoys connecting communities through culture and literature. Pamela currently works as a Project Supervisor for the City of Minneapolis developing and revising policing policy. Pamela holds a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and a Master's in Advocacy & Political Leadership from Metropolitan State University. She has also had the opportunity to share her first book titled "Daniela y Mateo viajan a Puerto Rico" throughout the state of Minnesota including Ramsey and Hennepin County libraries, Children's MN Hospital, and various Spanish Immersion schools and learning centers.
Noelia is from the City of Buenos Aires, although she was born in the Valley of Argentine Patagonia. In addition to being a wife and mother of three, her greatest passion is illustrating and without a doubt, for her, it is a beautiful privilege to be part of this book accompanying the characters of Daniela and Mateo to discover the beautiful mountain range in addition to the traditions of her country.
Membri is a visual artist from Córdoba, Argentina. Membri grew up preferring to draw before anything else, and luckily her family always was supportive. At the age of eight, Membri started studying cartooning (very inspired by the cartoons on television). Since then, Membri has never been able to dedicate herself to anything else, because drawing is part of her daily life, it is her engine and also her way of connecting with emotions. Membri is pleased to be able to add colors to this beautiful story and is very honored to be part of such a beautiful team.
Events:
Date and time: From June 9th to June 16th, 2023
Venue: CLUES Latino Art Gallery: 797 East 7th Street St. Paul, MN 55106
Description:
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
These Alebrijes are part of the great project to continue the tradition of large size paper-mâché figures;
DEFINITION
Because of their vibrant colors and elaborate details, alebrijes are very popular handicrafts. They originated in Mexico and were created by Pedro Linares Lopez in 1936 in Mexico City. Today we can find these fantastic figures in everything from traditional markets to world museum collections.
The alebrije is a Mexican handicraft traditionally made with the cartoneros technique. It is a fantastic figure that combines physiognomic elements of various animals, whether real or imaginary and is characterized by being painted in vibrant colors.
HOW IS AN ALEBRIJE MADE?
It all starts with a base of burnt wire that is bent and molded to form the skeleton of the figure. It is then covered with several layers of newspaper and paste, using cardboard to give it volume. The base figure is left to dry in the sun, and once dry, more detailed elements are added.Next, the surface of the figure is smoothed and then covered with a coat of white base paint. Finally, the alebrije is painted in several different colors and decorated with dots, stripes and other patterns.
ALEBRIJES FROM OAXACA
Although alebrijes originated in Mexico City, artisans in other parts of Mexico made their own versions. In Oaxaca, several artisans, such as Manuel Jiménez, combined the traditional carved wood crafts of the area with the ideas of Pedro Linares. Oaxacan alebrijes are made with copal wood and are inspired by the idea of nahuales, supernatural beings that have the ability to transform themselves into animals. This way of making alebrijes spread to other towns, and today there are three main communities that specialize in the creation of the carved wooden figures: San Antonino Arrazola, San Martín Tilcajete and La Unión Tejalapam.
AT PRESENT
Today, alebrijes are part of the cultural and artistic pattern of Mexico, and it is a craft in constant evolution. Since 2007, the Museum of Popular Art of Mexico City has organized a parade of monumental alebrijes with the intention of promoting the arts and the alebrijes have been recreated in other parts of the world by Latino artists. Including at the Rocket Feller Center in New York, in the city of Chicago, in the city of Minneapolis and Sao Paulo (including CLUES), among others.
Date and time: May 20, 2023
Venue: 2800 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55406
Description: As we emerge from the deep freeze of winter, we are greeted with all the beauty and possibilities that come with spring - please join CLUES in celebrating spring at the intersection of art, wellness, and community. This is a free family event.
Meet artists exhibiting spring-inspired artwork and take home your own artwork with interactive art activities throughout the event. Talk to our community health staff about resources available to you and your family. Enjoy dancers and artists on stage with performances ranging from contemporary to experimental to traditional. Enjoy free food and drink.
This event kicks off a new year of arts and cultural engagement for CLUES Minneapolis as we plant seeds for our shared future together on Lake Street.
Participating artists:
Fashion Designer:
Art Vendors:
Performers:
Poster Designer:
Submission Deadline
May 21st, 2023, 11:59 pm
Description
CLUES is excited to invite Latino visual artists across mediums to submit an art proposal for our 2023 exhibition program.
$1,000 production stipend for the selected art project and support with the installation, promotion, design, and public programming.
The CLUES Arts and Culture staff will support the chosen project with a $1,000 production stipend. We will help with installation, promotion, design, public programming, and any additional support.
We will select three shows for the course of June to December 2023, with each show lasting approximately 7 weeks. The first show dates will be from June to July. The second show will be from August to September. The third show will be from November to December.
Participants
No Curatorial Experience Needed. We are accepting submissions that show and support the variety of people and cultures from Latin America, indigenous, Afro-Latino, queer, disabled, multiple languages, and mixed ethnicities. We are accepting a proposal to curate a group show, a proposal for a solo show, two-person shows, etc.
We want to hear what you’ve been aspiring to make and curate. An exhibition can range from a more traditional display of paintings to a nontraditional one like projections, video, installation, performance, and so on. Let’s get creative! All ideas are welcome, and ideas that align with a Latino cultural exhibition are highly encouraged as well.
Form of participation
No Application Fee. Please submit a proposal detailing your exhibition idea using our submission form. Your submission should give a clear idea of what you want the show to be and include who is involved in the project. Include which timeframe you would want the show to happen. Provide up-to-date work samples, a resume, and any other relevant materials.
If needed, you can pick up a printed submission form and fill it out in CLUES St. Paul: 797 East 7th Street, St. Paul, MN 55106
Evaluation Criteria
Submissions will be reviewed by the CLUES Art and Culture Team. We may reach out for a follow-up conversation.
Criteria for a strong proposal
Selection Notification
May 26th, 2023
Exhibition Dates
Ranging from June to September, then from November-December
Date and time: March 4 - April 26, 2023
Description:An exhibition created for International Women's Day for those who are marginalized as a result of their gender identity. Learn about the artists' visions, experiences, and ideas.
Artists:
Lucero Paniagua Ortuño, Constanza Carballo, Maruch Santiz Gomez, Claudia Valentino, and Isolda Nuñez Portillo
Events:
Date and time: December 17 - February 15, 2023
Description: This exhibition features 10 artists who seek to find in the landscape an extension of themselves, a series of looks marked by the intimate and the experimental that show different ways to fill the gaps, where the beauty of nature is the sublime tool for building houses and homes.
Curator:
Juan Diego Perez de la Cruz
Artists:
Alejandro Pons Juárez, Dinorah Martinez, Eliana Hermosa, Griselda Araiza Figueroa, Juan Diego Pérez la Cruz, Liliana Sanchez, Luisana Méndez, Mayra Adán Quiterio, Nohelia Fernández and Yari Cabezas-Perusse
Opening reception and conversation with the artists: Saturday, December 17, 2022, 9:30am -12pm
Enjoy the exhibition, coffee, and breakfast-inspired appetizers, and live music. Following the event, Huellas Latinas invites you to join them on a nature walk (depending on weather conditions). Please join us. Free and open to all ages!
Date and time: November 17 – December 9, 2022
Description: The title of her show, La Vida es De Colores (Life is colorful), really speaks to just what you’ll see in the gallery – vibrant, colorful landscape and some of Linsday’s dearest memories of life in Colombia.
Artist: Maria Linsday
Maria Linsday is a Colombian artist, passionate about abstract and figurative art. Using mixed media and a variety of techniques brings texture and personality to her work. Working as an artist for over 15 years, Linsday loves to empower other artists and share her knowledge with anyone who wants to venture into the arts – whether it's art making for a fun, therapy, or professionally. Linsday is passionate about social work, life, and nature – she paints on canvas with love. Throughout Maria Linsday’s career, she has had the opportunity to participate in fairs and several group exhibitions – this will be her first solo show.
Opening reception and conversation with the artist: Thursday, November 17, 2022, 6-9 PM
Sweet, festive treats and a saxophone player Yunior Romero Rodal will be available for your enjoyment. Please join us. Free and open to all ages!
Date and time: October 22 – November 12, 2022
Description: The exhibition highlights work of the artists Marina Castillo, Flor Soto, Javier Reyes, and Carolyna Desoto who are exhibiting their artwork and have transformed the CLUES Art Gallery into a healing and celebratory space in honor of Día de Los Muertos.
Join CLUES in adding to the community altar for Día de Los Muertos by bringing a photo of a loved one, a poem or writing, or an ofrenda.
Community Celebration and conversation with artists*: Sunday, October 30, 2022, 5-9 PM
In person reception, conversation with artist and food (light refreshments and pan de muertos will be provided).This is a free event, open to all ages.
*Artist: Mariana Castillo, Flor Soto, Javier Reyes, and Carolyna Desoto
Date and time: September 18, 2021 – September 10, 2022
Description: The exhibition highlights the work CLUES artists have undertaken over the past three years. This exhibit represents the work of master muralists, apprentices, and community participants, who have come together through CLUES to build upon the long tradition of Latino muralism to create meaningful and culturally-specific works of public art for all.
Muralismo Minnesotano emphasizes the origins of muralism as an artistic and social movement in Latino culture for over a century –a fact that is too often erased or forgotten by other muralism projects. With this exhibit, CLUES represents the multiplicity of our diversity, creating movement-based public art for us, by us, and about us.
This exhibit also re-emphasizes that high-quality public art must always be about community-engaged art. While these projects were led by talented master muralists, thousands of hands and voices contributed to their creation – apprentices, community participants, children, adults, and grandmothers.
Exhibit Opening: CLUES Fiesta Latina || Saturday, September 18, 2021. 12-4 pm
Our exhibit will open as part of our annual Fiesta Latina celebration, a free, family-friendly community festival celebrating Latino culture through Arts, Health and Wellness, Fitness, Food, and Entertainment. More info here.
Virtual Forum: Murales y Muralismo || Thursday, January 27, 2022, 5-7 pm via Facebook Live.
Online public forum, presentation, and panel discussion on the history of muralism as a socio-cultural, political, and artistic movement, its origins, and its current practice.
Date and time: Saturday, October 30, 2021, noon-8pm
Description: Day of the Dead parade on Lake Street (2-4pm), followed by a street festival by Lake and Cedar. Collaboration between CLUES, CAMINO, Lake St Latino Business Association, and the City of Minneapolis.
Artists: Flor Soto, Pablo Hernandez, Lynda Acosta, Constanza Carballo, Gustavo Boada.
Date and time: October 16 - November 19, 2021
Description: CLUES art workshops series "Revitalizando Lake Street in CLUES Minneapolis. A series of family-friendly arts creation workshops focusing on Day of the Dead themed art, and supporting the revitalization of Lake Street in Minneapolis, and the preservation of Latino businesses, residents, and cultural arts along the corridor.
Artists: Luisa Armendariz, Margaret Ogas, Eric Garcia, Alondra Garza, Cadex Herrera, Flor Soto, Xavier Tavera and Aleydis Valdovinos.
Date and time: February 8 – May 16, 2021
Description: The Chicano & Latino Studies (CLS) department at the University of Minnesota celebrates 50 years of scholarship and activism through this exhibit at the CLUES Latino Art Gallery. Six commissioned artists and two artist teams respond to materials from the CLS archives through poetry, video work, installation, painting, sculpture, and photography, tying their diverse art practices to ongoing scholarship and activism, and bridging the past with the present and future of Latina, Latino, and Latinx resiliency.
Click here to see the virtual exhibition.
Artist: Flor Soto
Bio: An immigrant from Mazatlan, Mexico, Flor is a talented artisan based in Austin, Minnesota, who specializes in the traditional folk arts of Mexican paper. “My intuitive artistic process for making piñatas and paper sculptures does not require molds or balloons to create their shapes. Instead, I recycle paper and cardboard to form interactive hand-crafted sculptures. I approach each creative idea to keep this traditional art form alive and to bring joy to children’s birthday parties and any fiesta (party)” - Flor Soto.
Date and time: October 29, 2020 – January 14, 2021
Description: Flor Soto's solo art exhibition "Piñatera", features her fascinating paper-mâché sculptures, creative paper flower installations, and unique piñata creations.
Click here to learn more about Flor Soto's art.
Artist: Grettel Arrate Hechavaría
Bio: Grettel is a painter, mural painter, illustrator and graphic designer from Santiago de Cuba. She graduated in painting and drawing from the Provincial Academy of Plastic Arts José Joaquín Tejada of Santiago de Cuba. She holds a Bachelor of Art History from the Universidad de Oriente. She is a member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) and a member of the Association of Publicists of Cuba. Hechavaría has had 14 solo exhibitions in important museums and galleries in Cuba and around the world.
Date and time: March 9 - March 27, 2020 *Collaboration with Sol y Luna Gallery
Description: A celebration of Art for the International Women's Day. Presentation by visiting Cuban painter Grettel Arrate with art and cultural activities, and Latino food.
Artist: Zamara Cuyún
Bio: Zamara Cuyún is, for better or worse, a product of colonization, with Indigenous roots in Guatemala – born and raised in Minneapolis. A self-taught, “Gringindia” artist of de-Indigenized Highland Maya ancestry, she works in acrylics, using elements of Guatemalan Maya history, ideology, and iconography - sometimes to explore and create a vibrant, colorful, imaginary dream universe and, at other times, to represent the restless, violent, and unsettling world we are often forced to inhabit. The themes that inspire her work and to which she is drawn back to, time and again, include Indigenous identity (her own, as well as that represented in Guatemalan society), the history of colonization and resistance, the persecution and genocide of Indigenous populations, and the call for social justice, reconciliation, revitalization, and decolonization and the central role and strength of women in this process.
Color and light are of the utmost importance in her work. She wants her subjects – the lovely, as well as the gruesome – to pulse with color, light, and life from within. Vibrant Guatemalan Indigenous Maya textiles and art - contemporary and precolonial - as well as European stained-glass, Scandinavian rosemaling, and contemporary graphic novels inspire and inform her use of color and brushstroke.
Date and time: January 30 - February 27, 2020
Short description: In contemporary society, indigenous women are often objectified, romanticized, hyper-sexualized, and de-humanized. These seemingly harmless stereotypes produce devastating consequences including alarming rates of abuse, rape, disappearance, murder, self-harm, and suicide plaguing indigenous women and girls. Cuyún combats these injustices with painted visual stories that re-imagine new systems of understanding and healing for indigenous womanhood and identity. Using elements of Guatemalan Maya history, ideology, myth, and iconography, Cuyún presents a world that is at times vibrant, colorful and dreamlike while at other times restless, violent and unsettling.
Artists: Gustavo Boada, Xilam Balam, Dougie Padilla, Andrea Castillo, Xavier Tavera, Constanza De La O, Monique Payan, Leiny Krumm, Gustavo Lira, Marina Castillo, Olivia Levins Holden, Xena Goldman, Maria Cristina Tavera, Javier Carrasco, Rebekah Crisanta de Ybarra, Ricardo Bennett, Diana Gallardo, Erika Herrera, Alex Jalapa, Carleen Cuevas Martinez, Ana Laura Juarez, Zamara Cuyun, Camila Leiva, Gabi Estrada, Ricardo Levins Morales, Cadex Herrera, Ken Rivera, Luis Fitch, Jimmy Longoria, Alonso Sierralta, Aaron Johnson-Ortiz.
Date and time: September 2 - December 13, 2019
Description: For our first-ever art exhibit, “Visualiz/Arte,” we called upon MN-based Latino/a/x artists to build community with us, co-imagine our collective future, and co-create our new casa (home) for Latino/a/x arts and culture in Minnesota. Thirty-one local visual artists responded to our call --with work ranging from folk art to fine art-- in a wide variety of media, including painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.
These activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Minnesota Humanities Center, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
CLUES also receives support for our Arts & Cultural Engagement work from the Bush Foundation, St Paul & Minnesota Foundation, the Mardag Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the City of St Paul’s Cultural STAR program, the City of Minneapolis’ Great Streets and Violence Prevention programs, and from the National Endowment for the Arts.
CLUES is a nonprofit public charity recognized as tax exempt by the IRS under section 501(c)(3). CLUES tax ID: 41-1386986. Our Donor Privacy Policy can be found here.
