'Mapping Black Identities'
Opening at the tail end of Black History Month, this multifaceted exhibition tactfully deconstructs the process of "mapping," a colonial practice used to conquer and dominate. Instead, these works reclaim space and make room for the intricacies of black identity. The show includes more than 30 artists, including Kerry James Marshall, Charles Gaines, Deena Lawson, Elizabeth Catlett and Kevin Beasley, whose show is closing soon at the Whitney in New York. Inspiration came from Mia's recent acquisition of "False Start," a 1970 map painting by British-Guyanese artist Frank Bowling that blots out Europe and North America as a way of countering the frequent art-history focus on Western narratives. (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Wed. & Sat.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thu.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. Ends March 15, 2020. Free. 2400 3rd Av. S, Mpls. 888-642-2787 or artsmia.org)
Alicia Eler
