Local artist curates temporary exhibit at Science Museum
Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
In years long past, master weavers spent entire afternoons in the shade using backstrap looms to meticulously weave colorful garments and other useful items for their communities. These days, that method of weaving is preserved by just a handful of people – stringing it along from one generation to the next – and it serves as a testament to their cultural heritage, as well as a reminder of where today’s finely stitched clothing has evolved.
One such holder of that ancient knowledge is Yeymi Sumoza, an indigenous Maya Tz’utujil master weaver from Guatemala, now based in the Twin Cities. On July 1, she and Anton Vasquez – an indigenous Maya Tzotzil multimedia artist visiting from Chiapas, Mexico – will have their art featured in a temporary “community curator” exhibit in the lobby of the Science Museum of Minnesota. Curated by muralist and nonprofit executive director Aaron Johnson-Ortiz, it will be on display through September and explore Mayan culture through the history and contemporary use of cotton.
“They’re very different [artists],” said Johnson-Ortiz. “[Vasquez] is a multimedia contemporary artist and [Sumoza] is a traditional master weaver artisan…really what they have in common is this long tradition of weaving and they’re passing on that tradition in their own ways to future generations.”
Vasquez will have three collage multimedia pieces on display, each of which incorporates fabric that his mother discarded when creating woven items to sell at the market in Chiapas. Sumoza’s pieces in the exhibit include samples of cotton, natural dyes and more. Her mother is also a master weaver and is the one who taught her about cotton production and how to weave in the traditional method. Each artist will give a presentation about their pieces in the exhibit, allowing the public to gain a deeper understanding of what they mean to Mayan culture. Sumoza’s will feature a backstrap loom weaving demonstration. The first is slated for August although the date wasn’t available as of press time.
“We are looking at the long history of cotton weaving in Mexico and Central America, both the origins of cotton in the region, the origins of the production of cotton into weaving products through the technique that’s called backstrap weaving, as well as more contemporary usages of cotton objects in art,” said Johnson-Ortiz. “There are three different cotton plants: East Asian cotton, African cotton, and Mexican or Central American cotton. Currently, 90% of the world’s cotton production is derived from Mexican cotton.”
Community curator exhibits began last year and have typically featured culturally relevant items from the museum’s massive collection. Johnson-Ortiz said there likely won’t be any items from the collection in this exhibit because he wants to feature two artists, which limits the exhibit space. He’s been on the museum’s Chiapas advisory committee for folk art for about a year, assisting museum staff with digitizing its collection of items from the Chiapas region of Mexico.
“We began the community curator program in response to listening sessions in 2022, where we heard a strong desire among community members to use the museum’s collections to share their own stories and histories,” said Jennings Mergenthal, community engagement specialist for the museum. The final curator this year is Cyndy Milda, a Dakota artist who specializes in dentalium jewelry, made of shells. Also notable, is that one of the Museum’s temporary exhibits, “Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed” is on display through Sept. 2.
The upcoming exhibit will be in the lobby and is free to view but presentations will be on an indoor stage and museum admission is required to attend. For more information, visit smm.org.
Johnson-Ortiz has been a muralist since 2015 and this July will install a mural in the Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis. He is also the founder of the nonprofit (Neo)Muralismos de México in Minnesota, which is working to create a Museum of Mexican Art at Harriet Island on the West Side, just across the river from the Science Museum. Several Latino businesses and individuals have already donated funds to support construction of the proposed $28 million project.
St. Paul-based 4RM+ULA is leading the design of the 25,000-square-foot museum. The design is expected to be finalized in 2025, and if the funding materializes, construction would begin the following year and be finished in 2027. Prior to spearheading the nonprofit, Johnson-Ortiz founded and managed the arts program at CLUES, a social service agency that serves the Latino population in the Twin Cities.
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