Curated by

• Dwight K. Lweis Jr., Assistant Professor of Philosophy, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Daniel Greenberg, Assistant Professor of Art History, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Exhibition Description

Healing Words / Healing Mind showcases the calligraphy and photographs of Rev. Seido Suzuki, the abbot of Toshoji in Okayama Province, Japan. Each of the works on display are connected to a longstanding tradition within Zen practice that considers art as a form of spiritual practice, representing the mental state of the artist at the moment of their creation. Roshi’s calligraphy records the natural, rhythmic, and spontaneous qualities of a Zen mind deeply engaged in the process of creation.  His photographs capture his unique perspective, finding wonder and joy in the natural and built landscape of Toshoji. Rev. Seido Suzuki’s art offers a path to self-reflection, peace, and healing for ourselves and our broader communities.

Public Press

• An Infusion of Zen in Minneapolis courtesy Rhymesayers and the University of Minnesota, MinnPost. Reposted by dealtown and Insight News.
• Things to Do in Minneapolis: Healing Words/Healing Mind Zen Art Exhibition Opening Party, Minnesota Star Tribune

Curated by

• Dwight K. Lweis Jr., Assistant Professor of Philosophy, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Daniel Greenberg, Assistant Professor of Art History, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Exhibition Description

Layers of Joy is a celebration of Black art, identity, and community in Minneapolis. The exhibition showcases the work of five early and mid-career artists that examine how layered materiality and artistic practice intersect with the multiplicitous nature of existing as Black. Even as the exhibition highlights the distinctness of their perspectives, it foregrounds how these artists are united through Black joy as a tool for individual expression and community engagement. View the full exhibition catalog PDF, or visit the exhibition website for a full 3D tour, visual and audio descriptions, artist bios, and more.

Exhibition Website

Public Press

• Layers of Joy Celebrates Black Art and Joy, Minnesota Daily
• Local Black artists illuminate Black joy as resistance in University of Minnesota’s Layers of Joy, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
• 9 free things to do in the Twin Cities this week, Minnesota Start Tribune
• Art Hounds: The M gets bigger, student-curated Black joy and fancy chairs you can’t sit on, Minnesota Public Radio
• Best Bets: Nov. 18–24, Minnesota Monthly
• Feature: Layers of Joy, MplsArt
• U of M students learn by doing with new exhibition focused on Black joy, MinnPost

Curated by

• Dwight K. Lweis Jr., Assistant Professor of Philosophy, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Daniel Greenberg, Assistant Professor of Art History, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Exhibition Description

Kelly Wang (b. 1992) is a New York-based artist whose work examines and redefines Asian-American identity and considers the reality of being a diasporic artist. Impressed reflects the way history presses itself upon our lives to be seen, felt, and heard across cultures, generations, and national borders. Wang's work insists that cultural impressions, even when partial or subconscious, carry forward histories of migration, displacement, and resilience. This tension is reflected in her artistic methods, which build upon a process of impression and release to transmit elements of her sources while leaving others behind. These works consider the loss and opportunity created through diasporic inheritance, as well as art's potential to construct new forms of transnational identity. Take a 3D tour of the exhibit or view the full exhibition catalog PDF.

Take the 3D Exhibit Tour

We maintain a curatorial and institutional collaboration with these institutions to develop exhibitions, public programming, artist partnerships, and student-centered curatorial projects. These initiatives connect contemporary artistic practice with questions of identity, community, justice, and public life.

• Katherine E. Nash Gallery,  Director Teréz Iacovino

• Rhymesayers Entertainment, Vice President Sierra Carter

• Institute for Advanced Study, Director Bianet Castellanos

• Religious Studies Program, Director Katharine Gerbner

Campus Principal Investigator and Curatorial Leadership Team Members

Multi-site national exhibition funded by the Lilly Endowment (approximately $2.5 million), in collaboration with Yale University, the Center for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion (MAVCOR), and partner museum venues across the United States. Co-led at the University of Minnesota with Daniel M. Greenberg (Art History), Katharine Gerbner (Religious Studies), and Nathanael Homewood (Religious Studies).

Working Exhibition Description

Creative Conversations: Religion and Contemporary American Arts is a nationally coordinated, multi-venue exhibition exploring the diverse ways religion, spirituality, and material practice shape contemporary American and Caribbean art. As Campus PI and member of the Curatorial Leadership Team, I contribute to the exhibition's curatorial vision, artist selection, pedagogical programming, and public engagement initiatives. The project brings together emerging, mid-career, and senior artists working across religious traditions, including Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Indigenous, African diasporic, and other spiritual practices, to examine how religion is expressed, embodied, and transformed through contemporary artistic practice.

Building on my previous curatorial work (Healing Words / Healing Mind, Layers of Joy, and Impressed), this project continues my commitment to exhibitions that unite philosophy, religion, art history, and community engagement. In addition to the exhibition itself, the project includes public programming, undergraduate and graduate research opportunities, artist collaborations, a major exhibition catalogue, and a shared digital humanities platform connecting participating institutions across the United States.