Through public art collaborations across Minnesota, Moira Villiard (pronounced “Miri”) is a multidisciplinary artist who uses art to uplift underrepresented narratives, explore the nuance of society’s historical community intersections, and promote community healing spaces. She is proficient in a variety of artistic mediums and genres, including public art, painting, digital and graphic design, animation, photography, [...]
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Renee Vaughan
Renee Vaughan is a Minnesota-based musician and educator who brings Sweden’s folk traditions to life through the resonant sound of the nyckelharpa, the national folk instrument of Sweden. The nyckelharpa has roots as far back as the 1350s, with depictions in Norway, Denmark, and Finland during the 1400s–1500s, and some of the earliest Swedish immigrants [...]
Constanza Carballo
Constanza Carballo is a bilingual, bicultural Latina artist and nurse based in Minnesota. Her art practice began in 1991 and is deeply rooted in community engagement, storytelling, and the traditions of printmaking, mosaic, mural, and public art. She works to create spaces where art is not only seen but also experienced and shared collectively; sparking [...]
Ardaa Ensemble
Ardaa Ensemble is led by poet Ahmed Yusuf on vocals with Magan playing the Oud and vocals, and fellow COMPAS Teaching Artist and Performer mick laBriola on percussion. After fleeing Somalia, Ahmed Ismail Yusuf lived in several states, but has lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since 1997. He did not speak English when he arrived, he [...]
Sarina Partridge
Sarina Partridge is a musician, song-leader, educator and activist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs — especially songs that grow out of time spent in wild places. Sarina sings with a wide variety of music projects: community choir song-leading; singing/ playing with folk trio Heartwood; and performing [...]
Z Puppets Rosenschnoz
Z Puppets leads people of all ages and abilities into the power of playfulness and feats of imagination through performances, workshops and video. With a mix of hand-crafted puppetry, inventive music and quirky humor, they delight children and adults by transforming complex concepts into fun, meaningful arts experiences. Co-founders and Creative Directors of Z Puppets [...]
Zhang Ying & Rhonda Lund
Acclaimed flutist and composer Zhang Ying and storyteller Rhonda Lund bring China’s ancient musical and storytelling traditions into vivid new light. Zhang Ying began his professional musical career at age 16, playing the Chinese bamboo flute in a traditional orchestra. Now he plays and composes on eleven different woodwind instruments from across China. Rhonda Lund [...]
Willow Brae
Andrea Stern (Celtic harps) and Laura MacKenzie (wind-powered instruments) form the duo Willow Brae. As Willow Brae, they have performed at numerous festivals, fairs, concert halls, community centers, libraries and schools all around the Upper Midwest. “Brae” is a Scots word meaning hillside by a river, and their name refers to a bank of willow [...]
