Poised to Shine, Latina Artists in Northeast

Northeast Minneapolis is a community long shaped by immigrants and, more recently, by art. Now artists of Latin descent are stepping forward, asserting not only their heritage but their place as Minnesotans. 

Look at State Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega, an artist and musician who was elected to the Minnesota House in 2022, and the emergence of such Latino collaborative groups as Serpentina Arts and Electric Machete Studios. The designs of local Latino artist Luis Fitch were selected to grace the first U.S. postage stamps celebrating Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

Latina curators are now in place at Walker Art Center, the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Weisman Art Museum. Afton Press recently published the book, “Latin Art in Minnesota: Conversations and What’s Next,” while St. Catherine University is preparing a major exhibit titled “Latina and Latinx MN: Re/claiming Space in Times of Change,” set to open in the fall. 

With Art-A-Whirl® on the horizon May 17-19, the Northeaster spoke with three Latina multimedia visual artists who have ties to Northeast: Sandra Felemovicius, Carmen Gutiérrez-Bolger and Genessis Lopez. 

While these women want to be honored as artists without the “Latina” label, they also express a growing desire to stand out and be recognized for their unique contributions.

“I’ve gone back and forth for years, whether I wanted to wear that ‘Latina’ moniker,” Gutiérrez-Bolger said. “But from day one, I have done art that draws on my culture, language and upbringing — my family history. All of my imagery was centered on telling my specific story, what it was like to be a Cuban immigrant. But it has gone from the personal to being more universal.”

Gutiérrez-Bolger, who has lived in Minnesota for decades, fled Havana with her family when she was 5. She and Felemovicius paint and have studios in the Casket Arts Building. They were part of the Northeast Keg House Collective, launched about 20 years ago, before the group moved to Casket Arts and became the Rain Collective.

Felemovicius was born in Mexico and is now a longtime Minnesota resident. Genessis Lopez, a painter and digital illustrator, was born in Texas and grew up in Mexico and the small town of Gaylord, Minn. She moved to the Twin Cities in 2010 to study sociology and studio arts at Hamline University. 

Carmen Gutiérrez-Bolger

“My art is driven by the desire to express my lifelong struggle to belong and to fit in,” she says in the artist statement for her website and Art-A-Whirl. “The immigrant process — the human process of assimilation — has led me to explore my planes of existence.”

Yet, she said, this has evolved. 

As a past board president of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA), Gutiérrez-Bolger said that when she was heavily involved in NEMAA and Art-A-Whirl, “We didn’t concentrate on artists who were Latinos. So, maybe we’re not as visible because we didn’t shine a light on it and say, ‘Hey, look, here we are!’

“I’m understanding now that it’s not a bad thing to stand out as a Latina artist — that it’s actually positive. I was worried that it would marginalize me. But I guess you become wiser. When I look back at my work, I realize it’s something that’s very authentic.

“In this polarized world where everyone is talking against immigration … I want to explore the shared reality of displacement and disorientation. I feel like being a champion of our differences and showing why we offer so much to the world.” 

Sandra Felemovicius

Felemovicius is more vocal about visibility. 

“I’ve been waiting for someone to notice us for some 32 years — since I moved to Minneapolis,” she said. “This is super important, having someone say my voice and my Mexican roots are important here in the U.S.

“I can’t stress enough the value of having our voices heard. We are well and alive in the arts. Being a Jewish Mexican American woman comes with a lot of responsibility and pride. We’re bilingual. We speak Spanish at home. I’m proud of everything I am. My life and work mirror my personal and professional influences.”

It’s all about community giving back, she said. Felemovicius helps lead a fundraising program called Tap Into Your Creativity that sells donated artwork to support Feeding America, a nonprofit nationwide network of food banks.

Genessis Lopez

Lopez lived in Northeast for years before moving to the Northside. As a younger artist, she said there are so many new things that she loves to explore, including digital work and animation.

Her distinctive art — often colorful floral prints — may be most recognizable to Northeast residents through the bright cover of 2023’s Art-A-Whirl directory. Recently, she was commissioned to design a mural for a new Northeast apartment building. In addition, she has collaborated with Minnesota Public Radio on tote bags, the City of Minneapolis for bus shelters, Art for Parks, the Minnesota Opera and various book projects with the former Pollen Midwest. 

“My work centers around nature, and I try to capture the joy and ease I feel while I’m in it,” Lopez said. “I spent a chunk of my childhood in Mexico growing with the plants and flowers in my grandmother’s garden. Most of my artwork reflects the colors, feelings and emotions that I carry with me from those beautiful memories, as well as the new ones I create while experiencing the natural world as an adult. I still go to visit Grandma at least once a year in Tamaulipas,” a Mexican state just south of Texas on the Gulf Coast. 

“I like to tell the story of what influenced me from my childhood, but I also don’t want to be put into a category. I’m Latina and an artist – this is me and this is my history.”