Marria Thompson
- Email: marria.thompson@stthomas.edu
- Phone: 651-962-5877
The art and architectural collections and galleries at the University of St. Thomas serve as teaching opportunities for our students and the public. For undergraduate and graduate students in art history, the VISUAL ARTS@St. Thomas provide the experience of working with artwork, learning proper curatorial and exhibition techniques, and fostering a better understanding of the works' cultural context.
The VISUAL ARTS@St. Thomas include:
The American Museum of Asmat Art is dedicated to preserving and exhibiting the visual cultures of Asmat while educating students and the general public about this region.
The term “Asmat” refers to a people, a language, and a geographic area. Today, Asmat homelands lie within Papua Province, Indonesia on the southwest coast of the Island of New Guinea. Many Asmat live in villages along rivers that wind through the dense rainforest of a vast muddy coastal plain. They are among the finest and most prolific wood sculptors and weavers in the Pacific Islands with artists working in a variety of materials such as seeds, feathers, and shells.
The American Museum of Asmat Art at St. Thomas engages students and the global community through preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting the art of Asmat people, in order to expand human understanding and promote intercultural awareness.
The vision of the American Museum of Asmat Art at St. Thomas is to be a preeminent teaching collection, interdisciplinary in nature and programmatically diverse, that promotes global understanding of Asmat art and culture consistent with the mission and values of the University of St. Thomas.
Groups wishing to schedule a visit may contact Gretchen Burau, Museum Director in advance of their visit.
The AMAA@St. Thomas showcases rotating exhibitions on view in the gallery on the second floor of the Anderson Student Center. Admission is always free.
Street parking is available in non-permit areas along Cretin Avenue and Summit Avenue. Guests are also welcome to park in the Anderson Parking Facility and the Morrison Parking Ramp.
The Gallery is closed for all major U.S. holidays, fall break, Thanksgiving weekend, winter break, final exam week, January term, spring break, Easter break, and in June for installation.
The American Museum of Asmat Art at St. Thomas engages students and the global community through preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting the art of Asmat people, in order to expand human understanding and promote intercultural awareness.
The vision of the American Museum of Asmat Art at St. Thomas is to be a preeminent teaching collection, interdisciplinary in nature and programmatically diverse, that promotes global understanding of Asmat art and culture consistent with the mission and values of the University of St. Thomas.
Groups wishing to schedule a visit may contact Gretchen Burau, Museum Director in advance of their visit.
The AMAA@St. Thomas showcases rotating exhibitions on view in the gallery on the second floor of the Anderson Student Center. Admission is always free.
Street parking is available in non-permit areas along Cretin Avenue and Summit Avenue. Guests are also welcome to park in the Anderson Parking Facility and the Morrison Parking Ramp.
The Gallery is closed for all major U.S. holidays, fall break, Thanksgiving weekend, winter break, final exam week, January term, spring break, Easter break, and in June for installation.
The American Museum of Asmat Art at the University of St. Thomas presents Power and Presence: Water in Asmat, an exhibition exploring the many ways Asmat people engage with water. It considers how relationships between animals, humans, and the ancestors are formed around this natural resource and encourages museum visitors to consider their own connections with water.
Why is water important? Water is a force that shapes many aspects of physical and spiritual life. In the Asmat rainforest, water is omnipresent. It is collected for daily needs and sustains complex rivers systems that are essential for transportation, trade, and recreation. Water is a recurring element in ritual practices and figures prominently in myths that are essential for Asmat cosmology. Many of these practices are currently under threat due to social and environmental changes in the region. Visual culture on display at the American Museum of Asmat Art tells part of this story.
Check back for events related to this exhibition.
Image: Markus Tipin, Figure Carving, 2009, Asmat people, Safan region, Wood, paint, string, cassowary feathers, feathers, seeds (AMAA 2010.01.002). Purchased with 2009 Spirit of Solstice fundraiser contributions.
The Department of Art History Gallery is committed to providing an exhibition program that fosters dialogue centered around the issues of contemporary and historical art and architectural topics to encourage paths of inquiry and intercultural understanding to advance the common good.
Groups wishing to schedule a visit may contact Marria Thompson, Gallery Curator, in advance of their visit.
The Department of Art History Gallery is located on the first floor of the O'Shaughnessy Educational Center (OEC) in St. Paul.
Street parking is available in non-permit areas along Cleveland Avenue and Summit Avenue. Guests may also park in the Tommie East Parking Garage.
Who can submit a proposal?
We welcome artists to submit proposals to exhibit their work in our gallery. Scheduled two years in advance, our Art Exhibition Program presents two major displays during the academic year (September through December and February through May). We welcome all emerging and established artists, working in all mediums, to submit solo and/or group proposals.
Application Cycle and Timeline
Proposals for exhibitions in 2025 and beyond are now being accepted on a rolling basis.
Proposal Guidelines
To submit a digital proposal, please include the following:
Digital proposals only, please. Do not mail anything.
Send all questions and submissions to:
Marria Thompson
Department of Art History Gallery Curator
ArtHistoryGallery@stthomas.edu
The Department of Art History Gallery is committed to providing an exhibition program that fosters dialogue centered around the issues of contemporary and historical art and architectural topics to encourage paths of inquiry and intercultural understanding to advance the common good.
Groups wishing to schedule a visit may contact Marria Thompson, Gallery Curator, in advance of their visit.
The Department of Art History Gallery is located on the first floor of the O'Shaughnessy Educational Center (OEC) in St. Paul.
Street parking is available in non-permit areas along Cleveland Avenue and Summit Avenue. Guests may also park in the Tommie East Parking Garage.
Who can submit a proposal?
We welcome artists to submit proposals to exhibit their work in our gallery. Scheduled two years in advance, our Art Exhibition Program presents two major displays during the academic year (September through December and February through May). We welcome all emerging and established artists, working in all mediums, to submit solo and/or group proposals.
Application Cycle and Timeline
Proposals for exhibitions in 2025 and beyond are now being accepted on a rolling basis.
Proposal Guidelines
To submit a digital proposal, please include the following:
Digital proposals only, please. Do not mail anything.
Send all questions and submissions to:
Marria Thompson
Department of Art History Gallery Curator
ArtHistoryGallery@stthomas.edu
After years of conceptually unweaving the fibers of her identity to understand her place in the context of her bloodline and this moment in time, Tia Keobounpheng emerges to celebrate an enlightened foundational warp. Through geometry, color, and thread she imagines what is possible when our assimilating learned behavioral weft is removed.
After years of conceptually unweaving the fibers of her identity to understand her place in the context of her bloodline and this moment in time, Tia Keobounpheng emerges to celebrate an enlightened foundational warp. Through geometry, color, and thread she imagines what is possible when our assimilating learned behavioral weft is removed.
Tia Salmela Keobounpheng is an interdisciplinary artist based in North Minneapolis. Her work merges fiber, metal, and drawing techniques to create sculpture, installation, public art and mixed-media compositions that express a personal reckoning. Her process-based practice explores the complexity of identity through ancestry, forces of assimilation, and the experiential memory within the physical body.
Her solo exhibition DEFUSE was on view in the summer of 2021 at the Duluth Art Institute. Her temporary outdoor public art installation, UNWEAVING, was installed in Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis in February 2021 as part of The Great Northern Festival and in Sister Cities Park in Duluth in the Fall of 2020 as part of a MN State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. Her work has also been exhibited at the New Studio Gallery in St. Paul, the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, and the Finlandia University Gallery in Hancock, Michigan. She holds a BA degree in Architecture from the University of MN and studied as an exchange student in Oulu, Finland - the land of her ancestors.
tiakeobounpheng.com
tiakeoart.com
unweaving.org
Tia Salmela Keobounpheng is an interdisciplinary artist based in North Minneapolis. Her work merges fiber, metal, and drawing techniques to create sculpture, installation, public art and mixed-media compositions that express a personal reckoning. Her process-based practice explores the complexity of identity through ancestry, forces of assimilation, and the experiential memory within the physical body.
Her solo exhibition DEFUSE was on view in the summer of 2021 at the Duluth Art Institute. Her temporary outdoor public art installation, UNWEAVING, was installed in Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis in February 2021 as part of The Great Northern Festival and in Sister Cities Park in Duluth in the Fall of 2020 as part of a MN State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. Her work has also been exhibited at the New Studio Gallery in St. Paul, the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, and the Finlandia University Gallery in Hancock, Michigan. She holds a BA degree in Architecture from the University of MN and studied as an exchange student in Oulu, Finland - the land of her ancestors.
tiakeobounpheng.com
tiakeoart.com
unweaving.org
Artist Reception Feb. 11 6 - 8pm | All are welcome. Masks required. No registration required.
Virtual Artist Talk April 12 6pm |Open to St. Thomas students, faculty, staff, and the public. Registration required for access.
Visit UNWOVEN THREADS Virtually
Questions? Please contact Marria Thompson (marria.thompson@stthomas.edu).
Artist Reception Feb. 11 6 - 8pm | All are welcome. Masks required. No registration required.
Virtual Artist Talk April 12 6pm |Open to St. Thomas students, faculty, staff, and the public. Registration required for access.
Visit UNWOVEN THREADS Virtually
Questions? Please contact Marria Thompson (marria.thompson@stthomas.edu).
The St. Thomas Art Collection includes the many works of fine art and outdoor sculptures on view throughout campus, as well as numerous other artworks housed within the Department of Art History. The collection represents a variety of regions from around the world, in particular African and Midwestern art.
The University of St. Thomas Art Collection seeks to bring the visual arts to the university, providing an enriching and engaging experience for all students, scholars, and community members. Diverse in scope, the collection fosters critical thinking about global cultures and the material world.
With historical oil paintings, large scale outdoor sculptures, intricate African carvings and more, the University of St. Thomas Art Collection has over 1,500 works of art that you can search and explore.
During Fall 2019, students in Professor Vanessa Rousseau's Museum Studies: Collections (ARTH 250) explored the Greco-Roman coins from the University of St. Thomas Art Collection. This hands-on project allowed the students to work with objects, metadata, and digital exhibitions while creating an online database that serves as a valuable resource for the collection.
The University of St. Thomas Art Collection seeks to bring the visual arts to the university, providing an enriching and engaging experience for all students, scholars, and community members. Diverse in scope, the collection fosters critical thinking about global cultures and the material world.
With historical oil paintings, large scale outdoor sculptures, intricate African carvings and more, the University of St. Thomas Art Collection has over 1,500 works of art that you can search and explore.
During Fall 2019, students in Professor Vanessa Rousseau's Museum Studies: Collections (ARTH 250) explored the Greco-Roman coins from the University of St. Thomas Art Collection. This hands-on project allowed the students to work with objects, metadata, and digital exhibitions while creating an online database that serves as a valuable resource for the collection.
The Voorsanger Architects Archive holds the work of Voorsanger Architects PC, a New York-based architectural firm. The physical archive focuses on highlights of the design and creative process from initial sketches to final photos of the firm's various projects, as well as items relating to Principal and founder Bartholomew Voorsanger, FAIA.
A curated collection of 25 projects was selected as representative of the firm's work from the 1970s through the 2010s. Quick facts on these selected projects are showcased on the archive website, while the archive database offers more detailed information and documentation on each of the 25 selections.
American Museum of Asmat Art
Voorsanger Architects Archive