A celebration of appliquéd mural blankets created in an apprenticeship year between artists Rick Kagigebi & Eliza Klarer
April to July 2026, Tuesday – Thursday 11:am to 4pm.
This exhibition is hosted by Manoomin Arts Initiative at Gizhiigin Arts Incubator,
701 East Jefferson Ave, Mahnomen MN 56557
Special viewings upon request at Penny@kagigebi.com
Rick Kagigebi is a 2024 McKnight Fiber Arts Fellow and recipient of grants from Minnesota State Arts Board, Lake Region Arts Council, and Region 2 Arts Council Anishinaabe Arts Initiative.
Rick has lived in Detroit Lakes since 2007. Most of the years before were lived between Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation in Wisconsin and the city of Duluth where he went to college, began a life, lost everything, and began again.
Going to ceremony as a teenager with his father in 1980, Rick made his first blanket for giveaway, for healing. Many hundreds of blankets followed. While living at the Duluth YWCA transitional housing in the mid-1990s, he used an embroidery hoop to hand-stitch the appliquéd mural designs because didn't have a sewingmachine.
His blankets have been exhibited throughout the Upper Midwest since 2018.
Rick Kagigebi is a FY 2025 Cultural Expression grant recipient from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Eliza Klarer is an indigenous artist raised and living on the White Earth Reservation. Her artwork is influenced by rural wilderness and traditional themes as well as contemporary elements of vivid colors.
Carrying on the teachings of her late grandmother, Judy Toppings, Eliza went on to graduate from the University of Minnesota Morris in the Spring of 2024; majoring in Studio Art with a focus on ceramics and painting. Since returning to her hometown she has reconnected with her roots in traditional woodland pottery by leading classes with her mother, Janet Klarer. They both serve on the board of the young non-profit, Manoomin Arts Initiative.
Eliza's community and public art has been supported by Springboard for the Arts, MAHUBE-OTWA and Mahnomen Tribal Community Council. Check out her butterfly mural, a selfie spot at the basketball court in Mahnomen!