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DOWNTOWN DULUTH — Artist Martha Bird will bring her sculptural basketry to the Nordic Center this fall in a monthlong exhibition that traces the threads of her Norwegian, Swedish and French roots.
The show, Weaving Ancestry: Exploring Norwegian, Swedish, and French cultural connections in sculptural basketry, opens Sept. 5 and runs through Oct. 9 at the downtown gallery, 23 N. Lake Ave. The space will be open Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m.
An opening reception is Friday from 6 to 8:30 p.m., with a short talk by the artist. Bird will return Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. for a presentation titled Ancestry, Disability, and Mental Health: Connecting the Knutkorg Basket to Duluth and the Art Practice of Martha Bird.
That program will include historic Swedish and Duluth-made baskets for participants to handle and photos and stories of Bird’s time working alongside a master basketmaker. She will explore how family lineage, craft tradition and personal experience come together in her work.
A related hands-on workshop, Making a Willow Brigid’s Cross, will take place Oct. 4 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Duluth Public Library’s main branch. Pre-registration is required.
Bird, a Twin Cities–based studio artist, uses basketry techniques as the foundation for contemporary sculptural forms that push past utilitarian design. Her work is in the Minnesota Historical Society collection and private collections in New York, Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania. She has exhibited nationwide and received multiple Minnesota arts grants and residencies.
