Nancy Valentine’s art acts as an agent for impact and change. Based in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, this Chinese American water medium artist created an exhibit, “The Audacity to be Asian in Rural America: we owe you no apologies,” composed of 12 watercolor and Chinese ink scroll paintings on rice paper that visually tells the story of her family’s immigrant experience in rural western Minnesota.
(Find out more about her backstory and art in Episode #22 of Discover Minnesota with Roshini on Facebook.)
She uses the strong women in her family as themes for her art with a goal to increase awareness about Asian people in rural spaces. She says, “I want to use this exhibit as a form of representation to remind people that we are here, but also to use it as a conversation starter to say, ‘Differences make a difference and they are to be celebrated.’” This exhibit is a way to invite people in to hear some of these vulnerable stories and to engage with people who have different backgrounds from each other.
Nancy has witnessed tense dynamics in rural communities and wants to encourage people to look at someone of Asian descent with the eyes they would look at any other human. “This someone in front of them probably has a rich, complex history and stories behind them that you could never imagine.” Nancy hopes people will “approach that with a respectful dignity to understand that the person in front of you has a wholeness to them, not just what you’re catching a tiny glimpse of when you pass by them.”
My theory is you will hear more from Nancy in the future. During our radio chat, I suggested she was poised for politics. She said, “There will never be a day that you won’t see me involved in my community because I believe it’s lots of small, incremental, consistent changes that are going to make a lasting impact on our region.” Way to communicate that!
