Defend, Grow, Nurture Phillips
- Title
- Defend, Grow, Nurture Phillips
- Creator
- Nell Pierce
Nell is a freelance artist with an emphasis on storytelling facilitation. They were drawn to Minneapolis through the organizing and artist community and have lived in Mni Sota Makoce, the occupied Dakota homeland, for 10 years. They enjoy collaborating with people in their work, which includes murals, collage, art through teaching, and acrylic painting. They are involved in studio work, including the Studio Thalo collective, along with Olivia Levins Holden and Bayou Bay. They are a part of Creatives After Curfew, which is a substantial muralist collective. They have also been working on a project called Q’llage for six years, which uses their perspectives and perspectives from the LGBTQ2IA+ community to find approaches to being their true selves, with features of nature being used to articulate these approaches. They also create portraits in the form of collages and paintings in their spare time, which are commissioned.
https://nell-pierce.squarespace.com/about - Juliette Perine Myers
Juliette is a mosaic artist and muralist living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since 2013. She uses art as a means of social justice, emotional processing, and community. She has been a collaborator in public art projects in the Twin Cities. She brings her identity as queer, Chinese Heritage, and elements of nature into her work. She is a part of Creatives After Curfew, the BIPOC mural collective, and is a mosaic class instructor at Mosaic On A Stick Studio. She also creates murals and mosaics on commission.
https://julietteperinemyers.com/murals-and-public-art - Missy Whiteman
Missy is a renowned filmmaker, storyteller, and photographer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is of the Northern Arapaho and Kickapoo tribes, which she brings into her work by bringing the voices of her ancestors forward to create change and understanding. She uses both tradition and loss of culture in her work, along with the healing process that reshapes cultural identity. Her father, Ernest Whiteman, is her main source of inspiration since he shaped her view of the world as an artist. Her short films have been featured at the National Geographic All Roads Festival, tribal venues, and the Walker Arts Center. Her short film Coyote Way: Going Back Home earned her the Sundance Native Lab and Jerome Fellowship. She currently works with Independent Indigenous Film and Media as a consultant, where she provides education and resources for communities, youth, and organizations in film.
https://in-progress.org/whiteman-missy - Olivia Levins Holden
Olivia identifies as queer and is an organizer, artist, Boricua muralist, and educator based in Mni Sota Makoce, the occupied Dakota homeland. She was raised surrounded by artists who focused on political and social movements, which impacted the way that she viewed art. She is committed to community involvement and projects where people come together to create a piece of art. They have an interest in storytelling as a means of justice and believe that it’s essential that whoever's story is being told is present and included in the process. She has been a leader and creator of murals in California, Minneapolis, and Puerto Rico. She is a part of the Studio Thalo Collective along with Nell Pierce and Bayou Bay, and the Creatives After Curfew Collective. They do mentor and facilitation work for the Latinx Muralism Apprenticeship, Studio 400, and Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio, aka CLUES. They are also the Art of Radical Collaboration manager at Hope Community, Inc., where they have led the Transformational Creative Strategies Training and the Power of Vision mural project. https://www.olivialevinsholdenart.com/artist-bio.html - Camila Leiva
Camila is a comic artist, muralist, and painter born in Santiago, Chile. She currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota and her art focuses on giving a voice to Latin American women, especially those who face violence due to discrimination and resist against it. She wants these women to be seen and understood while building community. She enjoys painting portraits with saturated colors, along with comics made with watercolor, digital art, gouache, and ink. The political murals in Chile such as the Ramona Parra Brigade have influenced her along with artist and musician Violeta Parra. Her parents (her mother is Minnesotan, and her father is Chilean) were a part of the Chilean resistance during the military dictatorship. She was also born during the dictatorship, and her family felt the effects of political persecution and exile. Because of this, she uses her work to find belonging in displacement through discovering more about her family’s past. She also uses it as a form of connection to other Chileans and their stories and histories. https://www.camilaleiva.com/about-me - Magdalena Kaluza
Magdalena is a muralist, organizer, and educator. They grew up in between Phillips in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Guatemala. Their mother is of Polish and French-Canadian descent from Minnesota, and their father is Mayan K’iche’ mixed race from Guatemala, who both were involved in social justice and solidarity in Guatemala. Their background has shaped their work as a storyteller and activist with a focus on understanding different cultures and identities. They feel that art brings room for vulnerability through the storytelling and connections that it brings. They aided tenants in Whittier in fighting for ownership of their buildings from an unfair landlord. They have participated in political education and community involvement during the 2020 uprising focused on safety and connectivity. They also have an emphasis on affordable housing, immigration rights, and climate change. They believe that affordable and safe housing needs to be addressed before climate change and immigration rights. They currently work as a program coordinator at Gardening Matters. https://www.womenspress.com/magdalena-kaluza-direct-action/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/magdalena-kaluza-884178b0/ - Simone Rendon
- James Autio
James is a painter, teacher, visual artist, and poet based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. His poetry has been published in many publications such as the North American Review and Yellow Medicine Review. He practices his visual art using some methods from his poetry process, such as abstract imagery, leaving room for people to derive their own meaning, and the incorporation of words and ideas. He also creates sculptures, traditional Ojibwe art, charcoal drawings, and digital art. He uses reclaimed Cub Foods bags as a canvas to have more space and allow for intentional imperfections. This practice is related to the use of ledger paper for art in Native American tradition. He sees the “imperfections” in his art as a part of the final product. https://www.jamesdautio.com/ https://www.iwpcollections.org/nw2-james-d-autio</p> - Mattie Weiss
- Katrina Knutson
Katrina is a community muralist, painter, illustrator, community teaching artist, and printmaker based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She focuses on urban environments, along with the strength and resistance within them, in her work.
https://www.chromazone.net/katrina-knutson - Samie Johnson
Samie is an artist in many forms, including a large-scale and community muralist. They use art as a means of growth and emotional expression and to showcase how the community creates connections and different perspectives. They currently work at Hope Community as an Art of Radical Collaboration Organizer and a co-facilitator for the Transformational Creative Strategies Training and the Power of Vision Mural Project. They started by participating in the 2018 Ripple Ecology program and as a garden volunteer. They have also been a studio assistant and a Public Ally coordinator at the North Minneapolis Camden Neighborhood Center for elders through Americorps.
https://hope-community.org/about/staff/samie-johnson/ - Chaka Mkali
Chaka is a leader, organizer, and activist with many different accomplishments and talents. He has completed many trainings and certifications related to policy, community change, practice, and culture through art. He is a Wellstone Fellow, a University of Minnesota Roy Wilkins fellow, and a 2013 Bush Foundation Fellow. He also participated in the BMe Black Leadership Roundtable. He has worked at Hope Community since 2004 and is currently the Director of Organizing and Community Building. He works with young adults and teens from low-income areas to strengthen their community and use the arts to fight gentrification and bring change.
https://hope-community.org/about/staff/chaka-mkali-3/ - Date
- Date of Creation: 2019
Date of Documentation: March 31st, 2025 - Description
- The Defend, Grow, Nurture Phillips mural is located on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis, which is in the Phillips neighborhood. This mural was painted on a large, wide building. The mural's focal point is six indigenous people painted in the center, with a woman breastfeeding and holding her out her hand, as the main figure. There are many generations represented, including two elders (the last two people on the right). There is a man to the left of the breastfeeding mother, another woman with a child in front of her to the right of the mother, a man to the right of the woman and child, and another woman to the right of the man. Sunflowers, along with other plants and flowers, surround the people, forming a square with one large sunflower at the far-left edge. The sunflowers depict scenes that are of importance to the community. The people are all facing to the left and appear to be in protest. Two large triangles are pointing to the right and left, which are formed near the group of people. Inside the triangle pointing to the right, there is a silhouette of people protesting. The left side of the mural depicts mountains in the background and items representing disruption, gentrification, and destruction. The right side of the mural depicts water with tepees being reflected in it and buildings behind the more modern tepees on the top. There are constellations on the top and bottom, along with circular stars with figures depicted in them. There are also northern lights in the top right. The main tones of the mural are earthy browns and reds with cool tones on the right side.
The composition of the mural has people as the focal point, depicted at the mural's center, with the mother being the focus. The balance of light and dark shades of paint for the skin tones adds depth and creates a sunshine-like effect. The two triangles balance the scenes depicted on each side, which also creates symmetry. Another point of symmetry is the square made up of flowers and plants that surround the people. The four sunflowers create a square around the people in the center, which also adds symmetry. The tepees in the reflection of the water, along with the constellations, balance the buildings above them. The mountains and flowers appear to be distant in the background of the people. The middle and foreground are used to display the people and sunflowers, with one larger sunflower displayed in the background. The dark brown triangles add depth to the images displayed. The protest silhouette is in the middle ground. The contrast of light and dark on the far-right side adds depth. The oil, gun, crane, needle, danger sign warning against arsenic and lead, and barbed wire are in the foreground and part of the middle ground. The tepees are in the foreground, and the buildings and other tepees are in the middle ground. The stars and constellations are in the background and foreground.
Yellow curved lines outline the people, which show their importance and make them seem like they are surrounded by sunshine. Curved lines over the tepee represent waves, which create a sense of peace and tranquility. There are also straight lines that are formed by the two large triangles, creating a frame around the people and a visual sense of direction to the scenes depicted on both sides. The straight lines of the barbed wire in the bottom left corner point at the mother, who appears to be deflecting them along with the oil, gun, and crane. The curvy lines of the constellations and northern lights at the top right are reflected in the water and represent nature now and then. The paint adds texture through the sharp appearance of the barbed wire and the hook attached to the crane. The thin brush strokes of the feather attached to the headband on the child’s head make it look soft and fluffy.
The colors in the mural are very earthy in their tone. The mountains and hills displayed on the left use brown, peachy tones, which give it a very peaceful tone, contrasting with the filth and desecration of land shown in the bottom left corner with unattractive tones and themes. The scene on the right uses cool tones, which could represent water and bring a calming message. The dark blues used in the top left corner are meant to show the impacts and changes due to colonization. The bright colors around the people show that they are full of light and connected to the earth through the flowers. The yellow shows that the people are full of light.
- Subject
- The main goal of the mural was to bring out the voices of the community and to create a piece that represents their strength and presence both past and present. It surrounds issues such as environmental injustice and displacement. The indigenous people in the center of the mural are meant to represent the community's ownership and presence on this land and their communal strength. The women being at the front was done on purpose as well. The items that the woman holds her hand out against are meant to show resistance against issues that the community has and is facing. The woman breastfeeding also represents a moment in history when breastfeeding indigenous women stood in front of bulldozers to prevent their sacred cedar trees from being cut down near 55 Hiawatha. The girl in the front’s red dress represents indigenous people, particularly women, who are missing or have been murdered.
- Rights
- Artists: Olivia Levins Holden (lead artist), Nell Pierce, Juliette Perine Myers, Missy Whiteman, Camila Leiva, Magdalena Kaluza, Simone Rendon, James Autio, Mattie Weiss, Katrina Knutson, Samie Johnson, and Chaka Mkali
- Source
- “Power of Vision: Mural on the Ave.” Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, new.artsmia.org/programs/mia-in-the-community/community-arts/power-of-vision-mural-on-the-ave. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
- Eagle, Jaida Grey. “Franklin Avenue East.” Minneapolis Cultural Districts, Minneapolis Cultural Districts, www.minneapolis.org/cultural-districts/districts/franklin-avenue-east/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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Lindeke, Bill. “Franklin Avenue, a Past and Future Native Home: An Interview with NACDI’s Andy Hestness.” Twin Cities Daily Planet, Twin Cities Enterprise, 25 Mar. 2015, www.tcdailyplanet.net/franklin-avenue-past-and-future-native-home-interview-nacdis-andy-hestness/.
Contributer: Crystal Price from Minneapolis Institute of Art
Files
Citation
Nell Pierce
Nell is a freelance artist with an emphasis on storytelling facilitation. They were drawn to Minneapolis through the organizing and artist community and have lived in Mni Sota Makoce, the occupied Dakota homeland, for 10 years. They enjoy collaborating with people in their work, which includes murals, collage, art through teaching, and acrylic painting. They are involved in studio work, including the Studio Thalo collective, along with Olivia Levins Holden and Bayou Bay. They are a part of Creatives After Curfew, which is a substantial muralist collective. They have also been working on a project called Q’llage for six years, which uses their perspectives and perspectives from the LGBTQ2IA+ community to find approaches to being their true selves, with features of nature being used to articulate these approaches. They also create portraits in the form of collages and paintings in their spare time, which are commissioned.
https://nell-pierce.squarespace.com/about et al., “Defend, Grow, Nurture Phillips,” Museum in the streets: Murals in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, accessed February 19, 2026, https://mspmurals.omeka.net/items/show/86.