Tia Keobounpheng (born Virginia, Minnesota, 20th/21st c). Pencil, colored pencil, and thread on wood titled “Measured Threads no. 1,” 2021. Tia Keobounpheng’s work emerges from a process of self-reckoning and exploration of her ancestry within the contexts of epigenetics, colonization, and assimilation to Whiteness.

As a descendant of Finnish and Sami people, she seeks to reconcile generational patterns that have kept her from seeing the ‘un-see-able.’ She uses geometry to move her consciousness beyond binary narratives – to hold the co-existence of contradiction within her own identity. Reworking methods of weaving associated with traditional women’s work, Keoboungpheng approaches both her identity, and the perception of fiber work as feminized craft rather than abstract art, as needing to be unwoven. She finds that working by hand shifts her brainwaves, mindset, and intentions.

It facilitates a process of decolonization on the cellular level. Keobounpheng has been the recipient of many grants and awards, including the M’s State Fair Fine Art Exhibition Purchase Prize in 2023. Current and upcoming exhibitions include a solo show at SooVAC and a solo exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art as part of their MAEP program.

Height: 12 in x width: 12 in x depth: 1 1/2 in.