A Melody of Kinship

The first exhibition in the Midwest featuring interdisciplinary artist Markele Cullins will open in December. Cullins’ practice combines traditional and new media to ask questions about human connection to nature, spirituality, and time; they see their work as an intimate offering deeply influenced by Black intimacy, mysticism, love, and family history. A Melody of Kinship features a new body of work that explores what Carrie Mae Weems referred to in conversation with bell hooks as “undocumented emotional realms”—the capacity of Black photographic subjects to represent both intimate and universal truths. Of particular concern to Cullins is the value of platonic friendship and Queer forms of relationship not commonly represented in popular media.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Cullins embarked on a photo project where they invited pairs of best friends to interact with one another in spaces considered intimate to them, and write and read letters to one another. The project has taken on new relevance since the pandemic, raising questions about the impact of isolation while allowing viewers to imagine a future where we are drawn closer together. A number of the works from this project will be on view at Mirror Lab, alongside a sound piece that weaves together select recordings from these letter readings. The exhibition will also contain a reading area, with titles selected by Cullins on loan from the collection of Midway Contemporary Art.

Accompanying the exhibition is a text by Tara Kaushik, a writer and printmaker living in Minneapolis. A Melody of Kinship was curated by Mike Curran, a Minneapolis-based independent curator and arts writer.

About Markele Cullins
Markele Cullins (b. 1995) is an interdisciplinary artist born in Baltimore, Maryland, and based in Los Angeles, California, where they are pursuing their MFA in New Genres at University of California, Los Angeles. Cullins received their BFA from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, with a focus in Intermedia and obtained additional education from Maryland Institute College of Art, Haystack School of Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, and Art Coop.

Their most recent exhibition is Soul of The Butterfly: Chicory Magazine and Baltimore Black Arts Activism, an educational collaboration at the Enoch Pratt Library (Baltimore, MD). Other recent showings include a solo exhibition titled Reflections From Home at The Shed Space (Baltimore, MD), as well as two group exhibitions: the Athens Biennale (Athens, Greece) and Mickalene Thomas’ A Moment's Pleasure at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Cullins was a founding member of Oak Hill Center for Education and Culture, and co-founded 4C Gallery, an online gallery for artists of color. Cullins also collaborates with communities and students as a designer to create zines preserving Baltimore public history.

About Tara Kaushik
Tara Kaushik is a writer and printmaker. She grew up in different cities around India and currently lives in Minneapolis, where she works in nonprofit communications.

About Mike Curran

Mike Curran is a curator and arts writer living in Minneapolis. He has curated programming at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and artist-run galleries including Waiting Room and Normal Residential Purposes, an installation space he organized out of his backyard. His essays and reviews have been featured in Art Papers, Mn Artists, Public Parking, MPLSART.COM, TEMP/reviews, and St. Olaf College’s Flaten Art Museum. He was awarded an Early-Career Artist Project Grant from Forecast Public Art in 2022.

About Mirror Lab
Mirror Lab is a collective studio and programming space located in South Minneapolis (formerly The White Page Gallery). Their studios include a gallery and three separate open, flexible work areas.

Mirror Lab: 3400 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 2, 6-9pm
Open Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, 12-4pm, and by appointment