biota Featured in Mpls.St.Paul Magazine + Best of Twin Cities Nominations

We’re honored to share that the outdoor installation biota helped bring to life at the Weisman Art Museum has been featured in Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. The article, “‘Merciless’: Indigenous Lands Since 1776”, explores the new exhibition and the three Native artists at its heart: Natchez Beaulieu, Marlena Myles, and Missy Whiteman.

It’s a thoughtful, beautifully written look at the exhibition, and we’re grateful to see the artists’ work, and the landscape it now lives in, reach even more people. Sharing it during Native American Heritage Month makes it all the more meaningful. The exhibition is open through May 2027, so we encourage you to visit before it closes. The hardscape art installation, though, is here to stay: a permanent part of the landscape for University of Minnesota students and the community to enjoy for generations.

What Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Shared

The feature calls the exhibition a celebration of “Native resistance and futurity,” and gives readers a look at the outdoor monuments now standing beside the Mississippi River. Curator Dr. Kendra Greendeer summed up the spirit of the show: “The [artists’ work] is really celebrating Indigenous resistance for 250 years.”

Seeing a project we care about this much reach Mpls.St.Paul Magazine’s readers is a proud moment for our team. It’s a reminder that the landscapes we build can be part of the stories that shape our community.

Our role was installing the hand-cut paver design of Natchez Beaulieu’s Ojichaagobiishin (Reflection in Water), part of the permanent outdoor installation alongside Marlena Myles’ Ancestral Currents: From Bdóte to the Stars. For the full story behind the project, read our earlier post,
Weisman Art Museum Landscape Installation: Bringing Art, Indigenous Teachings, and Nature Together.

Inside the Weisman Art Museum you can find the rest of the exhibition featuring Missy Whiteman’s work.

"Whiteman’s installation suffuses a dimly lit room with technicolor visions of the cosmos. Revisiting steel petroglyph-inspired sculptures of her father’s creation (+ and Untitled (Spirit Pictograph: A Bountiful Hunt)), Whiteman draws upon his artistic practice to inspire her own."
- Diane Meyer

Vote for biota in Best of Twin Cities

Speaking of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, voting is open for their annual Best of Twin Cities awards, and we’d love your support! Every year, readers like you choose the people and businesses that make the Twin Cities a better place to live, work, and play.

Whether we’ve designed your backyard retreat, cared for your gardens season after season, or you’ve simply enjoyed seeing our work around town, your vote means the world to our team. It takes just a few minutes, and it helps more neighbors discover what’s possible when craftsmanship and creativity meet in the landscape.