Art In This Present Moment
Kazua Melissa Vang
Artist Kazua Melissa Vang uses photography and mixed media art to preserve the legacy of her father and tell the stories of her family and Hmong heritage.
Artist book PRESERVE is a collection of photography, journal entries and works from Kazua showcasing her love for her father, family and canned goods. The inspiration for the title comes from Kazua wanting to preserve memories of her father, who had a stroke in 1999.
About the Artist
Kazua Melissa Vang is a Hmong American photographer, visual artist, filmmaker, teaching artist and producer based in Minnesota. Her recent photography work, “F R I D G E S,” was showcased at Second Shift Studio Space in Eastside Saint Paul in 2020. Kazua’s mixed-media artwork was published as a book art cover for the Saint Paul Almanac 2019, “Resistance and Resilience, Vol 12”. She has stage-managed for Hmong-Lao/Lao-Hmong Friendship Play and has worked as a production manager for NICE, an independent pilot and official selection under Indie Episodic Category at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. Kazua also co-founded the Asian Pacific Islander American Minnesota Film Collective (APIA MN Film Collective).
She is a producer for HMONG ORGANIZATION, a comedic web series with writers May Lee-Yang and Peter Yang, and director Kang Vang. Her first short film, RHAUB, was an official selection at the 2018 Qhia Dab Neeg Film Festival in Saint Paul. Kazua recently received the 2021 MSAB Creative Support for Individual grant to write and direct her second featured short The Chaperones.
About the Organization
In Progress has been promoting the voices of newly developing artists since its inception in 1996. Its purpose is to diversify cultural dialogue and pave the way for new voices in the field of digital art making.
“How do I preserve him who is no longer on this earth? ... How am I as his daughter, but also how am I as an artist able to create legacies of storytelling?”
Kazua Melissa Vang
Art In This Present Moment
This project is part of Art in This Present Moment, an initiative of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, with funding from the McKnight Foundation. We provided grants to three Minnesota-based nonprofit organizations to fund work by six BIPOC artists who are changing and challenging dominant narratives through their craft.
More Stories
Community-Led Investments Building a Stronger Minnesota
Community-driven organizations creating new pathways to economic opportunities and long-term prosperity across Minnesota.
Learn More
Five Ways to Make the Most of Your Year-End Giving
Learn how to be intentional with your year-end giving by following these simple tips.
See the Ways
Showing Up for the Place We Call Home: This Election and Beyond
What we heard across Minnesota this year, what we’re doing about it and resources for election season
Learn More
Our Downtown Headquarters: An Expansion & Investment in Saint Paul
Expansion at Osborn370 will strengthen statewide engagement, expand opportunities for collaboration and offer a new destination for community.
See the News
Moving Money from Wall Street to Main Street
The Foundation's new investment portfolios are creating opportunities for investors and strengthening communities across the state.
Learn More
Honoring Two Decades of Courage, Leadership and Racial Justice
What began as a bold commitment to naming and addressing racism has grown into a celebration of the people, partnerships and movements creating a more just Minnesota for all.
Learn More
Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation Helps Build a New Future for Rural Minnesota
Learn how the Foundation's investment in Green Acres Milling is creating financial opportunities for the city of Albert Lea
Meet Green Acres Milling
Downtown Saint Paul Draws $15 Million Commitment from Foundation
The Foundation joins Securian Financial and the Bush Foundation in backing downtown’s redevelopment and takes seats on the governing bodies directing the work.
See the News