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
Sara Ochs: Bridging Theater and Music in a New Artistic Journey
Sara Ochs is a multidisciplinary theater artist and songwriter. With support from Art in This Present Moment, Sara will be exploring her talents as a songwriter, writing new music and potentially a one woman play.
See the project
Staging Community: Building a Supportive Ecosystem for Local Theater
Learn how you can go from audience to advocate by supporting organizations like Exposed Brick Theatre.
Read More
Mother and Son Duet Bridges the Gap Between Old and New
Mothers often have close relationships with their sons, but in the case of Maria Biagetti Cortez and Vladimir Garrido-Biagetti, that bond is deeply immersed in their culture and music.
See the project
2024 Bush Prize: Minnesota Winners
Congratulations to these Minnesota nonprofit organizations recognized for their strong histories of innovation and community problem solving.
See the Winners
Engaging Communities for Change Through Grantmaking
Learn how the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation is partnering with nonprofits, donors and anti-racism advocates to make a better Minnesota in this video with President and CEO Eric J. Jolly, Ph.D.
Hear from Dr. Jolly
Songs of Connection: Conductor Strives to Desegregate the Choral Community
Music is a universal language, and no one knows that more than Ahmed Fernando Anzaldúa El Samkary.
See the project
Foundation Makes First Grant in Partnership with the Taylor Family Farms Foundation
Winona Health plans to expand its community health services to support seniors with a new grant.
Learn More
Investing in Our Democracy: Supporting Civic Engagement Nonprofits
The Foundation and our donors are learning from and supporting local organizations that put democracy into action.
View the Grants