Artist Reception – Cecilia Cornejo “Threads of Connection & Belonging”

Cecilia Cornejo

From the high tech—indexed databases, touchscreens, and sound domes—to traditional practices of embroidery, Threads of Connection & Belonging shares broad perspectives united by one idea: What does it mean to be home? 

Working from a background as a filmmaker, Cornejo has embraced multiple ways of sharing stories. From the high tech—indexed databases, touchscreens, and sound domes—to traditional practices of embroidery, Threads of Connection & Belonging shares broad perspectives united by one idea: What does it mean to be home?

The multiplicity of voices that populate the exhibition have been gathered in Southeastern Minnesota over the past five years through Cornejo’s multiplatform project, The Wandering House, which features an inviting mobile audio recording studio. “Cecilia has built connections with many people, including and especially those whose stories aren’t always highlighted,” says Artistic Director Stephanie Rogers. “Through her work, the stories collected are given back to the people and places they came from in a framework that invites reflection and discovery.”

Red Wing community members can participate in the next phase of the project in multiple ways. Additional audio testimonies and ambient sounds from around town can be submitted directly via the newly developed website, The Wandering House ~ Sonic Archive. Community members are also invited to embroider a short statement recorded in Red Wing in October 2022 while Cecilia was in residence at the Anderson Center and working in partnership with Hispanic Outreach of Goodhue County, Red Wing Arts, Goodhue County Education District, Red Wing School District, Downtown Plaza, and Red Wing Farmer’s Market. The archive will receive contributions until the end of the year and the embroidered works will be displayed in a finished community quilt at Red Wing Arts in 2024.

Cecilia Cornejo Sotelo is a Chilean-American documentary filmmaker, artist and educator based in Northfield, Minnesota, the occupied ancestral land of the Wahpekute Band of the Dakota Nation. Locally rooted yet globally minded, her work examines notions of home and the immigrant experience while exploring the traces of historical trauma on people and places. An inaugural recipient of the 2020 McKnight Fellowship for Community-Engaged Artists, Cecilia’s work has received support from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC), the Jerome Foundation, and the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council. Her film work has shown nationally and abroad and is currently distributed by Women Make Movies.

These exhibits is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through Operating Support & Creative Support for Individuals grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.