Intersecting Narratives: MSU art students to showcase artwork in Capstone Exhibition at the Northwest Art Center

MINOT, N.D. – Six Minot State University art students are exhibiting in the annual Capstone art exhibition, Intersecting Narratives.

While at the Northwest Arts Center, Intersecting Narratives will open with a reception at the Northwest Arts Center on Friday, May 8 at 6:30 p.m. and be on display until June 5.

Capstone is the culminating experience for art majors, allowing them to apply the skills they’ve developed during their time at Minot State University. This year’s exhibition includes works by Amadís Amaya, Charlese Bell, Ashley Vargas Colima, Misaki Ishiwata, Evan Lovett, and Kyler Meigs. This exhibition commemorates their years of art experience at the university level and showcases their education. Intersecting Narratives is a joint exhibition in which the artists each tell their own story – express their emotions and perspectives as individuals, while at the same time celebrating the parallels they share in how and why they make art.

“Only to Forget” by Amaya primarily uses black-and-white photography, including both self-processed film and digital imagery. Alongside the traditional prints, digital photographs are presented on an entire wall by a video projector with the intent to make the viewer aware of how memory is in a constant state of compression and volatile in nature.

“Life is constantly determined by constants and variables, Amaya said. “When we make our choices, we make our choices. And in a way, we forever make the choices we make. Whether only once, or again and again, for eternity. Or even through fractions of eternity, through memory and perpetually living the same memory as it happens, for forever.”

Having experience with philosophy, his work touches on concepts of eternal recurrence, cognitive science, and existentialism. To add a layer of ideological context and emotional depth, he has created a zine specifically for this exhibit.

“Things that I regularly battle with internally is my memory and a constant question of if I’m already dead, or if I can’t be dead,” he states, based on his existentialist beliefs.

“Tracing Memory” by Bell also navigates the unstable nature of memory, reflecting on her relationships with her siblings over time. Through botanical forms and the delicate tonal range of graphite, she explores how memory fades unevenly- some moments remain vivid while others gradually dissolve.

“I use graphite for its ability to form soft edges and its lack of color,” she said. “When I think of my own memories, they feel faded – low in contrast and slightly out of reach.”

The work lingers between a sense of longing for childhood closeness and an awareness of memory’s fragility and impermanence. Bell notes that she would “often get lost in thought while working, and as a result, comes to appreciate the final piece in a different way than if it were made more quickly.”

Colima explores identity, cultural memory, and belonging shaped by her upbringing in Las Vegas and her move north, using linoleum cuts inspired by José Guadalupe Posada and Manuel Manilla. In her exhibition, “Raíces Grabadas,” she incorporates bold imagery and cultural symbols like the Virgin of Guadalupe to reconnect personal and shared experiences of uprooting while encouraging a renewed sense of belonging.

Her work emphasizes storytelling, community, and the preservation of cultural identity through graphic forms.

“Through my prints, I hope to inspire others to reconnect with traditions and memories that grounded their own identities,” she states.

Crafting, painting, and drawing have been central to Ishiwata’s life since childhood, shaping her belief that art has become her own language. The work she created for “⼈⽣の4分の1 (A Quarter of One's Life),” reflects on how her emotions have changed since moving to the United States. Through her exhibition, she hopes to remind viewers that they are not alone in what they feel. 

“Art, no translation needed,” Ishiwata emphasized.

“Portraits of the Athlete,” explores sports portraiture through expressive color, intensity, and emotion, shaped by Lovett’s 16-year background in football. Using oil pastels and bold, layered hues, the work captures both the physical energy and psychological presence of athletes. It reflects sport as both spectacle and personal narrative, asking, “What’s your why?”

“Creating this body of work has been a way for me to reflect on my own journey as an athlete while honoring the intensity and individuality of others,” Lovett explained. “It is the result of years of discipline, both on the field and in the studio, and reaching this point alongside my cohort makes it especially meaningful.”

“Within Me,” is a series of collages created by Meigs that question what identity means. They are a method to convey and navigate personal mental health struggles, as well as a means of connection with the audience in a way that’s relatable.

“Taking my many hours of stippling apart and putting it onto a new surface is a good representation of what mental health is,” Meigs said. “Society expects you to bear the weight of your world getting taken apart and then wants you to put it together again like it’s that easy.”

The opening reception will be held at the Northwest Arts Center on Friday, May 8 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Each student will present their exhibition and experiences through a gallery talk starting at 7 p.m.

While at the Northwest Arts Center, the exhibition will be available for viewing Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 1-5 p.m. It is closed holidays. The Walter Piehl Gallery is located on the lower level of the Gordon B. Olson Library at Minot State University, with its own entrance on the south side of the library. The exhibition and related events are free and open to the public.

The Northwest Arts Center and concurrently the exhibition is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.