December 19, 2019. Saint Paul, Minnesota —Hmong Museum received a microgrant of $5,000 from the Minnesota Humanities Center to fund a program that will hire Hmong elders to teach bamboo basket weaving and other folk traditions with community members. This project was conceived after a successful collaboration with the Hmong elder Center in the spring of 2019 through the Partners in Action program led by the Minnesota Museum of American Art. 

“Hmong elders in our community are invaluable treasures. The Hmong have traditionally passed down stories and knowledge orally. If we do not make an effort to learn from them, we will lose those skills and knowledge of our forefathers,” expressed Mai Nhia Vang, Executive Director and Founder of Hmong Museum. “It was pure joy to see the handiwork of the elders at the limited exhibit Partners In Action. We want to share that experience of creating and bonding with Hmong elders with the broader community.”

War, displacement, and assimilation has made it almost impossible to continue the folk art skills that are passed on from the previous generation to the next. It was the first time in over 40 years since the men and women of the Hmong Elder Center produced baskets from bamboo and batik.

Workshops taught by Hmong elder teaching artists will be offered in Spring of 2020.

Learn more about the Partners in Action program >