INSIDE A GALLERY at a noted liberal arts college in a small southern Minnesota city, 20 identical shovels hang, evenly-spaced, along a beige wall. That may not seem impressive, until you read the story behind these tools.
These shovels were crafted from 1,527 guns surrendered in Culiacán, Mexico. Guns that were melted and made into 1,527 shovels used to plant 1,527 trees, including one at the corner of Union Street and Fourth Street East on the campus of Carleton College in Northfield.
Recently I stopped at this college campus to tour “Ahimsa,” an exhibition by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes in the galleries at The Perlman Teaching Museum inside the Weitz Center for Creativity. “Ahimsa” is a Sankritt word meaning “nonviolence.” That focuses this thought-provoking exhibit filling two gallery spaces.
With gun violence so prevalent in America, including right here in Minnesota with the political assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in June and the deadly August mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in south Minneapolis, I found Reyes’ exhibit profoundly relevant. I couldn’t help but think of the two Annunciation School children who were killed and the 27 other students and adults who were injured during morning Mass. Since then, voices have risen, loud and vocal, against gun violence. But thus far, nothing has changed, although discussion is ongoing with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz hosting town halls around the state on the topic.
The voice of this Mexican artist is among those rising. Upon entering the gallery, I read this: …Ahimsa reminds us that silence is complicity…
Reyes speaks out against more than gun violence in his exhibition. He also advocates for nuclear disarmament, another timely topic. And he does that in an artistically-mammoth way via a towering inflatable that overwhelms the high-ceilinged Braucher Gallery. Exactly the effect Reyes wants to make in his piece titled “Zero Nukes.”
I felt minimal, small, dwarfed by the mushroom cloud upon which ZERO NUCLEAR WEAPONS is printed in eight languages.
Nearby, a stockpile of inflatable nuclear warheads lies, another strong visual representing the nearly 14,000 nuclear warheads at the ready around the world. The statistics, cited as part of this display, are sobering, surprising (to me) and revealing.
Reyes, in his exhibit, shows us how art can be used to inform, educate, raise awareness, spark community conversation and action. He shows us via posters, buttons, sculptures, videos, inflatables and words how we can rise in protest against gun violence and nuclear weapons.
In the end we must ask ourselves the singular question posed in a poem on the protest poster wall: Where are you going? That’s in the event of nuclear war or similarly in the case of a mass shooting. I long ago stopped believing that the 1960s advice to duck and cover beneath a school desk would save me.
FYI: “Ahimsa” by Pedro Reyes is free and open to the public daily inside the Weitz Center for Creativity, 320 Third Street East, Northfield, until November 19. Hours vary. Click here for more information.
This exhibit was photographed with permission.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
“Anonymous mother” & a call to action November 5, 2025
Tags: "I Am Minnesota", art, commentary, Faribault, immigrants, immigration, Kate Langlais, Martha Brown, Minnesota, Paradise Center for the Arts, portraits, stories
I ALMOST MISSED IT. “Anonymous Mother’s Story” positioned next to “The Young Mother” charcoal portrait in the “I Am Minnesota” exhibit by Faribault artist Kate Langlais. But there it was, tucked in the corner near the light switches in the Paradise Center for the Arts main gallery.
The exhibit features some 20 portraits and stories of first and second-generation immigrants from my community. None is more relevant than that of the young mother who now faces deportation and separation from her infant. Here are key words in her story: young mother. here legally. green card. application suddenly canceled. awaiting deportation. ankle bracelet. cruel and inhumane.
We’ve all heard countless media reports of people snatched from the streets and elsewhere by masked agents of the federal government, unlawfully detained without due process, separated from family, deported… That is, indeed, cruel, inhumane, heartbreaking and wrong. Even when immigrants are following all of the rules, all of the laws to legally live here, they find themselves targeted.
To read the story of this young mother from my area, to see the faceless portrait, and then to also view a photo taken by Martha Brown, candidate for Minnesota House District 19a, deeply touched me. Brown photographed only the young woman’s legs and the wheels of her baby’s stroller. That was absolutely the right and compassionate thing to do.
The intentionally-framed image is more effective and powerful than if Brown had photographed the woman’s face. Every single person who sees this image should understand the reasons for anonymity. In a statement with the photo, Brown urges southern Minnesotans to reach out to their U.S. congressman “to stop this cruel and inhumane treatment.”
Langlais’ inclusion of the anonymous mother’s portrait and story, along with Brown’s photo and words, is perhaps the most important part of the “I Am Minnesota” exhibit. And to think, I nearly missed it there in a corner of the gallery. Don’t miss this exhibit, which closes on November 15 at the Paradise Center for the Arts. It’s located in historic downtown Faribault, a place many immigrants call home.
FYI: The Northfield Public Library is hosting “Bridging Communities: A Celebration of Somali Culture” from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, November 8. The event features interactive dance workshops led by the Somali Museum of Minnesota Dance Troupe; a performance by the Faribault Middle School Choir; and a participatory sing-along of Somali songs. Other activities include henna art, face painting, bilingual Somali storytelling, a scavenger hunt with prizes and more. The library is collaborating with Somali community partners and St. Olaf and Carleton colleges to bring this event to Northfield.
NOTE: I photographed the “I Am Minnesota” exhibit with permission of the Paradise. I also received permission from Martha Brown to include her photo in this post.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling