Works of Brave Change: The Sculpture of Angela Two Stars

Angela Two Stars is a contemporary artist living and working in the Twin Cities. She draws inspiration for her work from her Dakota heritage and the Dakota language. She recently created a work for lake Bde Make Ska called Brave Change which honors the lake's history as a Dakota village and Angela's relative named Mahpíya Wi?hášta, Cloud Man. Angela is creating another public art work that will, again prominently feature the Dakota language. This time it's at the Walker Art Center's sculpture garden. She was chosen as part of the Walker Art Center's Indigenous Public Art Commission. In January of 2019, the Walker opened up a call to artists with knowledge of Dakota culture and language to create a new public artwork for the sculpture garden. The call was part of a commitment the Walker made in the aftermath of the controversial Scaffold sculpture. However, Angela's work is not a response to Scaffold. "That whole controversy never even crossed my mind," said Angela. "As a public artist that likes to work in public art and to raise awareness to language and my identity as a Dakota woman, that's why I chose to respond." Angela's new work in the sculpture garden will be installed in the fall of 2020.

Allison Herrera