Amadis Amaya, Charlese Bell, Ashley Vargas Colima, Misaki Ishiwata, Evan Lovett and Kyler Meigs come together in this joint exhibition to express their individual emotions and perspectives while celebrating the commonalities of how and why they create art, according to information from the university.

“Art, no translation needed,” Ishiwata said. Her works reflect on how her emotions have changed since moving to the United States from Japan. Titled “A Quarter of One’s Life,” her art shows how crafting, painting and drawing were essential to her life since childhood and showcases how art has become her own language.

Colima uses linoleum cuts to explore identity, cultural memory and belonging, all inspired by her upbringing in Las Vegas and her move north in “Raices Grabadas.” She incorporates cultural symbols and bold imagery to emphasize storytelling, community and the preservation of cultural identity.

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

Submitted Photo A print from Ashley Vargas Colima’s “Raices Grabadas” collection, which explores identity and cultural memory.

Meigs uses a series of collages in “Within Me” to convey personal mental health struggles and to connect with the audience.

“Taking my many hours of stippling apart and putting it onto a new surface is a good representation of what mental health is,” she 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.”

Lovett’s 16-year background in football shapes “Portraits of the Athlete” where he used oil pastels and bold, layered hues to recreate both the physical energy and presence of athletes.

“Only to Forget” by Amaya primarily uses black-and-white photography to explore concepts of eternal recurrence, cognitive science and existentialism. Digital photographs are also projected on a wall with the intent to make the viewer aware of how memory is in a constant state of compression and is volatile in nature.

Bell also navigates the fragility of memory as she explores her relationships with her siblings over time in “Tracing Memory.” She shows how memory fades unevenly through botanical forms and the tonal range of graphite – showing how some moments remain vivid while others gradually dissolve.

Minot State University student Evan Lovett’s football background shapes his “Portraits of the Athlete,” for which he used oil pastels and bold, layered hues.

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

The Northwest Arts Center is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 1-5 p.m. The Walter Piehl Gallery is located on the lower level of the Gordon B. Olson Library at MSU, with its own entrance on the south side of the library.

Submitted Photo Six Minot State University students came together to create their joint exhibition “Intersecting Narratives.” From left to right are Kyler Meigs, Evan Lovett, Misaki Ishiwata, Charlese Bell, Vargas Colima and Amadis Amaya.