Maggie Thompson (artist)
Maggie Thompson is a Native American textile artist and designer from the Fond du Lac Ojibwe with a focus on "knitwear and tapestry". Her work focuses on her heritage and identity and also addresses cultural appropriation and Native authenticity. She is the director of the Two Rivers Gallery in Minneapolis, Thompson incorporates multimedia elements into her pieces, such as photographs, beer caps, and 3-D printed designs. She weaves Ojibwe designs into her work to represent her Native heritage. She lives in Minneapolis and owns Makwa Studio, a small knitwear business. Biography. Catherine "Maggie" Thompson was born  in 1990 into the Fond du Lac Ojibwe in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her father was a graphic designer of Fond du Lac Ojibwe heritage and her mother is a painter and photographer of Irish and German heritage. She has stated that her mixed heritage made it hard to find her identity, as she found it difficult to fit in with others around her. She enjoyed skateboarding and rollerskating during her youth, which had an impact on her art. Thompson studied architecture in college, but was introduced to the textile program there during her fourth year, where she "fell in love with  fibers." She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Textiles from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2013. The following year Thompson's father died; he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after experiencing a seizure. His death inspired her to create artwork such as the "Body Bag" project. Her father and mother were her biggest inspirations, along with her close friend Jacob Riley Wasserman. Thompson has stated that Wasserman, who attended college with her at the Rhode Island School of Design, taught her "the true meaning of what love can be in a friendship". Thompson believes that  she can tell a story from her artwork and wants her audience to understand the narrative from the "symbolism objects and possible phrasing that are found within her work". Thompson is also "challenging limitations of what 'native art' should or should not be" with her work. In 2014 Thompson founded Makwa Studio, named after the Ojibwe word for bear, which represents her father's clan, and creates knitwear suitable to be worn by non-Native Americans. Exhibitions and collections. Thompson has a few pieces that are in the permanent collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. Her works have also been  part of exhibitions at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, McKnight Foundation, Minneapolis Institute of Art (2015), and the Plains Art Museum (2015). She has also exhibited at the following locations: Honors and awards. In 2015 Thompson received the NACF Regional Arist Fellowship as well as the Minnesota State Arts Board Cultural Community Partnership Grant.