‘Uniquely Midwest’: New Fargo gallery puts Native artists in the spotlight
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
A new gallery in downtown Fargo is centering Native artists from across the midwest and the country.
Sovereign Studio and Gallery opened in late September, but its founder, Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ Dakota artist Joseph Williams, has been dreaming of opening a space like this for years.
“There is no question about the quality of work that is created from our Native American and our Indigenous communities, top tier, just incredible, passionate work,” Williams said. Williams is the former director of Native American Programs at the Plains Art Museum, a few blocks from Sovereign, and spent more than three decades working in the art field.
“But there really isn’t a place for us to showcase our works that isn’t outside of a weekend market, or that’s supported by an institution consistently.”
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
For Sovereign’s inaugural exhibition, the work of dozens of Native artists at all stages of their careers is on view. There is the bright geometric work of Gerald Cournoyer of Nebraska and the expressionistic paintings of Roger Broer of South Dakota, two nationally renowned Oglala Lakota artists. Sharing a wall is also the ledger art of Chris Pappan (Osage, Kaw, Cheyenne River Sioux, and mixed European heritage), another nationally recognized artist who founded the Center for Native Futures in Chicago.
Williams says the art of Hillary Kempenich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa based in North Dakota, will be nationally known soon.
Kempenich is “one of the undiscovered masters that we have in the area,” Williams said. “Her work is about Indigenous women representation and being able to tell their own story, often being told by men or academics.”
There is also work from established Minnesota artists, including Kent Estey and Penny Kagigebi of the White Earth Nation and Laura Youngbird of the Grand Portage Band.
“The goal is to promote and stand up Native artists full time from here on out,” Williams said. The mission is to make Fargo a national hub for Native arts.
Sovereign is the brick-and-mortar space of the nonprofit that Williams started, Indigenous Art House, which develops cultural programming throughout the area, such as the Northern Plains Indigenous Film Festival, which premiered in early 2026 at the Fargo Theater.
The gallery’s inaugural exhibition will be up through autumn. Williams says the gallery will feature other programming too, like live music, arts education, artist talks and a book club based on Native literature.
“It’d be great for folks to come down and check this out,” Williams said. “But overall, whether it's here in Fargo or if it's in northern Minnesota or in South Dakota, support native artists. Their work is uniquely Midwest.”
