Tanya Gravening is a visual artist. Her favorite art mediums are oil paint, watercolor, mechanical pencils & micron pens, and plastic trash. Tanya's content focuses on environmental conservation with paintings of wave patterns, sea creatures, and monuments constructed of plastic trash. Tanya studied fine art at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and achieved her Master's Degree from the University of Minnesota. Tanya's Master's thesis was published by Lap Lambert, the topic was raising awareness of plastic pollution with art, which was supported by art history, museum studies, and popular culture. Tanya's teaching style reflects the student while emphasizing practice and process.

Available most evenings for private tutoring and/or events.

None Ron Brown: Afrofuturist Storyteller Shaping Minneapolis Through Art and Community

By Clark Kent Daily ?

In the heart of Minneapolis, where culture, resistance, and creativity intersect, one artist has been quietly—and powerfully—shaping the visual language of Black liberation and healing for over two decades. Ron Brown, a multidisciplinary Afrocentric artist, storyteller, and community health advocate, has built a career rooted not just in creative expression, but in cultural elevation, healing justice, and radical Black love.

Whether on canvas, in digital realms, through collage, or embodied in wearable art, Brown’s work pulses with the rhythm of the African Diaspora. “Art is how I tell our stories. It's how I process pain, channel joy, and project futures where we are whole,” says Brown. His practice centers Afrofuturism as a vehicle for storytelling—bridging ancestral memory and future dreaming.

Brown’s artistry cannot be confined to one form. His work lives in paintings, mixed media, fashion design, murals, illustrations, and digital pieces. Each medium is a portal. Each piece, a call to remember. His creations are known for their bold textures, rich symbolism, and unapologetic Black brilliance.

Born in Gary, Indiana, Brown relocated to Minneapolis seeking fertile ground for his creativity and a deeper sense of community. Here, he found both—and gave back tenfold. For over 20 years, Brown has been embedded in the Black communities of the Twin Cities, not just as an artist, but as a healer, mentor, and changemaker. Through his work with Hennepin County and as the founder of the MAN Clinic (Male Access Now) at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, Brown has championed sexual health, education, and culturally competent care for Black men and boys.

But for Brown, art and public health are not separate. “Art is wellness. It’s community care. It’s how we reclaim narratives that have been distorted or erased,” he says. His installations and workshops often intersect with community engagement, bringing people together to create, reflect, and reimagine.

Brown’s pieces have been exhibited across the city, and his influence can be seen in everything from local murals to youth art programs to cultural festivals that celebrate Black life. As an Afrofuturist, he doesn’t just paint what is—he paints what could be. His work speaks to a liberated Minneapolis, one where Black stories are centered, not sidelined.

Through every brushstroke, collage, and design, Brown amplifies a vision of Minneapolis that is Black, bold, and beautiful. “I make art for the people. From the Diaspora. For the future,” he says.

As Minneapolis continues to reckon with its history and dream new futures, artists like Ron Brown remind us that healing is possible—if we dare to imagine, and create, together.

RonBrown is available for private bookings

Sip & paint host with a variety of group based themes and activities.

2-3 hr events

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