Marlena Myles Art & Design

09/01/2026

Who picked up the MPR totebag already?? 😎

08/31/2026

Back in Minnesota just in time for the State Fair! 🎡✨

If you're at the fair, you can pick up my Mni Sota Makoce bag from the MPR / MPR News booth at the corner of Judson & Nelson! 💙

Or you can donate online and they'll ship one straight to you if you'd rather admire the State Fair's 150,000+ daily visitors from a distance 😆

The design celebrates the Dakota name for this place and the relationships between the waters, skies, plants, animals and all the living nations that make Minnesota home. 💙

I also stopped by the Creative Activities building and was surprised to find two pieces featuring my ICE OUT of Mni Sota Makoce design from the community screenprinting events! 🥹 One is an incredible cross stitch by Brianna Hope , and the other is incorporated into a quilt.

Please tag the quilter if you know who made the red piece! I asked the people running the building, but unfortunately they didn't have the artist's name to give me. I'd really love to know who created it and give them credit. Update: quilt made by Rachael Theis! 🔥

And of course I had to share some of the amazing seed crop art too. 🌽🌻 I love seeing so much art inspired by our community's anti-fascism events being celebrated throughout the Minnesota State Fair 🔥

08/30/2026

Sharing a sneak peek of the new ceiling I designed for the new Native American Community Clinic NACC in Minneapolis ✨

This is just one part of the artwork I've created for NACC's new healthcare campus. I also designed the terrazzo floors and a large lobby mural, weaving Dakota teachings throughout the building and creating connections between earth, sky, place and healing.

And to celebrate the installation and NACC's new home, my artwork is now on a limited-edition NACC T-shirt! They're available in turquoise, lavender blue and berry, with proceeds supporting the new healthcare campus, which is being developed alongside 83 units of affordable housing.

Support this nonprofit! T-shirts can be purchased online or at their Open House (save the date coming on Monday!)

https://www.bonfire.com/marlena-myles-star-gifts-collection/

Model: Ashlee Jallen

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Our beautiful ceiling designed by Marlena Myles Art & Design got installed this week!

The artwork on the back of the shirt, created by renowned Dakota artist Marlena Myles, is inspired by Kapemni, the Dakota teaching that the sky world and the earth world mirror one another. At the heart of the design is Blue Star Woman, representing the sacred star gifts (Sičuŋ) that every person carries from birth. Surrounding her are Dakota constellations, celestial pathways, and the sacred cottonwood tree, symbolizing protection, identity, belonging, and the interconnectedness of people, land, and the cosmos.

The design reminds us that healing is relational; that our lives are connected to one another, to the natural world, and to the generations who came before us. Just as every person carries a unique gift, this new campus is being built as a place where those gifts can be nurtured through compassionate healthcare, stable housing, cultural connection, and community.

08/29/2026

I've been trying to put 2 weeks in Latvia into words, because it felt like more than a trip. It felt like remembering another way of being alive.

Sometimes life feels like I'm behind a window, watching a world where so many of us have become disconnected from the sources that once gave us power.

I've always loved the stories of my Dakota ancestors encountering windows for the first time. They didn't understand why looking through them should belong only to those inside. If a window was made for seeing through, why shouldn't you look in, too? There wasn't yet this invisible boundary between yourself and the world.

In Latvia, that window disappeared for me.

I could feel the world as I imagine my ancestors once did, and as children still do: alive, mysterious, sacred and full of limitless possibilities.

I'm sharing a different piece of my journey with each slide, so swipe through if you'd like to learn more about the people, artists, places and experiences that make so meaningful to me. 🇱🇻✨

08/28/2026

We need Trickster Tacos to be there everyday at the State Fair next year!

08/27/2026

I designed the floor, ceiling and lobby mural in the new NACC, check out the ceiling and shirt design!

08/25/2026

Learn more about my tote bag design for MPR news and pick up yours by donating!

08/18/2026

Sharing the Minnesota State Fair tote bag design I created for MPR ✨ You can read my interview with MPR News to learn even more about the meaning behind the design!

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/08/18/new-minnesota-state-fair-tote-bag-showcases-state-through-an-indigenous-lens

The name Minnesota comes from the Dakota words Mni Sota Makoce, meaning "the land where the waters reflect the skies." That relationship between earth and sky became the foundation of this artwork.

By weaving together the Fish Nation, Buffalo Nation, Bird Nation, Plant Nation and Star Nation, I wanted to honor the diverse ecosystems and living relatives that shape Minnesota's identity.

My hope is that people see the State Fair as more than a gathering of communities, but as a celebration of our shared home, inspiring us to protect the waters, lands and all our relatives so future generations can continue to thrive.

You can get one of these totes with a $10 donation to Minnesota Public Radio, or pick one up while visiting MPR at the Minnesota State Fair! With around 100,000 people coming through the Fair each day, I'm excited to see this Dakota-centered design carried throughout the fairgrounds and beyond ❤️

📷: Kerem Yücel @ my studio in the F-O-K Creatives building!

08/18/2026

Check out my interview with MPR about the State Fair tote bag I designed!

08/17/2026

Check out the State Fair tote bag I designed for MPR!

Introducing the 2026 MPR State Fair Tote Bag, designed by Marlena Myles Art & Design.

Give a one-time gift of $10 or more OR start a sustaining donation of $3/month or more and get your 2026 MPR State Fair tote! This artwork honors the spirit of the Great Minnesota Get-Together by weaving together the state’s different regions through the teachings of the Fish Nation, Buffalo Nation, Bird Nation, and Star Nation.

That same spirit of togetherness is what keeps Minnesota Public Radio strong and thriving — thank you for being part of it. Get yours now at on.mpr.org/statefairfy27 or visiting us at our State Fair booth.