In A Gathering of Waters, artist Shoshana Fink invites visitors to experience the Mississippi River through photography, sound, and scent. The exhibition takes its name from the Hebrew word mikvah, which translates literally as a “gathering of waters.” A mikvah is a Jewish ritual bath containing natural, “living” water and has long served as a symbol of purification, renewal, and transformation.
Drawing a connection between this tradition and the waters that gather to form the Mississippi River, the exhibition reflects on the river as a living presence shaped by water from earth and sky. It also honors Wakpa Taŋka, the Great River, as a sacred living relative of the Dakota people and considers the many ways the river connects waters, places, and lives throughout our region.
Created specifically for MWMO’s Exhibit Space alongside the Mississippi River, A Gathering of Waters offers a whole-body experience of the river. Visitors can walk beside a long silk panel imprinted with the river’s currents, listen to underwater sound recordings, encounter a scent inspired by the river, and view photographic urban landscapes created using river water. A custom-made bench offers a place to pause and contemplate the relationship between the wild river and the city that surrounds it.
Throughout the exhibition, water serves not only as a subject but as a material and collaborator in the work. Together, these elements invite visitors to slow down, engage their senses, and consider their own relationship to the Mississippi River and the waters that connect us. The experience will extend beyond the gallery through two hands-on cyanotype workshops led by Fink, using river water, plants, and found objects gathered near the river’s edge.
Exhibit Title
A GATHERING OF WATERS
Dates
September 4, 2026–November 30, 2026
Artist
The gallery is open for self-guided visits during regular business hours. In addition, we are hosting public gallery hours on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month from 4–6 p.m. These open hours offer extended access and a shared time to experience the exhibit alongside others, with MWMO staff on site for conversation and questions.
Upcoming Events
Open House
Friday, September 4, 2026 — 5:00–8:00 p.m.
Join us for the opening of A Gathering of Waters and meet artist Shoshana Fink while exploring an immersive installation featuring photography, sound, scent, and river-inspired textile work. Enjoy light refreshments as you experience this multi-sensory exhibition reflecting on the Mississippi River as a living presence and the waters that connect us.
Cyanotype Workshop
Saturday, September 19 & October 3, 2026 — 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Learn to create cyanotypes using collected Mississippi River water, plants + found objects gathered near the River’s edge.
Join us for an afternoon of fun: Learning about the Mississippi River, how we’re connected to it, and how we can create with it too. While you’re here, explore Shoshana Fink’s solo exhibit, A Gathering of Waters.
In this workshop, we will harness the power of the sun to make detailed cyanotype prints on sensitized paper using plants and objects that we collect near the river. After exposing our cyanotypes to UV light, we will develop them in Mississippi River water (collected prior to the workshop) and hang them to dry. After completion, workshop participants will be able to take their prints home.
*Cyanotype is the “original” sun-printing process, one of the earliest photographic techniques. Discovered in 1842 and distinctive for producing rich, Prussian blue monochromatic prints, cyanotype was popular well into the 20th century as an inexpensive method for reproducing photographs, documents, maps and plans (hence the enduring architectural term “blueprint”) and for making impressions of biological or plant specimens in the field (“photograms”).
This event is free, but registration is required.
Gallery
Artist Bio
Shoshana Fink is a teaching artist who grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She studied classical violin for 17 years and completed two years of study at Manhattan School of Music. She also has a B.A. with honors in anthropology from the University of Chicago and a B.F.A. in media arts from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Shoshana has over 15 years of experience as a Los Angeles-based film producer. During her time in Southern California, she worked on six feature-length documentaries and narratives. In addition to numerous international screenings, two films she produced, An Injury to One and Who Killed Cock Robin, went to the Sundance Film Festival. From 2012 to 2015 she also worked at Participant Media under Academy-Award- nominated executive producer, Diane Weyerman.
In 2016, she left Los Angeles, and after a few years living in Montana, she returned to the Twin Cities in 2018. In 2022, Shoshana graduated with an M.F.A. in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a focus on photography, video, sound, olfaction, and installation. Since graduating, she has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in the US and abroad. She has also served as an Art Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin River Falls, as adjunct faculty in Media Arts at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and as a teaching artist in residence at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain at the University of Minnesota.
In 2021, she attended Mildred’s Lane residency program in Beach Lake, Pennsylvania. In 2024, she was an artist in residence at the NES Artist Residency in Skagaströnd, Iceland, where she exhibited her work as part of Light Up 2024. Currently, she is an art instructor at Artlet26 in St Paul, Minnesota, and a member of two diverse artist-run organizations: Form + Content Gallery.and Fotomatter Collective, a group of Minnesota-based lens and book artists.