Egyptian artist returns to her roots at Minnesota Museum of American Art

The Egypt-born, Los Angeles-based artist presents a series of hand-cut works on paper, video and sculpture inspired by the late Doria Shafik, poet, journalist and a leader of the Egyptian women's liberation movement. Installed in the Minnesota Museum of American Art's two-story Rauenhorst Court, the exhibition runs in conjunction with the current show "History Is Not Here: Art and the Arab Imaginary." Guirguis incorporates research and history into her practice, mining her interests in forgotten histories, explorations into cultural identity, and a longing for her homeland. The title of the exhibit, "Here I Have Returned," refers to a line in a poem Shafik wrote about returning home to Egypt after several years in France. Indeed, the muse's sentiment toward her home country mirrors Guirguis' own. (11 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sun. & Wed., 11-8 Thu. Ends Feb. 23. Free. 350 N. Robert St., St. Paul, 651-797-2571 or mmaa.org)

alicia eler