The Urban Village Artist Collective
The Urban Village is actively accompanying Karen and Karenni artists as they break into Minnesota’s mainstream arts world by leveraging its institutional power to open doors that have long been closed to them. Whether through grant writing for individual artists or curating projects that generate opportunities and income, The Urban Village serves as a bridge between emerging talent and broader arts ecosystems. Our space is freely offered to artists as a studio, gallery, or venue, removing financial barriers and fostering creative freedom. We host pop-up markets that connect artists with new audiences and buyers, and we continually advocate for their inclusion in regional arts events and funding pipelines. As a launchpad for expression, The Urban Village is always in the corner of Karen and Karenni artists—championing their work, elevating their voices, and ensuring they are seen, heard, and celebrated.
The Urban Village Artist Collective is a group of artists who've organized around our community space.
These artists are frequently contracted for Urban Village projects and activities.
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Saw Kennedy - Founding Artist
Saw Kennedy's artistic career began in 1988, the same year as the "8-8-88 Uprising" in Myanmar. He comes from a family of talented artists and originally founded a gallery with his three artistic brothers in Mawlamine, Mon State, Myanmar. After arriving in Umpiem refugee camp, Kennedy became the Youth Development Art Director and in 2005, moved to Mae Sot, Thailand. For years, he lived in Mae Sot and worked with the local community as a teacher and painter. Thara Kennedy is a founding artist at the Urban Village and has helped to establish our artist collective. He was also the first artist to live above our community space in our "artist studio". Artist who have lived above our space have helped organize arts programming at The Urban Village for discounted rent.
Ku Paw - Founding Artist
Ku Paw was born in Kawthoolei, the ancestral homeland of the Knyaw Po. Ku learned to paint and draw while growing up in Mae La refugee camp and in Mae Sot, Thailand. Ku has utilized his craft in service of his people as he's consistently donated paintings for auction where all proceeds have gone to help internally displaced people in Myanmar. Ku has also run youth art camps at The Urban Village since 2019. Ku Paw is a friend, a father, a teacher and the first member of the Urban Village Artist Collective. It's an honor to support his amazing work.
