"Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." – Banksy

Laura Migliorino is an artist and long-time art instructor based in Minneapolis. She has--from the beginning of her long career in art--believed in the power of memory. Now, as Minnesota thaws out and moves forward after a long, devastating winter, she is already focused on remembering. And when you see that small pair of children's shoes on Central Avenue, or the white Crocs on a streetlight pole on Case Avenue in St. Paul, or the woman's flats on Lake Street--or the 97 other pairs of shoes throughout the state--they will help you to never forget.

Laura E. Migliorino was born in Cleveland and grew up in a Chicago suburb. Her BFA is from The Art Institute of Chicago, and her MFA is from the University of Minnesota. She recently retired from Anoka-Ramsey College near Minneapolis, where she taught for 37 years. Migliorino has received Jerome Foundation grants, Minnesota State Arts Board grants, and various exhibition prizes. Migliorino was an Affiliated Fellow at The American Academy in Rome and a Fulbright Scholar at The British Library in 2022.

In 2026, Migliorino received funding from FORECAST Public Art and Springboard for the Arts to create ICE Ghost Shoes 26: A Remembrance. The project places 100 pairs of white shoes throughout the state of Minnesota, marking the locations where ICE murdered, abducted, or traumatized Minnesotans.

Her work is in the collections of the Walker Art Center, Weisman Museum in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, and the Warehouse in Atlanta. She has exhibited for over 30 years, and work has been featured in the Huffington Post, DOMUS Magazine, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The News Hour, and DWELL. She has exhibited in London, Rome, Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles, Sardinia, Chicago, and Michigan. She has upcoming exhibitions in the UK and Minneapolis. Her most recent project explores banned books in collaboration with the Hennepin County Library system.

"Powerful Stories" is the Minnesota offshoot of SoftPower/FulStories, which uses first-person stories to explore why U.S. engagement in the world matters. Through conversations with diplomats, aid workers, Peace Corps volunteers, authors and artists, influencers, businesspeople, and more, SP/FS highlights how soft power and foreign aid and assistance strengthen America's security, prosperity, and global standing.

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#45 - Nicholas Enrich

#45 - Nicholas Enrich •
iHeart

SoftPower/FulStories