Meet Mia | Visual Artist and curator of 813 Microgallery

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mia, we’d love to hear about a book that’s had an impact on you.
A book I often think about is Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. I like reading books about the creative process and inspiration and this title combines those things with, as the name implies, a sense of magic. Something that stayed with me, after reading this book, is the concept of ideas as their own living entity. The author writes about how an idea, if not explored or executed by someone, may find its way to another person and I find this fascinating. It’s not unusual for me to discover artists whose work is exploring something I have been thinking about, or already sketched out.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a visual artist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I live with my family. I was born in Sweden, but spent much of my childhood living in various countries before immigrating to the U.S as a young adult. I attended Pratt Institute and Hunter College in NYC, and graduated from the latter with a BA in Fine Arts, while working for many years as a book designer in the publishing industry. Working in publishing was a great experience which I am grateful for but, because it was a full time and day time job, it limited me to taking classes at night. Juggling the two made for a pretty busy schedule in an intense city. I’m glad that I kept working towards my degree, though it took me a long time to graduate. The lesson I learned from this was that perseverance pays off in the long run.
In my paintings and drawings, I investigate symbolic imagery, magical realism, and narratives of people in nature. In these works I strive to capture spiritual moments of stillness that I observe in my life, or that are inspired by my imagination. Some drawings are quiet landscapes, others hint at a human presence through a person’s shadow. Others depict a communion between humans and nature.
The simplification of forms and colors I employ when making my work allows me to distill what I perceive into something that is not only new, but also feels calmer and more orderly than our chaotic external world. Nature appears as a place of solace and comfort. Regardless of where I find myself, or what state of mind I am in, nature is a familiar constant I can return to. As an emigrant to the US, and as someone who spent her childhood frequently moving to various countries, this familiarity feels especially significant.
A current endeavor I’m excited about is 813 Microgallery, which I founded in late 2022. The gallery is a minute space (the size of a large box) that is permanently installed in the front yard of our property. I had been thinking about alternative ways for artists to show their work. After considering various more complex ideas, I discovered a microgallery (Creal Microgallery) here in our town. Its founder, artist Joe Levickas, talked to me about me and so I decided to start one of my own. 813 Microgallery is a way for me to share art with the community and showcase the work of diverse artists on a small scale. We feature someone new every month or so. The space is informal, and easily viewable to everyone, including people who may otherwise not go to galleries. The artists we featured have enjoyed the challenge of making work on a small scale or creating an installation for the space, and so far we have received very positive feedback from the community.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is a fun question to answer! It would depend on what they were interested in. There is a lot to do in the city of Ann Arbor. If they enjoy the outdoors I would definitely take them to Nichols Arboretum, a favorite walking spot for me and my dog Phil. If they enjoy art or cultural events I would take them to one of the Penny Stamps lectures offered by the University of Michigan. Seeing a movie at the Michigan Theater is also a fun alternative, especially when you can hear the organ play beforehand. Some favorite dining spots are Spencer’s where the food is delicious and innovative, and Black Pearl known for its fish tacos and martinis. Less than an hour away is Detroit and there are many nice galleries, such as Wasserman Projects, and museums, such as the beautiful Detroit Institute of Art. There are also many wonderful restaurants such as Selden Standard, and great bakeries such as Warda Patisserie, and Cannelle, as well as plenty of fun rooftop bars, concert venues, and events all year round.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are many wonderful people who’ve supported me along the way. For this article I’d like to first and foremost give a shout out to my husband, who is always supportive. In addition, I also want to acknowledge a few of my local artist friends who I enjoy spending time with and who have also exhibited their work in 813 Microgallery. Among them are Madhurima Ganguly, Laurén Gerig, Liz Barick Fall, Jessica Tenbusch, Abbigail Israelsen, and Rebecca Casement.

Website: https://www.miarisberg.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miarisbergart/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mia-risberg-26a225206/

Other: https://www.instagram.com/813microgallery/

Image Credits
The two images with me and art in the background are by Joe Cassano.

The art in the microgallery photo is by Rebecca Casement.