In the Making brings together the work of Iraqi and Mexican women artists connected through ECHO Collective, offering a glimpse into the many ways creativity can become a means of expression, connection, and belonging.

The exhibition features Iraqi artists Reem Alwan, Saja Kinani, and Alktra Farhan, whose practices span painting, drawing, woodburning, glass, charcoal, and other materials. Alongside their work are weavings created by women participating in ECHO Collective's Healing Hands program.

While these artists come from different cultural backgrounds and work in different mediums, they share the experience of creating and contributing within a new community. Their work reflects the places they have come from, the lives they are building in Nebraska, and the individual stories and perspectives they carry with them.

The title In the Making speaks to both the physical act of creating and the ongoing process of becoming. A work of art is made layer by layer, mark by mark, thread by thread. So too are lives, identities, relationships, and communities.

Curated by Amber C. Nore of Magnolia Art Project, this exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate these women not simply for where they come from, but for what they are creating now. In the Making honors the beauty of that process and invites us to consider how art can help us express who we are, carry forward what matters to us, and create a sense of place and connection wherever we find ourselves.