Spirit Wings: Tales Told in Color is a vibrant, immersive dialogue between two contemporary folk artists, inviting visitors to explore the soul of Nature through story, symbol, and imagination. This exhibition brings together the sculptural mask work of Sylvia Munodawafa and the narrative illustrations of Dinara Mirtalipova, uniting their visual languages to celebrate natural, cultural, and historical narratives.

Sylvia Munodawafa’s African-inspired abstract paintings and sculptural masks draw from the rich cultural landscapes of her Zimbabwean heritage. In her work, color becomes both emotional language and spiritual energy. Munodawafa’s forms bridge abstraction and tradition, honoring ancestral wisdom while exploring themes of identity, spirituality, and memory. Her masks suggest guardians, spirits, and storytellers—figures that embody the presence of the past within the present and echo the rhythms of nature. Through bold color and expressive form, Munodawafa invites viewers to reflect on identity as something deeply rooted in land, lineage, and collective memory. The masks, in particular, embody the presence of the past within the present suggesting guardians, spirits, and storytellers shaped by nature’s rhythms. Through bold color and expressive form, Munodawafa invites viewers to encounter identity as something deeply rooted in land, lineage, and collective memory.

Dinara Mirtalipova’s narrative-driven illustrations bring folklore to life through intricate patterns, bright primary colors, and handcrafted techniques inspired by classic fairytales and folk traditions. Working primarily in gouache, pencil, and printmaking, her imagery evokes enchanted forests, symbolic animals, and mythic journeys, visual stories where nature becomes a stage for wonder, resilience, and moral reflection. Her work connects contemporary audiences to the timeless language of storytelling, where flowers, birds, and landscapes carry cultural meaning and emotional depth.

Together, Munodawafa and Mirtalipova create a compelling visual conversation between spirit and story, mask and myth, abstraction and narrative. This exhibition is a dialogue, a celebration of how diverse cultural lenses perceive, honor, and narrate the soul of the natural world.

Set within the landscape of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on nature not only as a physical environment, but as a source of imagination, wisdom, and belonging where color becomes voice and wings carry stories across time and tradition.

The Conservancy for CVNP+MoCHA partnership:
This exhibition is part of a collaborative partnership between the Conservancy for CVNP and MoCHA. The Conservancy for CVNP is a non-profit organization created to engage public support for the park and provide services to enhance public use and enjoyment of the park. The Conservancy aspires to engage the public as advocates, volunteers, and philanthropic supporters to ensure that Cuyahoga Valley National Park achieves its full benefit to the citizens of Northeast Ohio and the nation.