From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. 

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

‘Hidden Herald’ returns with new audio stories around St. Paul

Last year, Jamie Daniels of St. Paul stumbled upon Wonderlust Productions’ mini audio stories, scattered about St. Paul. Season two of “Hidden Herald” kicks off this weekend, with a new batch of five-to-ten-minute audio stories written by Minnesota playwrights and recorded by professional actors.

This weekend’s launch includes a scavenger hunt with prizes. Maps with the audio play locations are available starting Thursday at several St. Paul businesses, listed here. To listen — this weekend and beyond — simply scan a QR code printed on a durable decal on the ground.

Jamie describes the wonder of discovering a new story: You scan [the QR code], and you are transported into a brief five-to-ten minute audio play that takes place in the place where you're standing.

It's kind of like a scavenger hunt all year round, because you can find these stickers all over the place, around Lake Phalan, on Payne Avenue and in downtown St. Paul.

Some of the plays are definitely kid-oriented, and some of them are not. Last year, there was one that took place in Mears Park that was a genuine horror story that gave me the chills. Some of the plays have a content warning at the top, if need be.

Pro tip: bring some headphones or a portable speaker so you can hear them better.

— Jamie Davis

Favorites from St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour in one accessible location

Cindy Ihlenfeld is a visual artist from Mahtomedi who serves on the board of the Weisman Art Museum, and she recommends seeing “A Culture of Pots” at White Bear Center for the Arts, on view through July 25 in the Ford Family Gallery.

She notes that, for those with limited mobility, this exhibit is an accessible way to attend a pottery tour

Cindy says: “A Culture of Pots” is an exhibition of the artists that are typically part of the St. Croix Valley pottery tour in spring. And there are 68 artists, and I think 218 of their favorite pieces.

The most delightful thing about it is that one of the resident artists at the White Bear Center for the Arts has created a display that looks very much like what the artists have in their yards during the pottery tour. It feels very intimate because of the way the structure is built to display the pots.

— Cindy Ihlenfeld

People at Play

Lou Ferreri, a visual artist from St. Paul, appreciates an exhibit by painter David Amdur entitled “At Play.”

The paintings show groups of people enjoying the outdoors. The exhibition is on view at the Hopkins Center for the Arts through Aug. 2.

Lou describes the paintings: They're impressionist, but they're also realistic figures. He incorporates sometimes 10, 15 figures in a setting outdoors, and they could be by the ocean, they could be mountain climbing, they could be by a lake or in a park. They are so celebratory, it makes me feel good looking at them.

He’s a fabulous colorist: he manages to combine primary colors in natural settings, so that the clothing that the people wear becomes part of the composition, and it brings your eye all around the surface of the picture plane.

— Lou Ferreri

Correction (July 10, 2025): An earlier version of this story misidentified Jamie Daniels and had incorrect information about “Hidden Herald.” The story has been updated.