Maria Asp is the director of education and community engagement with the Speaking Out Collective. She’s a huge fan of Frank Theatre, which for more than 30 years has focused on mounting plays that address social, cultural and political issues.

The theater is staging its first live production since the onset of the pandemic, and the new play by former Twin Cities resident Trista Baldwin is certain to spark discussion. 

“FETAL” is set in a clinic that provides abortions in Texas on June 24, 2022 — the day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the right to an abortion through the Dobbs ruling. The show focuses on three women in the waiting room that morning, each with a radically different reproductive journey, as well as a female health care provider.  

Asp is excited to see both the show and the space: Frank Theatre is staging this show in an intimate setting within their rehearsal space on the second floor of the Ivy Building for the Arts in south Minneapolis. The show runs Oct. 27 through Nov. 19. 

Artist Preston Drum of Burnsville says his whole family was drawn in by the Chronicles of the Chronic exhibit at the Rochester Art Center.  

Curated by Zoe Cinel, this group show celebrates the creativity of people living with chronic illness.  

The exhibit includes works by local, national and international artists, responding to the subject of chronic illness through a range of media, including 2D, audio, film and interactive works.  

“One might walk into the show and see it as a disparate pairing of artworks because they are all different media and all different colors and all different types of expression,” says Drum. “But I think that variety brought a sense of cohesion to the show because everyone lives with their own chronic illness in their own way.”

Drum says his children liked the color and tactile experience of the show. He also noted that one corner of the one-room exhibit offers a place to sit and rest, engage in a weaving activity, read literature and take in the view. 

The exhibit is open through April, 2024. The next virtual program, including Cinel and three of the artists, will be Dec. 2 at 1 p.m.

Art lover Veronica Bedon recommends a visit to two arts-driven Minneapolis events on Saturday for Día de Muertos. At the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, there will be a community altar created by local artist Mónica Vega. The free, family-friendly event Saturday includes music, dance, art-making and food. That event runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

That event is in partnership with Minneapolis-based Latine organization Centro Tyrone Guzman. Vega has created ofrendas at Mia and Centro for Roxana Linares Arrieta, former Centro executive director, who passed away in August. 

A mile and a half away is a celebration at the Midtown Global Market, which features live music, dance, ofrendas, activities and food for purchase. That event runs from noon to 3 p.m.