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.

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A world-class music festival in the Brainerd Lakes

Hedy Holmberg spends the summers by Bay Lake in the Brainerd Lakes Region. In the past five years, she's been attending the Lakes Area Music Festival, which she calls a hidden gem.

The series kicks off Friday and runs through Aug. 23 with a series of concerts. Some of the highlights, Holmberg says, are Friday night’s gala opening and a performance of Carmen Aug. 14 and 16, both at the Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts.

She also loves bringing her grandchildren to the family-friendly Sound Garden event at the Northland Arboretum in Baxter, in which musicians perform throughout the gardens; that free event is Saturday, Aug. 1, at 10 a.m.

Many of the concerts are also livestreamed.

Holmberg says, "It is an absolute hidden gem to have these world-class musicians from all over the world come to Brainerd, Minn., and put on these amazing, high-quality, very professional concerts and other events. It's absolutely astounding to me.

“And part of it is when we talk to the musicians, they talk about how much they love to come up here, how welcoming the community is. They stay with people in their lake homes. They develop a relationship with them over the years. I just can't say enough about it."

Jazz dance takes center stage

Susana di Palma is the founder and advisory artistic director of Zorango Flamenco Dance Theater. She wants dance lovers to know about Rhythmically Speaking's new show, Groovers & Makers, in which four choreographers will premiere new works with their takes on jazz dance.

Rhythmically Speaking focuses on jazz, tap and American social dance styles, and di Palma says you'll leave wanting to dance yourself. The show runs Thursday through Saturday at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis.

Di Palma is a big fan of artistic director Erinn Liebhard:

"Erin's piece will be [about] time, good times and time travels. She is joined by three other choreographers that are all amazing. One is a great angel of a choreographer, Karla Grotting, and she is a master. And then there are two other choreographers: from New York, Maiya Redding, and Alexis Robbins from Connecticut."

A graffiti pioneer steps into the gallery

Installation artist Eric Rieger, who works under the name Hot Tea, started graffiti writing in 1996 and "immediately gravitated" to the work of George Thompson (aka EWOK). Thompson's exhibit "Zigged When I Should've Zagged" opens Friday and focuses on his studio practice as it has evolved from his graffiti writing.

The exhibit includes nine works on paper created since 2020 as well as a print of his 2019 work "Cop Car." The exhibit is presented by Burlesque of North America, which is also launching a limited-edition zine featuring photographs of decades of Thompson's graffiti.

The show at the Southside Preservation Society in Minneapolis runs through Aug. 28. Friday's launch from 7-10 p.m. includes a chance to screen-print a t-shirt with one of Thompson's designs.

Rieger describes Thompon's style: "I would describe the artwork as almost, like, otherworldly, but also very familiar. It's almost like you're looking at a still life, but from like the year 30,000."

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.

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Wheel Appeal

Lorrie Kummeth of Maple Grove has been attending the Minnesota Pottery Festival in Hutchinson for the last five years and says it's always a fun event. The festival runs Saturday, July 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, July 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Masonic West River Park in Hutchinson. She notes the area is flat and accessible with easy parking.

Artists will be selling pottery at a range of price points. Kummeth also recommends watching the demonstrations:

"They do pottery throwdowns: Four or five potters up on their wheels, and they have to produce a specific item or a quantity of items,” said Kummeth. “I know this year there are also a couple of raku demonstrations. They're very dramatic. [The pottery] actually is put into fire, and that is part of what creates the colorations, like iridescent blues, blacks, burgundies. The potter doesn't know what the final glazing will look like until it's done firing."

Hotdish and Hijinks

Twin Cities actress and singer Jen Maren suggests seeing "A Second Helping: A Church Basement Ladies Sequel." This musical comedy is the second of nine shows in the series, set in a rural Minnesota church basement in 1969. The show runs through Aug. 9 at the Plymouth Playhouse in Plymouth.

Maren says to expect laughs, hotdish and dancing from veteran comedians Greta Grosch (who also wrote the show), Dorian Chalmers and Janet Paone:

"These three women know these characters so well,” said Maren. “They're in their 21st year of running these shows, so it's a great chance to go see some great comedians at work."

A Wider View of Winona

Michael William Doyle is a poet, musician and historian living in Winona. He appreciates the way photographer Mary Farrell captures the landscapes and architecture of his beloved town in her exhibit, "Wide Angle Winona: A Panoramic View," on view at the Winona County History Center through Sept. 13.

"Mary decided to try to show us the horizontality of our community with its tree-covered bluffs, and the islands, and the historic built environment: the last remaining boathouse community on the entire length of the Mississippi River; the Wagon Bridge where many of them are moored near Latsch Island; the port of Winona [and more]. Because she's lived here for so long, she knows exactly where to go at what time of day to capture the way the light falls on this distinctive area," said Doyle.

'As You Like It’ puts Shakespeare to music in Grand Marais

Scotty Reynolds, producing artistic director of Mixed Precipitation, is shining a light on the Grand Marais Playhouse. The theater is staging a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It" this summer.

Music and lyrics are by Shaina Taub, the creator of the Broadway musical “Suffs.” This local production opens Thursday and runs through Aug. 9 at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts.

This is Artistic and Technical Director Sue Hennessy’s final summer production before she retires in spring 2027. She has two more community plays planned for this fall and spring.

Reynolds says: “’As You Like It’ is one of Shakespeare's fantastical rom-coms, which has lots of fun frolicking and gender bending happening in the forest of Arden. The way [Taub] sets it to music using a multi-generational cast is just really special, fun, magical; it makes you laugh and cry, kind of within 20 seconds, with its sweetness and earnestness.”

The Jayhawks headline Nature Rocks in Aitkin

Stephanie Mollet loves the arts and music scene of her hometown of Aitken, Minn., where she is the executive director at the Aitken Area Chamber of Commerce. She recommends the annual Nature Rocks concert put on by the Long Lake Conservation Center.

The Jayhawks are headlining this year’s fifth annual event. It’s the Minnesota band’s only concert in its home state this summer. Martin Zellar & the Hardways open, though the whole event kicks off with a special performance by kids from Long Lake’s camp, who have been learning about live music this week.

The concert, a fundraiser for scholarships at the Long Lake Conservation Center, takes place July 18 at the Aitken County Fairgrounds. Attendees should show up early to grab a picnic table or bring your own chair and shade umbrella.

Mollet says to arrive by 5:45 p.m. if you want to hear the children:

“I'm really excited to see it because these kids — let me tell you — it's amazing the things that they know and how much they care for the area that's around them.”

Dances at the Lake brings movement to the Lake Harriet Rose Garden

Jose Leonardo Santos is an anthropologist at Metropolitan State University. A big fan of the arts, Santos particularly enjoys watching dance.

He recommends bringing your lawn chair to see Dances at the Lake, which takes place at Lake Harriet Rose Garden July 17 and 18 at 7 p.m. This year’s event, organized by KASM Dance Collective, includes 15 dance troupes in various styles.

Santos says there’s something special about seeing live dance performance in that beautiful outdoor setting.

“The thing I love about dance is that it's totally immersive, right? A video of [a dance performance] is not the same thing; you've got to be there to enjoy it. Dance can be just like the funnest little thing, or it can make you cry, and you don't even know why because there's no words, right? It forces you to just go off of your senses.”

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.

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Experience immersive audio story walks on the North Shore

Art enthusiast Erin Walsh of Minneapolis is looking forward to heading to the North Shore this weekend to attend the launch of Diver Van Avery’s original immersive story walks. These two new, site-specific audio stories are designed as self-guided experiences for listeners on nature trails near Sugarloaf Cove in Schroeder, Minn. A launch celebration is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, from 1 to 4 p.m. After that, the stories will remain available year-round. You can check out a listening device from the Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center, or you can download the audio any time and listen on your phone.

Walsh says: “One of the walks really invites us into the history of that site. Another of the walks just invites us to just sit down and receive the offerings of the place. For myself, I do a lot of efficient listening to things: I walk my dog and I listen to podcasts and I fill my brain with information. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to put something in my ears that doesn't take me away from my body and away from the landscape around me, but actually invites me towards both of those things.”

A bluegrass band with a punk spirit

Rachel Felicia Calvert is a fiddle, vocalist, and music educator living in Minneapolis. She recommends that people explore the music of bluegrass band Pert Near Sandstone and their recent album “Side by Side.” They perform Thursday, July 9 at Milk and Honey Ciders in St. Joseph at 7 p.m. and Friday, July 10 in Jackson, Minn. as part of the 20th annual Rhythm of the River Festival.

Calvert says: “Sometimes I describe them as if, like, a punk band played bluegrass music. They just bring more of a rocker sensibility to this old folk music that they perform. They are excellent live—just wonderful. They have a really beautiful community of fans as well. They're also really great mentors to up-and-coming bands.”

A funny, heartfelt musical about acceptance

Twin Cities vocalist Jennifer Eckes is looking forward to seeing the musical “The Prom” performed at Lyric Arts in Anoka. The musical comedy, which was on Broadway in 2018-2019, is set in a small town in Indiana that chooses to cancel its high school prom rather than allow two girls to attend together. Four Broadway actors grab onto this cause and decide to throw a prom for the school. “Mayhem ensues,” Eckes said. She added that the show has a message of acceptance. The production runs July 10 through Aug. 9.

Of Lyric Arts, Eckes says: “It's a lovely little theater, very intimate. There's not a bad seat in the house. This production is bound to be chockfull of great talent, great singing, great music, great dancing," said Eckes. "I have every confidence it's going to be a gangbuster show.”

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.

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

A sprawling surrealist exhibit

Twin Cities painter David Amdur recommends seeing "The Internal Affairs of Mr. Invincible," an exhibition of more than 100 mixed-media drawings by Lou Ferreri at Hopkins Center for the Arts, on view through August 1.

Amdur says: “To get some sense of it, imagine a collaboration between Salvador Dalí and R. Crumb. They are entire editorial pages from the New York Times that have been painted on with acrylic pens, so they're very colorful, and most of the images are quite complex and very surreal, very strange. Also in the exhibition are monumental charcoal drawings that are more than four feet across. It's not a show to rush through. There's really a lot to take in. I would give myself time to linger with the drawings. You'll find unexpected and surprising connections emerge.”

Sculpture walking tours

Tony Austinson of Fridley got interested in public sculpture during the pandemic, when viewing art indoors wasn’t an option. Visiting the sculpture walks created by various Minnesota cities has turned into a hobby, and he likes to go with his literal art hound, Tillie, at his side.

Over time, he’s come to recognize and appreciate the work of individual artists, such as Tim Nelson of Bemidji, who makes sculptures from scrap metal.

Austinson recommends checking out the sculpture walks in a city near you. Here are links to self-guided walking tours in Mankato, Bemidji, Park Rapids, Fergus Falls, Hutchinson, Red Wing, and Delano, as well as Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Performance art meets political theater

Sarra Beckham-Chasnoff is a theater superfan in the Twin Cities. One standout theatrical performance from last fall—which she is excited to see return this weekend—is “In the Backroom,” created and performed by Michael Torsch. The show is 70 minutes without intermission and runs July 2-5 at 7 p.m. at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis.

Beckham-Chasnoff says this play-within-a-play surprised her at every turn, and its themes feel timely for the Fourth of July.

“Michael Torsch is just a local treasure, so he does a type of performance art that is very smart and funny, and simultaneously very accessible. He introduces some controversial 21st-century American figures. I think it just kind of has a more complicated view of what America is, and so with the 250th anniversary, I just think it will be a poignant piece to see.

“The [theater] is just a few blocks away from where the fireworks will be in Minneapolis, and so for folks going to the July Fourth show, they'll be able to walk over and watch the fireworks afterwards.”

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.

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1967: Summer of Love

“Summer of Love-In,” presented by Adventures in Hostessville at the Hive Collective in St Paul runs June 25-28. Shows will run Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Jen Maren says: “This event is fascinating. Melanie Wehrmacher curates a themed evening that is part cabaret, part comedy, part TED talk, part cooking show, part trivia game, all with live music AND complimentary 1960s themed food and drinks. She takes a specific year and highlights food, music, style, trivia, and history from that year. There is also a deep dive into a specific event from that year, this one being Haight-Ashbury and the Summer of Love. It is one of the most unique events I have been to in a very long time.”

Kelly Schamberger’s scenes of the North Shore

Aurora Webster, an artist and designer who works at the Duluth Art Institute, was delighted to attend the artist reception of Kelly Schamberger. Schamberger was recently named the 2026 Artist of the Year by the Depot Foundation, and she painted this year’s official Grandma’s Marathon 50th Anniversary Commemorative Poster. Her solo oil painting exhibit, “International Attentions” runs through Labor Day weekend at the Great Lakes Aquarium gallery in Duluth.

Webster says: “All but the largest of the vibrant, dreamy landscapes on view were done en plein air, often over the course of days, weeks, or months of trekking out to a remote North Shore vista with the full oil painting setup—quite the accomplishment. The aquarium's gallery is a hidden gem, featuring shows that connect visitors to the beauty of the natural world, and Schamberger's work in the space feels like a literal breath of fresh air.”

Folk Dances from Latvia, Bulgaria, Ireland, and more

Rita Pelecis is looking forward to seeing “Land of 10,000 Ethnicities: Vol 2,” a folk-dance performance by Ethnic Dance Theatre. Shows are June 26 and 27 at 7:30 p.m. and June 28 at 2 p.m. at the E.M Pearson Theatre in St Paul. A Q&A will be held with the company following Saturday’s performance; Sunday’s performance has ASL interpretation.

Pelecis says Artistic Director Donald LaCourse “has traveled the world to find dances and buy costumes from very remote regions, a lot of them Eastern European and Northern European. From the dance to the story to the costumes, their performances are just stunning. I love the storytelling that goes along with it.”

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.

West African Drum & Dance Conference

Joshua Gillespie, a Minneapolis drummer and storyteller who performs as Brotha Ase, wants everyone to know about the Fakoly Drum & Dance Conference this weekend, put on by Duniya Drum and Dance.

The conference includes classes in West African drumming and dance for beginners as well as experienced performers. Instructors are visiting from Guinea, Mali and Nigeria. Classes run Friday through Sunday at the Barbara Barker Center for Dance on the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Campus.

A culminating performance, “Bridges of Rhythm: A Path of Generations,” is open to all this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Duniya Drum & Dance also teaches weekly community classes.

Brotha Ase says: It's a great opportunity that you should take advantage of this weekend, if you're looking for something cool to do and getting some cultural healing in your spirit.

— Brotha Ase

Plein Air painters flock to Red Wing

Joshua Cunningham is a landscape painter in St. Paul who works primarily with Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis. He highly recommends the 20th annual Red Wing Arts Plein Air events taking place this month. Artists are painting within a 25-mile radius of Red Wing, including in the city itself, over the next week.

Opportunities to watch artists at work — and for kids to paint for free — include this Saturday from 9-11 at the Red Wing Arts. An exhibition of the work they create runs June 20 – Aug. 16 at the Depot.

Joshua says: They have had between 50 and 100 paintings done every year, so you can imagine the body of work that has been created over the last 20 years. Though some of those areas get painted more frequently than others, [each] day only comes once.

The light and the air of a given day is what defines all of the colors and the values — and often the mood of the place — so you're never really standing in the same place twice.

— Joshua Cunningham

Football meets dance performance

Scott Pakudaitis, board chair of Revolution Dance Works, has been a fan of Corpus Dance Works since he saw their fringe show inspired by plant biology in 2022. He’s looking forward to their new dance show inspired by sports team culture, “Line of Scrimmage,” at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis June 11-15.

He anticipates high energy and some comedy that will appeal to sports and dance fans alike:

Scott says: They create very innovative and frenetic dances that touch on a lot of things that everybody can relate to.

There will be things like mascots and a marching band and dancing referees, a look behind the locker room, tackles and lots of balls flying in the air from dancers who do not know how to catch footballs.

— Scott Pakudaitis

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.

Six new plays from Arab American Theaterworks

Deborah Copperud of Minneapolis hosts the podcast “Read Minnesota Books.” She’s looking forward to a new event, the Festival of New SWANA Plays, this weekend.

SWANA stands for Southwest Asian and North African, and it's a culmination of the New Arab American Theater Works Playwright Incubator Program. Open Book in Minneapolis will host staged readings of six new plays by Midwestern SWANA playwrights.

Three play readings happen each day at 1, 4 and 7 p.m. with a moderated audience talkback following each show. Tickets are $15 per day.

Deborah says the plays are all different: There's a psychological thriller, a fairy tale adaptation, a domestic drama and a travel quest.

Sana Wazwaz is a playwright from Minneapolis, and she is presenting “Birthright Palestine” [Saturday at 7 p.m.]. The play was inspired by her experience organizing for Palestinian liberation as a college student.

— Deborah Copperud

5-Minute Film Festival in Duluth

Denise Voie de Vie is a working artist in Duluth specializing in mixed media and acrylics. She’s expecting to be part of a good crowd at Prøve Collective this Saturday for their 5-Minute Film Festival.

The free event will screen 17 or 18 very short films by local artists, ranging in style from animation to documentary to abstract and beyond. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Denise admires the work coming out of Prøve: There is a really lively art scene here in Duluth, and Prøve has carved out that niche for new and upcoming talent.

There are a lot of really young and talented people on the board, and they are willing to take chances on art. It's a place where some of the most exciting things happen.

— Denise Voie de Vie

Art meets healthcare in Med City

Lauren Hutchinson lives in Rochester, having previously worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She recently enjoyed seeing the exhibition “Forms of Care: The Art of Representing the Body” at Rochester Center for the Arts.

It’s a thought-provoking multi-artist exhibition that explores the field of medicine and its interaction with human bodies as well as the ethics of representing human bodies in medical texts. The show includes 2D work, sculptures and an opportunity for visitors to sit for portraits. It runs through January 2027.

Lauren says: It really makes you question: Can one body be used to represent an entire population of diverse individuals?

I hope lots of doctors and medical staff will get to experience the exhibition and see the creativity and artistry that's hidden behind a lot of their work.

— Lauren Hutchinson

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.

A new professional concert band

Ross Wolf of Minneapolis is a band director at Spring Lake Park High School and a saxophone player. He recommends the first full-group concert by Minnesota Winds, a new fully professional concert band in the Twin Cities.

Composer Katherine Bergman, one of the group’s co-founders and artistic director, previously played with Wolf in a saxophone quartet.

Minnesota Winds performs at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis on May 30 at 7 p.m.

Ross says: What I think is really special about this is it creates that professional level experience for young students who are playing an instrument for amateur adults like myself to hear the highest level of performance on in a band concert.

— Ross Wolf

Plein air myths and legends

Francesca Bernardi of Minneapolis is manager at Groveland Gallery. She recommends “Myth and Legends,” the newest show at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona. The exhibit features plein air painters from the Outdoor Painters Association of Minnesota connecting outdoor painting with myths and legends of Minnesota and other cultures.

The show recently opened and runs through Sept. 13.

Francesca says: The Outdoor Painters Association of Minnesota, they do a big show every year, and I think that specifically plein air painting does such a good job at storytelling in and of itself, because the artist is there and they're reacting to the outdoors and really being present in these spaces, and so I think including that with the myths and legends, it's kind of a nice combination.

— Francesca Bernardi

Abstract paintings and resilient trees

Raven Miller of Minneapolis recommends a joint exhibit at Vine Arts Center in Minneapolis featuring Andrea Bo and Miriam Queensen. Miller says the two artists are from different age groups, have known each other, and are showing their work together for the first time.

Andrea Bo creates layered abstract paintings based on songs and personal relationships. Miriam Queensen makes landscapes, including isolated trees, which Miller says represent resilience. The show is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. through June 6.

Raven says: You think that they wouldn't go together, but they actually do go together.

— Raven Miller

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.

Alight-a-Whirl

It’s Art-a-Whirl weekend! The Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA) puts on the annual celebration of all things local art, with three days of open studios, live events, music and food vendors. Hours are Friday 5-8 p.m., Saturday 12–8 p.m. and Sunday 12–5 p.m.

It's a favorite event for Molly Reopelle, a muralist who works under the name “Made by Molly Jo.” One space she’s particularly looking forward to seeing is Alight-a-Whirl, an annual art sale fundraiser for Alight. The nonprofit supports displaced people and refugees in the U.S. and across the world.

Alight-a-Whirl features a 500-piece art sale with work by local, international and refugee artists, as well as pop-up events, including a Friday happy hour and portrait painting. All profits from the art sale support Alight.

Molly says: One of the people I’ll be looking at [at Alight-a-Whirl] is Lora Hlavsa.

She might be recognizable because she developed the artwork with NEMAA for the Art-a-Whirl branding this year, and she's got a really cool new series called The People's Pantry, which is using really familiar objects like foods and pantry staples to explore some of her lived experience and then reflect on migration and cultural access.

— Molly Reopelle

Gender Joy Art Show

Jenn Watters in Duluth recommends seeing the annual Gender Joy Art Show, whose creative works are expressions of joy made by female and gender expansive people of all ages.

The exhibit is put on this year by the YWCA of Duluth and the Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault (PAVSA), and the show will include work created by PAVSA’s weekly art group. New this year is an interactive art exhibit entitled “The Elephant in the Room,” hosted by Rachel Gilbertson of Art of Presence.

Visitors to the exhibit are encouraged to write words or phrases they’ve received that were harmful to their gender identity, which Gilbertson will transform into a brightly colored work with an elephant’s face emerging from the chaos. The exhibition runs until June 27 in the Atrium of Zeitgeist in Duluth.

Watters who particularly enjoys seeing the work created by children.

Jenn says: This is one of my favorite art shows each year.

— Jenn Watters

One Subject Press

Deborah Keenan, a Twin Cities poet and former longtime teacher at Hamline’s MFA program, is trumpeting the work of former student Zach Czaia, who runs One Subject Press.

A year ago, Czaia bought a Chicago-based press and moved it to Minneapolis, through which he publishes a wide range of work from poetry to fiction to theology. On Friday, May 15, the press will celebrate its one-year anniversary with an evening of literary readings and food.

Czaia will read, along with poets Greg Watson and Suzanne Swanson, and attendees are invited to bring a poem to share. The event runs from 6-8 p.m. at Inkwell Booksellers in northeast Minneapolis. It is open to the public, though registration is requested through the press.

Deborah says: It’s called One Subject Press after a Richard Rodriguez quote: “There is only one subject: what it feels like to be alive. Nothing is irrelevant. Nothing is typical.” That's the flag Zach carries into battle, and it's a great flag.

I think lots of people who love poetry and essays should absolutely show up [to this event.]

— Deborah Keenan