Art Hounds

Bobby Marines of Rochester heard about a juried arts show about walking and wondered what such a pedestrian topic would yield. The Rochester Art Center show blew Marines away.

Titled “Walk With Us,” the show of 15 local, national and international artists is varied and creative in its use of space. The exhibit is tucked into the hallways and alcoves of the building.

Artists explore the physical act of walking, its meditative properties and our connections to land and water. Marines liked Presley Martin’s cairns made of plastic that the artist found walking along the Mississippi River and painted to resemble rock. The exhibit runs through October 3.

Emma Fitzsimmons is a dancer and choreographer in St Paul. She’s been able to get a sneak peek at the show La.dy.like opening Saturday at Lowertown Underground Artist Gallery.

Andrea Bagdon (she/her) and Spencer Gillespie (she/they) investigate femininity. The space uses painting, projections, and multimedia works to ask what and who gets to be called “ladylike,” and what does it mean?

Fitzsimmons says the exhibit invites guests to peer into boxes or hold art pieces in their hands. “From the moment you step in, you're going to be immersed in this feminist experience,” said Fitzsimmons.

The show runs through July.

Sometimes there are performers whose work you enjoy so much, you’d see whatever they are in. That’s how Sean Dillon, managing director of HUGE Improv Theater, feels about James Rone, Mike Fotis and Jen Scott.

The three Twin Cities artists are teaming up for a night of original songs and funny stories Friday at Bryant Lake Bowl Theatre under the title “There’s a Crack in Everything.” Rone is a songwriter and musician, Fotis is a storyteller and comedian and Scott is a musician who performed as Penny and the Bandits.

Dillon says the show promises to be full of humor and heart. The show starts at 7 p.m.

Correction (June 30, 2022): A previous version of this report misidentified Presley Martin. The story has been updated.

St. Paul creative Tommy Sar recommends checking out the play “Cambodian Rock Band” at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis, co-produced by Theater Mu. The play follows a Khmer Rouge survivor returning to Cambodia after 30 years as his daughter prosecutes a war criminal.

Key to the show is its music, as the actor-musicians perform popular Cambodian psychedelic rock music from the 1960s and new music by the American band Dengue Fever, whose lead singer is Cambodian.

“Many times, whenever we Cambodians are portrayed as survivors and victims of tragedy, and that is very valid,” said Sar, whose father survived the Khmer Rouge and was also a musician. “But I also feel it's important to see Cambodians not just as survivors but as rising again and thriving again and rediscovering and creating new music, we have so much to offer. And we are very proud of our heritage.”

The play runs through July 31 at the Jungle Theater. Single tickets are valued at $45, but people may choose to pay less or more depending on their situation.

Jean Marie Durant is a big fan of public art, and she plans to hop on a bus tour this Saturday for a Women on Walls tour of murals by women artists. The bus tour is part of Chroma Zones Mural and Arts Festival, which runs through Sunday, celebrating murals and graffiti art by local and international artists. Five women artists will collaborate on a new mural over the course of the five-day festival.

The 45-minute guided bus tours will explore the stories behind at least eight woman-created murals in the University-Raymond Ave. area, including a look at the mural-in-progress. Tours leave from Workhorse Coffee at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Tanya Anderson, co-coordinator of the St Anthony Park Arts Festival, loves the original jewelry of Louise Payjack-Guillou. Anderson loves the unique ways the Duluth artist pairs gems and metal. Her store, Atelier & Stone is located in Duluth, and the trained goldsmith will be at Park Point Art Fair this weekend and at the Grand Marais Arts Festival July 9 and 10.

Her jewelry “just has this stately presence. It's kind of magical in how it makes you feel when you see it and and wear it,” Anderson said.

Sally Power, a paper marbling artisan in St. Paul, took a trip to the Owatonna Arts Center for Kristin Peterson’s exhibit, “Children of Nature: Find your Wonderland.” This solo exhibit of pencil drawings and watercolor is an invitation to pause and find delight in plants, insects, and shells.

“You can walk through the show and see the different things that caught her attention and come out thinking, well, what should I focus on?” Powers said.

The show runs through June 30.

Rachel Doran of Crash.Dance.Productions. calls RatHaus’ immersive Cabarave performances “what you wish every night out could be.” The cabaret includes aerial artists, fire performers, singers, dancers and painters performing short sets around — and occasionally above — the audience.

The audience has a 360-degree-view of the artists. Doran’s favorite part is when the performers teach the audience a brief dance sequence and everyone joins in.

Prior to the pandemic, Cabarave shows took place twice a year. The theme of their newest show is “Euphoria.” It takes place Thursday and Friday at Brother Justus Whiskey in northeast Minneapolis, with an outdoor pre-party at 6:30 p.m. The performance begins at 8 p.m. Proof of COVID vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 of the event is required for admission.

Sandra Agustin has been an active member of the Twin Cities arts scene for decades as a choreographer and arts administrator. Recently, Agustin attended a concert by Minnesota Boychoir and she says she was “hooked” by the joyful noise. Singers aged six to 18 performed a range of genres from classical to pop.

“Their voices were uplifting. The confidence and pride that they showed us all and camaraderie was infectious,” Agustin said.

Minnesota Boychoir is celebrating 60 years with a concert on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. The performance has a livestream option through the Boychoir website.

Behavioral artist Aki Shibata is delighted that the all-night festival Northern Spark will return to her Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods. This year’s festival takes place at four locations along and near University Avenue in St. Paul, from 9 p.m. Saturday until 2 a.m., with a closing event Sunday morning that ends shortly after sunrise on Raspberry Island.

The theme for the artists’ work is “What the World Needs Now.” Visitors may navigate their way among the locations to admire a range of art, many of which have interactive elements.

The locations include the Victoria Theater Arts Center, the Rondo Community Library, Springboard for the Arts, and the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Shibata says she plans to attend them all, but she is particularly looking forward to the Drive-in Movie Extravaganza with shadow puppets, created by Eva Adderlay at the Victoria Theater, and to watching the sun rise over the interactive closing event by Sequoia Hauck, which will include painters, singers, and dancers celebrating our connection to the water.

Allison Baker, an art professor at Hamline University, was excited to see the solo show by Ta-coumba T. Aiken at Dreamsong Gallery in northeast Minneapolis. Baker said the show “couldn’t have been better timed,” coming weeks after Aiken was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for 2022. The exhibit, entitled “Awakenings,” features Aiken’s large, abstract paintings and works on paper.

“He talks about channeling the spirits of his ancestors into form and color,” said Baker, adding that he does so in “beautiful and incredible ways.” In some paintings, figures seem to emerge from the energetic lines on the canvas. She also recommends paying attention to the smaller studies and collages, which are a delicate counterpoint to the larger work.

The exhibit at Dreamsong runs through June 25.

You may see more of Aiken’s work at Soo Visual Arts Center in Minneapolis. The show, opening Sunday, is “Change is God-Take Root Among the Stars: Black Abstraction in the Midwest” and features the work of 17 artists.

Minneapolis-based performer and costumer Anissa Lubbers suggests catching the “10-Minute Play Festival” from the Lakeshore Players, which runs through Sunday at the Hanifl Performing Arts Center in White Bear Lake. Lubbers said the festival is an audience favorite that traditionally wraps up the players’ season.

The show features 10 plays, written by playwrights around the world and performed and directed by local talent. As for style, the audience can expect a bit of everything, from the silly to the serious and timely, from comedy to horror.

Elementary school music teacher and singer Ellen Christensen, of Minneapolis, is a big fan of the Bakken Trio, and she’s looking forward to their final show of the season where they will perform Pavel Haas’ String Quartet No. 2 “From the Monkey Mountains'' alongside the puppeteers of Z Puppets Rosenschnoz.

To create the show, the Bakken Trio invited listening groups to describe what they saw when they heard the music. Those imaginings informed the storytelling puppetry that will accompany the live performance.

Haas was a prolific composer whose musical career was tragically cut short when he was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. His music was nearly lost following his death but has seen a resurgence in recent decades.

Christensen is glad that Minnesota audiences will have a chance to hear and see this 1925 composition presented in an imaginative way. The performance is Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Barry Family Campus of Sabes Jewish Community Center in Minneapolis.

Arts enthusiast Doris Rubenstein of Richfield recommends painter Carolyn Kleinberger’s solo show at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.

True to its title, the large portraits allow viewers to feel “Up Close from a Distance.”

The 28 paintings in the show were all created over the last two years as the artist’s antidote for social isolation during the pandemic. The portrait exhibition in Hopkins runs through June 18.

Marisa Hoogenakker loves to visit open artists’ studios in her hometown of Duluth, and that interest led her to the studio of abstract painter David Austin. Austin’s enthusiasm as he described his abstract paintings drew her in. Although the abstract and mixed media forms felt new, Hoogenakker was soon spotting tunnels, lakes and other familiar landmarks of the Lake Superior city.

Austin holds live painting demonstrations, sometimes featuring his young son painting on his own canvas, Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. on Instagram.

Hoogenakker recommends visiting Austin’s open artist studio on the third Saturday of the month if you’re in the area.

Beth Bergman, former owner of the art store Wet Paint, recommends a visit to the Form + Content Gallery in Minneapolis during its 15th anniversary exhibit.“You never know exactly what you’re going to see,” says Bergman. The style and medium of art on display changes month-to-month with each show.

The anniversary exhibit includes all 36 artists who’ve been members of the artist-run cooperative since its inception. True to name, the show specifies the form but not the content to its artists. In this case, all pieces are 15 x 15 x 15 inches. The content–the subject, form and style–will vary with each artist.

“Thoughtful Dialogue: 15 Years of Form + Content” runs through May 28. The gallery is open Thursdays through Saturdays.

Minneapolis photographer and writer George Slade appreciates a current photography exhibit by Andy Richter entitled “Walking with Julien.” Richter took the photographs during walks with his young son around his Northeast Minneapolis neighborhood over the past five years.

Slade says the photography project was a way for Richter to cope with parenthood and escape the confinement of COVID. Young Julien is in some of the pictures. In others, his presence was the spark for the conversation which led to meeting and photographing neighbors.

The work is  on display in two different locations: in a gallery and outdoors where the photos were taken. The photographs will be on view at Artspace Jackson Flats in Minneapolis through May 25.; The gallery is open 12-5 on weekends and on weekdays by appointment. An outward-facing exhibit will be viewable on 23 storefronts and businesses in northeast Minneapolis through mid-August.

Jill Fisher of Duluth says she plans on attending all the events for Duluth Dylan Fest, which kicks off Saturday and runs through next week. This year’s festival is a grand finale of sorts for the “Year of Dylan,” which began with the musician’s 80th birthday last year. Robert “Bobby” Zimmerman was born in Duluth on May 24, 1941 and his family moved to Hibbing when he was 6 years old.

The festival begins with a free concert by Cowboy Angel Blue at The Rex at Fitger’s in Duluth starting at 7 p.m. Fisher says the band has “honed their Dylan songs to a very fine and original sound.”

Musical performances, lectures, and other events take place through the week in Duluth and in Superior. Other events of note are a front porch birthday party on Tuesday at Dylan’s childhood home from noon to 1 p.m. at 519 N. 3rd Ave. East with music by Greg Tiburzi.

The CD release party for “Free Wheeling Duluth Does Dylan,” takes place May 26 at the Earth Rider Festival Grounds in Superior at 6 p.m. Each of the local bands on the CD will perform one song. Many of the events at the festival are free, though the CD release party is $5.

Civil rights attorney, activist and Racial Justice Network founder Nekima Levy Armstrong appreciates the work of independent photojournalist KingDemetrius Pendleton, who has long documented social justice demonstrations and events. Levy Armstrong said he’s known on the streets as the Black CNN, “because he’s always there, always documenting.”

His photography exhibit, The Movement Never Stops, runs Friday through Sunday at Block Portrait Studios in St. Paul. Pendleton’s exhibit will include photographs taken across the Twin Cities after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers.

“I think that people will be in for a real surprise, just to see the scope and depth of what he has been able to capture through his lens, and through his dedication and steadfast commitment to the fight for racial justice and pushing for an end to police violence,” said Levy Armstrong.

Dancer Erin Thompson of Minneapolis called the Riverside Park Sound Garden installation last spring a “delight for the senses,” and she’s looking forward to attending again this weekend.

The family friendly outdoor event features dance and poetry along with an immersive soundscape created by J. G. Everest.

“I just found that it kind of stopped time for me,” Thompson said. “It just combines nature and art in such a beautiful way. And it's very healing.”

The Riverside Park Sound Garden runs noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the northwest corner of the park in Minneapolis. The event is free, but reservations are required.

Comedian Tane Danger wants people to know that there’s still time to catch Fearless Comedy Productions’ production of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” before it closes on Saturday.

Delayed by the pandemic, the comedy features the epic battle of wits and witticisms between Beatrice and Benedick, who are perfect for each other — if only they could stop arguing long enough to realize it. Director Duck Washington sets the play in the postwar 1940s. The production is staged at the Mounds Theatre, a renovated art deco movie theater in St. Paul.

The Mounds Theatre requires proof of full vaccination, including boosters as recommended by the CDC, as well as masks when not eating or drinking. Danger recommends checking out the themed cocktails that the theater pairs with its shows. Shows run Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Florence Brammer of West St. Paul says the newly refurbished St. Anthony Main Theatre is “absolutely gorgeous,” and she’s excited for its new life as MSP Film at The Main. The Minneapolis St. Paul Film Society has taken over operations and will now be programming all five screens year-round.

Brammer looks forward to attending in a space dedicated to independent and international film.

The society will also highlight the work of Minnesota artists through such special programming as Minnesota Made, Cine Latino and Nextwave, a youth filmmaking initiative.

The space will debut as host for the 41st annual Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, with films starting Thursday at 7 p.m. The MSPIFF has a full lineup for those attending in person as well as virtual screenings this year.

The festival was fully online in 2020 and hybrid in 2021. Cheerfully titled “Shine Through,” the festival runs through May 19, with additional films at the Landmark Center in St. Paul, the Capri Theater in Minneapolis, and Gray Duck Theater and Coffeehouse in Rochester.

Sarah Larsson of the Nightingale Trio is a dedicated performer and student of the Eastern European folk music of her ancestors. She recommends the Ukrainian Village Band as “an incredibly addictive party band” playing both traditional and contemporary music.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UVB has gone from party band to organizing force, and they are behind two musical fundraising efforts this weekend.

On Friday, UVB will be performing in a “Musicians for Ukraine” concert at the Dakota in Minneapolis at 7 p.m. That concert line-up also includes the Orkestar Bez Ime, who plays music of the Rom people across Eastern Europe, and the folk-rock band SlovCzech. The event is being organized by Natalie Nowytski from Okrestar Bez Ime. MCN6 will be streaming the concert online.

Then on Sunday, members of UVB will host as eight Twin Cities bands play in the “Band Aid for Ukraine” concert at the Minnesota Music Cafe from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The event will also be live-streamed through its Facebook page. Funds raised go to Stand With Ukraine MN.

Dinesh Krishnajois of Bloomington loves listening to improvisational music from around the world, and he wants to spread the word about the “ethereal voice” of scholar and vocalist Pooja Goswami Pavan. Pavan will perform "Jashn-e-Awadh,” a celebration of love ballads from the Awadh region in northern India, written during the early days of British occupation.

“Awadh was the epicenter of intense political, cultural and social activities,” Krishnajois explains, adding that “in these tumultuous times, the poets, composers, and folklorists wrote music and poetry full of hope, compassion and communal harmony.” Some of these classic songs have since entered the public sphere through Hindi film.

• 
  
  More about Pooja Goswami Pavan Songs of Sufi love from a Hindustani voice anchored in Minnesota
  
  

The chamber music format will also feature Kedar Naphade on harmonium, Pankaj Mishra on sarangi, and Pavan on tabla. The 6 p.m. Sunday performance is at the Plymouth Playhouse, located within the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center in Plymouth.

Miles Taylor of Wood Lake, Minn. is a burlesque DJ and visual artist with a particular interest in glitch art. He admires the innovative work of Autumn Cavender, a Dakota artist and midwife. Her art finds a common thread in digital media and traditional Dakota quillwork and hide processing.

A year ago, she recorded the sounds of the birth of her second son. Cavender turned those sounds into a digital image which Taylor says bears striking similarities to her quillwork. “Wowicakekage: Dakota Art Encoded” is currently at the K. K. Birge Gallery through May 7, and then it will travel through the summer. The exhibit will be at the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council in Marshall May 12 through June 17, then spend August at the Crossing Arts Alliance gallery in Brainerd.

Adam Wiltgen, residency coordinator and development director at the Anderson Center at Tower View, is enjoying the ongoing collaboration between Minnesota artists and poets through nearby Red Wing Arts. This year is the 21st annual juried Poet Artist Collaboration, which asks artists to illustrate selected original poems. The result, Wiltgen said, stretches visual artists outside their comfort zone to create something new.

Wiltgen recommends visitors check out Jacob Yeates’s visual response to Casey Patrick’s poem “Medusa,” where the hyper-realistic image changes and morphs; and Cole Redhorse Jacobson’s “provoking artwork” in response to Gwen Westerman’s poem on the significance of the Mississippi River for our wildlife and our collective wellbeing.

The exhibit is on display at Red Wing Arts through May 15, with Thursday night poetry readings running through that date. Red Wing Arts has created a chapbook of this year’s collaborations. A reception of the participating poets and visual artists will be held Friday starting at 6 p.m. at the St. James Hotel in downtown Red Wing and is open to the public.

Amy Garretson of the Rochester Arts Center has her tickets for the Mid West Music Fest in Winona Friday and Saturday. The two-day event offers a full line-up of artists from the region performing indie rock, pop synth, classic folk and more on multiple outdoor and indoor stages.

Garretson said it’s a great opportunity to discover the bars, coffee shops, and other venues in the Mississippi River town on a spring weekend. She’s looking forward to catching headliners Polica, Haley, and Bad Bad Hats. Proof of full vaccination or negative PCR test within 72 hours of event start is required.

Garretson offers a  tip: VIP tickets to this Mid West Music Fest also include admission to a sister event in LaCrosse, Wisconsin in September. 

Art aficionado Linda Tacke of Lanesboro says she plans to devote a day or two to this weekend’s Bluff Country Studio Art Tour. It’s the 21st year of the event, which grew from four artists to around 36, spread across 23 locations.

Visitors can stop by the studios of painters and potters, jewelry makers, woodcarvers, fabric artists and more. Print off a map of artist studios here, or download the mobile app through the website to guide your arts tour across the Driftless Region. The event runs Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

John Sievers, trombonist of Loud Mouth Brass is sharing the word about a new work by fellow Rochester artist and musician Becky Schlegel. “The Lullaby Collection” is an alphabet book with Schegel’s animal illustrations with poems and original songs for each.

The book includes a CD, which Schlegel recorded in the granary of her family farm. Schlegel will hold a book launch and concert for Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with music from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Dwell Local in Zumbrota.

Carol Jackson is a Twin Cities theater fan and blogger, and she’s looking forward to seeing the new show this weekend from Minneapolis Musical Theatre. The theater specializes in staging lesser-known musicals, sometimes in site-specific venues. Their new show, “Hands on a Hardbody,” about an endurance competition to win a new truck, is set in a car dealership.

The musical, which was briefly on Broadway in 2013, is based on a 1997 documentary about 10 Texans all vying for a new pickup truck. The rules were simple: Keep your hand on the truck; last person standing wins.

“Hands on a Hardbody” opens Friday and runs through May 8 at Luther Cadillac in Roseville. The theater offers a range of ticket and pricing options in this non-traditional venue, from regular seats to Bring-Your-Own chair to — somewhat immersive — standing room only. The show is not recommended for children under 10 due to mature themes.