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Issue #49.1 |
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In this Issue: Feeling Minnesota
This month, mnartists.org and Minnesota Playlist are joining forces to publish "Feeling Minnesota," a series of essays exploring the interplay between our region's distinct climate, landscape, cultural history and the art made by those who live here. In the coming weeks, look for pieces by Quinton Skinner, Marya Hornbacher, Lightsey Darst, Andy Sturdevant, and Camille LeFevre, who will weigh in with their thoughts on what makes for peculiarly Minnesotan styles of theater, dance, visual art, and architecture.
- HOMEPAGE: Andy Sturdevant takes issue with the Walker's salon-style show, Benches and Binoculars, and Lightsey Darst profiles elusive dance up-and-comer, Emily Johnson. Other highlights include a conversation on improvisation with Fat Kid Wednesdays bassist Adam Linz and a mnLIT original poem by What Light grand prize-winner, Ben Weaver
- NEWS YOU CAN USE: A crop of new calls for art, grants, and fellowship opportunities for area artists
- YOU ARE HERE: An array of festivals, new exhibitions, theater, music, film, and literary events to keep your midwinter busy
PLUS: A six-month "participatory poster project" by Minneapolis design studio ROLU,Scattered Light
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Artist Opportunities
»CLICK HERE for a daily-updated list of many, many more opportunities for Minnesota artists in every discipline on mnartists.org |
CALL FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS: 2010 mnartists.org/McKnight Photo Fellowship for mid-career artists invites applications from Minnesota photographers
Application deadline: April 2 (5 pm); the first information session is January 30 (Rochester Art Center)
CALL FOR SCULPTORS: The Bemidji Sculpture Walk is taking submissions for a competition and exhibition
Deadline: March 29
ARTIST RESIDENCY: Beaver Creek Valley State Park is now taking applications for its 2010 artist-in-residence program, which is open to visual artists, composers, and writers
Application deadline: February 15
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: The Minneapolis MOSAIC Art Commission invites artists to submit proposals for an original cross-cultural performance piece
Deadline: January 25
CALL FOR ART: The Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project seeks submissions of work for a juried group show, The Art of Conflict
Deadline: March 30
FELLOWSHIPS AVAILABLE: The Blacklock Nature Sanctuary is taking applications for fellowships from Minnesota emerging artists working in the visual arts, literary arts, and performing arts
Deadline: January 30
GRANTS AVAILABLE: There are Forecast Public Art grants available for artists working in central and southwestern Minnesota
Application deadline: February 6
CALL FOR ARTISTS: FIVETWOSIX Gallery is taking submissions of art in any medium for a juried show of hearts – themes may include love, family, friendships, and illnesses of the heart (physical or not)
Submit art February 2 & 3, on-site at the St. Paul gallery
CALL FOR ART: Two University of Minnesota galleries (Larson and Coffman) are considering art submissions for nine visual arts exhibitions (solo, group, and themed) during the 2010-2011 school year
Deadline: March 5
CALL FOR ARTISTS: Franconia Sculpture Park is taking sculpture/installation proposals for its 2010 exhibition season
FSP/Jerome Fellows application deadline: February 13
CALL FOR PERFORMERS: The 2010 Fringe Festival is taking applications for next year's theater extravaganza
General application deadline: January 29
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mnLIT Original: Eggshells by Ben Weaver
Eggshells is a newly commissioned poem by one of our 2009 What Light grand prize-winners, Ben Weaver. Each of these new works is accompanied by a curated selection of work drawn from mnartists.org's vast database of artists. You can see the handpicked collection of artwork for this commission -- by Andy Messerschmidt, Amy Rice, Jennifer Davis, Janel Jacobson, and Paula McCartney -- in the slideshow at the top of the linked article below.
Read the poem >>
Credit: Andy Messerschmidt, Untitled (from the Landscapes series), acrylic, oil, spray paint, collaged paper on paper. 10"x10", 2007 |
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Looking through Binoculars
Andy Sturdevant weighs in on the Walker's salon-style show, Benches and Binoculars, with an incisive essay about both the frustrations and pleasures of this splashy, wide-ranging exhibition of paintings from the museum's permanent collection.
Read more >>
Noted exhibition details:
Benches and Binoculars will be on view at the Walker Art Center through August 15, 2010 in the Perlman Gallery.
Credit: Edward Hopper, Office at Night, 1940. Oil on Canvas. Collection Walker Art Center. Gift of the T. B. Walker Foundation, Gilbert M. Walker Fund, 1948 |
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Conversations on Improvisation: Adam Linz
Jazz writer Pamela Espeland begins a series of features for mnartists.org: conversations with local musicians on the nature and practice of improvisation. First up is Adam Linz, a bassist and composer (Fat Kid Wednesdays) and MacPhail's Jazz Coordinator.
Read more >>
Related performances:
You can regularly hear the trio Fat Kid Wednesdays play in the Turf Club's Clown Lounge as part of the venue's "Jazz Implosion" line-up. Adam Linz's new solo CD, A Kiss for Luck, is available through Larusso Records.
Credit: Photo by John Whiting |
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A Strangeness Burning Under Her Skin
Lightsey Darst offers a fascinating profile of Emily Johnson (Catalyst Dance), a young choreographer whose caffeinated career has garnered national acclaim but who has remained, locally anyway, somewhat elusive.
Read more >>
Credit: Emily Johnson in The Thank-You Bar (Photo courtesy of Catalyst Dance)
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Feeling Minnesota: "The Minnesota Way"
Does Lutheran practicality plus Scandinavian progressiveness, multiplied by snow, and divided by passive-aggressiveness add up to an aesthetic? Minnesota Playlist and mnartists.org are partnering up to publish a series of topical essays exploring the intersections of regionalism and our state's arts scene. For the first installment, Quinton Skinner muses on local theater visionaries' "Minnesota way" of creating work, what he describes as a shared sense of "dogged determination leavened with the necessity of community."
Read more >>
Want to read more on the topic? Check in with Minnesota Playlist and mnartists.org for more essays and blog posts on the subject of regionalism in Minnesota's arts scene.
Credit: Carolyn Swiszcz, Patio #3. Acrylic and rubber stamp on paper. 26 x 40, 2009. (Courtesy of the artist) |
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mnLIT presents
Each week, mnartists.org publishes a story or poem by one of this year's winners in the What Light Poetry Project and miniStories flash fiction competitions. Read below for recent weeks' winners in each category.
Read Lynette Reini-Grandell's What Light poem, This Horse's Ears >>
Read Elizabeth Harris' miniStories flash fiction, Baked Eggs >>
Read Kirsten Dierking's What Light poem, Half Asleep >>
Read Rebecca Dosch-Brown's grand prize-winning story, Trousers >>
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| Classes and Workshops |
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WORKSHOP: Tom Arndt's monthly "F-Stop Group" for photographers at all levels
Mpls Photo Center, Minneapolis, January 20 (6:30 – 9:30 pm)
CLASS: "Multicolored, Japanese Wood-block Printing"
Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, January 19 – 23
WORKSHOP: Pastel workshop with Mike Schad
Crossings at Carnegie, Zumbrota, January 20, 27 & February 3
WORKSHOP: "Kids to Adults – Clay Turtle Whistles"
The Studio at Rush Creek, Maple Grove, January 23 (1 pm)
WORKSHOP: "Inside Out There: John Guenveure Smith" – explore the "improvisational impulse"
Walker Art Center (Maguire Theater), Minneapolis, January 23 (11 am – 1 pm)
Credit: Photo courtesy of MCBA |
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| Dance |
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Giselle presented by the Moscow Festival Ballet
St. Mary's Page Theatre, Winona, January 26 (7:30 pm)
Off-Leash Area presents The Jury
Red Eye Theatre, Minneapolis, January 28 – February 6
The Best of Midwest Burlesk Festival presented by Lili's Burlesque Revue
Ritz Theater, Minneapolis, January 29 – 30
Battlecats & Kenna Sarge
Southern Theater, Minneapolis, through January 17
Keith Hennessy/Zero Performance - Crotch
Southern Theater, Minneapolis, January 21 – 23
Maggie Bergeron & Company with the Orange Mighty Trio present the premiere of Sometimes Wednesday Feels Like Tuesday
Bryant Lake Bowl, Minneapolis, January 17 (3 pm, 7 pm)
Credit: Battlecats, photo by Eric Melzer |
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Music | Video | Film |
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The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra performs Stravinsky's full-length opera, The Rake's Progress, conducted by Edo de Waart
Ordway Center, St. Paul, January 14 – 16
Dreamland Faces to perform in front of a selection of 16mm features and short films of their own choosing
Trylon Microcinema, Minneapolis, January 20 (7:30 pm)
Expanding the Frame: Journeys – a film series "challenging the form and structure of conventional cinema"
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, January 21 – February 28
Gallery talk with filmmaker Zhao Liang (Heavy Sleepers)
Walker Art Center (Target Gallery), Minneapolis, January 30 (3 pm)
An Evening with Ben Russell (TRYPPS and The Black and White Gods)
Walker Art Center (Cinema), Minneapolis, January 21 (7:30 pm) |
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| Lectures, Symposia & Literary Events |
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Rain Taxi Reading Series: Brian Evenson (Fugue State) and Zak Sally (Like a Dog), with music by Zak Sally plus readings and conversation with both authors about their new books
Bryant Lake Bowl, Minneapolis, January 25 (8 pm)
TGIFrybread – an open mic/spoken word event in conjunction with Hokah! Ten Years of Art at Ancient Traders Gallery
Ancient Traders Gallery, Minneapolis, January 16 (6 pm)
Minnesota Made – "through the eyes of the Children's Book Illustrators Guild of Minnesota"
O'Shaughnessy Educational Center, St. Paul, January 22 – February 28
William Alexander, David Schwartz, Kelly Barnhill, and Alan DeNiro read from their work in the new short story collection, Interfictions 2
Magers and Quinn Booksellers, Minneapolis, January 29 (7:30 pm)
Credit: Christina Rodriguez, "Duluth Light House," from Storm Codes |
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| Festivals & Special Events |
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Art Shanty Projects – 20 new art shanties and 15 mobile performances
Medicine Lake, Plymouth, January 17 – February 7
"Get Lucky 2010" – a silent auction and party to benefit Soo VAC
Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, January 23 (7 – 11 pm) – advance tix $20 (at the door, $35)
Prints on Ice – Highpoint Center for Printmaking's annual winter co-op show
Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Minneapolis, show closes January 16
Signs for the New Year – photographs by Jenny Jenkins
Shoebox Gallery, Minneapolis, informal opening reception, plus Sean Smuda's Art Basel '09 slideshow presentation, January 15 at 8 pm
METRO magazine's Second Annual "Keeper Awards" bash
The Loft at Spill the Wine restaurant, Minneapolis, January 21 (8 – 11 pm)
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Art Shanty Projects website |
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| Theater |
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Singled Out: A Festival of Emerging Artists, curated by Benjamin McGovern
Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, January 14 – 24
Dumb/Sex presented by 3AM Productions – back-to-back shows of Pinter's The Dumb Waiter and Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago
The Old Arizona Theater, Minneapolis, through January 23
Ten Thousand Things' Stones In His Pockets, written by Marie Jones, directed by Michelle Hensley with Jim Lichtscheidl and Steven Epp
Open Book Center, Minneapolis, through January 31
Dreamgirls – the touring production of the award-winning Broadway show
Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, through January 17
A Dozen Things I Want to Do On Stage – a performance art cabaret by Rebecca Nagle
Bedlam Theatre, Minneapolis, January 22 (10 pm)
Mr. McGee and the Biting Flea
Children's Theatre, Minneapolis, January 20 - February 21 |
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| Visual Arts |
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Andrea Stanislav – Lightning Struck Itself
Burnet Gallery (Chambers Hotel), Minneapolis, opens January 15 (reception, 7 – 9 pm) and runs through March 7
Off the Wall – a group exhibition of painting, sculpture and installation
Form + Content Gallery, Minneapolis, opening reception January 16 (6 – 9 pm) and on view through February 20
Robozoology – new paintings and prints by Chuck U
Nicademus Art & Framing gallery, Minneapolis, through February 9
Sensorium – a multimedia installation by Jessica Teckemeyer
Atwood Memorial Center Gallery, St. Cloud, through February 18
almos(t)here – New Bearings from Contemporary Artists in Europe
Katherine E. Nash Gallery, U of MN-Twin Cities, January 22 – February 11
2010 Portraits Exhibit, curated by MIA photography curator, David Little
Mpls Photo Center, Minneapolis, through the month of January
Uncommon Textiles – Two Directions, a fresh approach to "women's work" by Rachel Starr Suntop and Sara Christiansen-Blair
Susan Hensel Gallery, Minneapolis, opening reception January 16 (reception, 7 – 9 pm) and on view through February 27
A Perfect World – photography by Evan Baden (Illuminati) and Kristine Heykants (Media Stories)
IFP Gallery, St. Paul, January 22 – March 13
Art Form 1040: Re-Arted, pairs of local artists collaborate to "re-art" each other's work
Gallery at Fox Tax, Minneapolis, opening January 16 (reception, 6 -10 pm) and on view through tax day, April 15
George Morrison – From the Minnesota Museum of American Art
Bockley Gallery, Minneapolis, opens January 17 (reception, 3 – 5 pm) and on view through January 30
Sick – self-portraits examining the anxieties and effects of illness by Tanja Torgerson
XYandZ Gallery, Minneapolis, opens January 22 (reception, 7 – 11 pm) and on view through March 1
An exhibition of work by Sean Smuda (Blueprint series, Dreams and Allegories) and Chris Mars
Phipps Center for the Arts (Gallery Two), Hudson (WI), January 22 – February 21
Credits: (Top) installation view of Between Life and Death by Jessica Teckemeyer, (bottom) artwork by Chuck U |
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You Are Here event listings are drawn almost entirely from the mnartists.org calendar, so if you want to improve the odds that you'll see your happening linked here, you'd better start posting your events!
We've made it super easy to begin: here's a step-by-step guide that'll show you how to promote your own events on the site's DIY arts calendar. |
Walker Art Center |
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One for the Road: Scattered Light |
The poster above, by David Horvitz of ASDF, is one of six designs combining photographs and text which have been commissioned by ROLU, a design studio in Minneapolis, for a "participatory poster project" and photography exhibition called Scattered Light.
Over the next six months, ROLU will release a new poster design by ASDF each month, which will serve as both inspiration and an open invitation for the public to submit photos of their own, which will be displayed together in a group exhibition at Art of This Gallery in June 2010. The stated aim of this project is "to reacquaint the viewer to his/her surrounding environment and introduce another way of seeing and interpreting the things around them."
Assignment One: "A view of flat horizon line over land or water." If you'd like to participate, send your own digital photo to info (at) rolu.com; your email's subject line should read "Poster One."
Read more about the project and see some of the entries in response to the first assignment on ROLU's website. Assignment Two will be posted later this month; photo responses to any of these "assignments" will be taken until the time of the group exhibition this summer.
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The mission of mnartists.org is to improve the lives of Minnesota artists and provide access to and engagement with Minnesota’s arts culture. |
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