Art Hounds

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-WhirlIt’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 ReopelleGender Joy Art ShowJenn 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 WattersOne Subject PressDeborah 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

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.WideSpot Performing Arts CenterShaun Duvall of Wabasha recommends a great opportunity for live music in her town: the monthly concerts from WideSpot Performing Arts Center. During the school year (September through May) WideSpot hosts concerts at the Broadway Theater — the old middle school auditorium on Broadway Ave. — in Wabasha. The series ends for the year on Saturday, May 9, with a concert by Americana band City Mouse. The Mankato band has been performing for more than 50 years.Shaun says: I think it'll just be fun! More than anything, it's just a place for local people to get together and visit and connect. And that's one of the great things about small towns, is when you can just spend time with each other.— Shaun Duvall Shaun says there are regular chances to hear live music in the summer, too: the Meet Me Under the Bridge concert series happens every Friday at 7 p.m. from June 12 – Aug. 28 at Heritage Park.‘Los Profanadores de La Calle Arenas’Actor, theater maker, and retired Macalester professor Harry Waters Jr. recommends that everyone see Teatro del Pueblo's “Los Profanadores de La Calle Arenas.” Set 50 years in a hotter, drier future, the play centers on a family of gravediggers in the Caribbean. The play was written by Lelis Brito and co-directed with Alondra Alamilla Benitez, with music by Carlisle Evans Peck.The show is performed entirely in Spanish, with English subtitles, at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, May 8 – 17.Harry says: What's interesting about this piece, which is why I recommend going to see it, is that Lelis has brought us to a place where we're re-experiencing how to tell stories. There's a moment in the show that the audience will actually get to leave and visit the space differently. I think it's really important for people now to broaden our perspectives when we're talking about performance now, that we're looking at decolonizing the way performance is presented. And I think this is an opportunity where Lelis Brito and Teatro are shifting the needle.— Harry Waters Jr.‘The Bountiful Table’Mark Hiemenz of St. Louis Park is a singer and church choir director. He recommends a delicious concert: Caritas Vocal Ensemble, an a cappella group of 12, will perform a full menu of songs about food in a concert called “The Bountiful Table.” Concerts are Sat. May 9 at New Branches Building in Minneapolis, Sat. May 16 at Grace Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, and Sun. May 17 at Incarnation Lutheran Church in Shoreview. All concerts are from 3 to 4 p.m. Donations will be accepted for local food shelves.Mark anticipates a performance full of humor and the joy of sharing music together. Mark says: Caritas actually began as one person's response to 9/11, so the group has always sung concerts and partnered with local organizations. For example, these concerts are going to support local food shelves. So Caritas really believes in the power of music to show communities how important it is to be together.— Mark Hiemenz

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.Strange Loop Project’s ‘Fresh Baked’Anna Pinault is a dancer and choreographer in Minneapolis, and she recommends an innovative dance performance this Saturday from Strange Loop Project. It’s the second installment in their “Fresh Baked” series, where four dancer/choreographers are given 24 hours to create a new dance based on a three-word prompt. Each dancer receives the same prompt, resulting in what Pinault says feels like a curated collection. The performance of these “fresh-baked” dances, which tend to average about 10 minutes each, will take place 8 p.m. Saturday, May 2 at 1629 Hennepin Ave. in Minneapolis.Pinault performed in the first iteration of the series in February, and she described what the next four dancers are about to experience.Anna says: You really have to let go and just give in to the freedom of creation. It takes a lot of trust in yourself as well, that you can show up in the studio, come up with something without over-editing yourself, because you don't have time to do that. You just have to kind of push play and let the creative process go.— Anna PinaultThreshold Theater’s ‘More 4Play’Freelance director Gretchen Weinrich of Minneapolis enjoyed seeing Threshold Theater’s new collection of four 10-minute plays by LGBTQ+ playwrights. A follow-up from their 2024 event, “More 4Play” continues at Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday, which tickets available in advance or at the door.Though the plays center “the LGBTQ+ experience generally,” Weinrich says, they are diverse in story and style. She appreciated seeing the same small group of actors take on different characters in each show. As for the venue, Bryant Lake Bowl is one of Weinrich’s favorites.Gretchen says: The food and drinks are great. They'll serve you right in your seat, and it makes for a fun uptown vibe.— Gretchen WeinrichPlains Art Museum’s Spring GalaEric A. Johnson of Hillsboro, North Dakota, is an artist and director of Fargo Moorhead Visual Arts. He’s looking forward to the Plains Art Museum’s Spring Gala this Saturday in downtown Fargo. The event is a celebration of artistic talent in the Fargo-Moorhead area and beyond, as well as a fundraiser to support the museum. The swanky evening includes music, food, and a silent auction of art with the region's talent on display, which Johnson says feels like a juried art exhibition.This year’s theme is “Nightmare at the Museum,” with themed costumes encouraged but not required. The Plains Art Museum is free and open daily.Editor’s note: Johnson is one of more than 80 area artists who have donated work for the silent auction.