Indigenous music and storytelling, puppets, comic books and more are on the docket for this week. Thursday night, three Twin Cities arts organizations present “Welcome to Indian Country,” at the Cedar, in what looks will be a fabulous evening of music and words. At the Minneapolis Institute of Art, enjoy the edgy photographs of Marcia Resnick. And at Como Lakeside Pavilion, get your dose of guitar music of all kinds. Also this weekend, the Autoptic Festival brings together graphic novelists, comic artists and more for exhibitions and panels, while Open Eye Theatre opens their two-week Puppet Lab Festival. Finally, Monica Thomas and Theresa Madaus are showing a work-in-progress version of a new dance performance in Powderhorn Park.
Welcome to Indian Country
Washington State’s Poet Laureate Rena Priest, an enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation, mixes Indigenous stories with poetry and humor in ways that illuminate and celebrate Native culture. She performs alongside a five-piece musical ensemble made of Native artists of different nations who offer an eclectic sound of contemporary music, with influences of jazz, classical and more. Andre Bouchard, founder of Indigenous Performance Productions, serves as artistic director for the performance, and composer/trumpet/theremin player Delbert Anderson, who is Diné, is music director. All My Relations Arts, The Hennepin Theatre Trust, and the Cedar Cultural Center are partnering together for the presentation. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at The Cedar ($20). More information here.
Marcia Resnick: As It Is or Could Be
From her portraits of the New York art scene of the 1970s to her conceptual photographs, Marcia Resnick is an experimental photographer whose work reflects a mix of social and political commentary and style. The Minneapolis Institute of Art presents the first-ever museum retrospective of the sometimes underrecognized artist. “Marcia Resnick: As It Is or Could Be,” organized in collaboration with the Bowdoin College Museum of Art and the George Eastman Museum, focuses on the work Resnick created between 1973 and 1982, including photographs she took from the short-lived Soho Weekly, works from the column she made for the paper, four photobooks she created, and other works. On view at Mia Aug. 13 through Dec. 11 (free). More information here.
[image_credit]Facebook[/image_credit][image_caption]The lineup has local favorites, including Paul Metzger playing improvised banjo.[/image_caption]Lakeside Guitar Festival
Guitars galore hit the shores of Como Lake, with over a dozen acts performing on three stages over the course of two days. Besides guitarists from around the country like American blues musician and five-time Grammy Award winner Kevin Roosevelt Moore (Keb’ Mo’), and James “Blood” Ulmer, the lineup has local favorites, including Paul Metzger playing improvised banjo and Javier Trejo performing a Minnesota/Mexican song suite called Caballo Cósmico, and more. Also as part of the festival, Hmong cross stitch duo Third Daughter Restless Daughter host a pop up market, plus events like a pedal swap, and a sing along/strum along. Starting at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12 and 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13 (gates close at 4:15 p.m. Saturday, followed by a ticketed performance at 6, otherwise it’s free). More information here.
2022 Autoptic Festival
Attend this year’s Autoptic Festival in-person or online, and get your fix of comic books, graphic novels, illustration, and visual reading. Check out the exhibitors and listen to panels about short form, printmaking, storytelling, curation and more. The floor show takes place 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at The Coffman Memorial Union, with the panels taking place the next day on Sunday, Aug. 14 at MCAD (free). More information here.
Bonus: Get into the mood the night before with a live comics reading, “Unboxing Autoptic: a Live Comics Reading.”
[image_credit]Courtesy of Open Eye Theatre[/image_credit][image_caption]Amoke Kubat in “Opera of Memories.”[/image_caption]Puppet Lab
This year’s cohort of resident artists supported by Open Eye Theatre presents new work, with two shows taking place this week, and two more next week. First up is “The Forgotten Forest” by Mary Plaster, which will have six European-style wood marionettes, as well as the adult-themed (including naked puppets) “Disconnected” by Dominique Herskind. The second weekend features Liping Vong’s “In Absentia,” and Amoke Kubat’s “Opera of Memories.” Friday, Aug. 12, through Sunday, Aug. 21, with shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Open Eye ($15, $10 economic accessibility tickets, plus a limited number of pay-as-able tickets will be available at the door). More information here.
Rituals for Nothing/Prayers to No God: A Work-in-Progress Showing
It’s been a number of years since the audacious dance trio Mad King Thomas brought their blend of conceptual performance and dance to Twin Cities stages, but watch out. Two of the members of that group, Monica Thomas and Theresa Madaus, have a new thing brewing they’ll be showing at Powderhorn Park. They’re joined by Judith Howard, Krista Langberg, and Sylvan Madaus Derenne as they explore past lives, spells, ghosts, and the cosmos. Get a sneak peak of this new work and be prepared to be delighted. 7 p.m. Friday, reserve to find exact location (free). More information here.
