Weekend picks: ‘Welcome to Indian Country,’ guitars at Como Lake; puppet lab
Indigenous music and storytelling, puppets, comic books and more are on the docket for this week.
Sheila Regan
Sheila Regan is a Twin Cities-based arts journalist. She writes MinnPost’s twice-weekly Artscape column. She can be reached at sregan@minnpost.com.
‘Nothing to be afraid of’: Melissa Etheridge on activism, loss and unearthing old songs
The award-winning musician, cancer survivor and activist is performing at Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen on Friday, Aug. 12.
Weekend picks: There’s theater galore, with the Fringe Fest, zAmya’s ‘Second Chance’ and Pangea’s ‘Life Born of Fire’
Plus: ‘The Morning Dip,’ photography by Peggy Anderson at the Swedish Institute; reggae and more at a new music festival in Bloomington, and “Black Tongue” at Rosalux Gallery.
‘There’s always been a dedication and appreciation for them’: Exhibit at All My Relations explores the role of aunties in Indigenous culture
Agnes Woodward’s aunt instilled pride in her, and taught her to take up space as an Indigenous person.
Weekend picks: It’s hip-hop x 2 with Herb Johnson III at the Southern and BRKFST Dance + the Minnesota Orchestra
Plus: The Northside Art Crawl kicks off Thursday, Lynn Nottage’s “Sweat” is on stage at the Guthrie, Pao Houa Her exhibits photographs at the Walker and Margot Bassett Silver has a Silversmith album release show.
‘This is the best job ever’: Circus Juventas traces 600 years of circus history with ‘Confetti!’ — and marks 28 years as a youth performing arts school
“Confetti!” is more a contemporary-style circus: The story and the plot unfold through the narrative and are explained by way of choreography and theater, Betty Butler says.
Weekend picks: Lots of magic to discover, including ‘History of Religion’ at the Illusion and Maggie Thompson’s ‘Just Friends’ at Bockley
Plus: “Hot off the Press” at Highpoint, Artepils fest at Utepils Brewing, Opera Under the Stars in Pershing Park and Venus DeMars at the 331 Club.
Cafesjian Art Trust, with Chihuly glass, Moran seascapes and more, is coming soon to Shoreview
Cafesjian Baradaran grew up with the art that will be at the museum. “Every once in a while, the light would get in a certain way, and it would look like it was coming to life,” she says.
Weekend picks: It’s open-air arts season, with ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ at Caponi Art Park and jazz on the hill at the Walker
Plus: exhibits of two emerging Black Minnesota artists, International Day of Music in and around Orchestra Hall, Artaria performs the Razumovsky quartets, Dakota Spirit Walk at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary and an Asian American ‘Death of a Salesman’ at the Conn.
In ‘The African Company Presents Richard III,’ Great Rivers Shakespeare Festival joins critical conversation about canon and casting
Even today, the majority of mainstream theaters in the United States continue to be led by white people. That reality leads to inevitable skewed power dynamics within the form.
Weekend picks: BIPOC artists talk about ancestry and time at Form + Content, while rare book lovers convene in St. Paul
Plus: new paintings by John Gaunt at Rosalux, Uniquinox’s puppet festival, ‘Warming Show’ outdoor concert and Japanese Breakfast at First Avenue.
Charles Lazarus’ multi-layered relationship with South Africa lands in NE Minneapolis for a fundraiser
Lazarus saw some of the need in the country as the Minnesota Orchestra traveled to different townships in 2018. He also heard a very high level of music.
Weekend picks: Let loose for the Fourth with Leslie Vincent at Apoy and ‘Love’s Labor’s Lost’ al fresco
Plus: a new “Emma” at the Guthrie, the last chance for “Impact Theory of Mass Extinction” at Heart of the Beast, Minnesota Pops at Harriet and She Rock She Rock.
‘Dressed by Nature’: Mia’s Japanese textile exhibit is an inspiring journey of materials, shapes and patterns
“These captains of trading ships were very much interested in super flamboyant pieces of clothing,” says Mia curator Andrea Marks. “They wanted to look freakin’ cool.”
Weekend picks: Angela Two Stars speaks about her poetic piece at the center of the Sculpture Garden
Plus: the Pride festival and march, Indigo Girls and the Minnesota Orchestra, Jonatha Brooke, Rebecca Arons and Adi Yeshaya at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist, Cornbread Harris at the Icehouse, Film @ Franconia and a taste of SF art in NE Minneapolis.
On more stages than ever, the Twin Cities Jazz Festival is in full, diverse swing this weekend
There’s a strong cohort of young musicians in 2022, Heckler says. For example, Friday’s headliner is 21-year-old Matthew Whitaker, a B3 organ player from New Jersey.
Weekend picks: Penumbra Theatre’s incubator premieres ‘Spittin’ Seeds,’ highlighting St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood
Plus: Violinist and composer Ariana Kim at the Parkway, Hari Kondabolu at the Cedar, “AFROPUNK Live: Minneapolis,” a Midsommar party at the Swedish Institute and Juneteenth performances at the Dakota and at Crooners.
In ‘The Impact Theory of Mass Extinction,’ Junauda Petrus-Nasah explores a Black penchant for dinosaurs
The play’s mix of utopia and dystopia, set in the 1980s, isn’t so dissimilar to today, two years after the murder of George Floyd.
Weekend picks: From Rock the Garden to Northern Spark, let’s revel in the festival season
Plus: Lela Pierce at the Bockley Gallery, Davu Seru at Jazz Central Studios, Teatro del Pueblo’s “Real Women Have Curves” and “Take Root Among the Stars: Black Abstraction in the Midwest” at SooVAC.
Mu/Jungle staging of ‘Cambodian Rock Band’ aims to portray trauma of the genocide with respect and authenticity
The story centers around a Khmer Rouge survivor who returns to Cambodia when his daughter is prosecuting a war criminal some 30 years after the genocide.
