The state fair is this weekend. Did I mention that the state fair is happening?!?!?! Well, it is. But theer is a lot of other stuff happening around town, like art exhibition openings and panel discussions and destruction rituals. So, go to it. The fair will always be there . . .
Destroy//Minneapolis
Saturday, August 26 at 8 p.m.
The Soap Factory (514 2nd St SE, Minneapolis 55414)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1354069248043824/
At 8pm on Saturday night, the Twin Cities will be destroyed. In this new ritual for new times, Leyya Tawil works with many Twin Cities dancers on building work on-location which will then be destroyed in the dance itself. Says Leyya Mona Tawil: "My project for The Soap Factory, Destroy// Minneapolis, is a metaphor for renewal and resistance. The health of a city is dependent on change; a change that requires destruction as part of the life cycle… As well, it is a framework to support and present the talented dancers and musicians of Minneapolis/St. Paul." Tawil has brought this work to 23 cities all over the world since 2012. Now, Minneapolis/St Paul must be destroyed.
Savage/ Thunder
All My Relations (1414 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis 55404)
https://www.facebook.com/events/113686595934891/
Opening on Saturday, August 26 from 6-8 p.m.
Exhibition runs through September 26
Artists Karen Savage and Jonathan Thunder present their first duel exhibition of paintings, aptly titled "Savage/Thunder." Thematically, their work charts landscapes, personal journeys, dreams, the Lake Superior region and their own heritage, and also speaks to the connections between the Twin Cities and Northern Minnesota. Savage and Thunder are both Anishinaabe/Ojibwe artists.
Performance and Discussion: Project 42
Mixed Blood Theatre Company (1501 S 4th St, Minneapolis 55454)
Sunday, August 27 at 7 – 8:30 p.m.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1529388017136127/
On Sunday, an artistic response to the lived experiences of transgender peoples in the US will be held at Mixed Blood Theater Company in conjunction with the Minnesota Museum of American Art's "We The People" exhibition. The event is a collaboration between Twin Cities-based performance artist Marcel Michelle Mobama and 20% Theatre company, and curator Johnnay Leenay of the exhibition "We the People," which features Jono Vaughn's "Project 42," in which the artist creates memorial garments for trans women, honoring their lives and spirits.
Johnnay Leenay, one of the four curators of the exhibition "We the People" and also the Diversity in the Arts Curatorial Fellow at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, focuses her section of "We the People" on the lives of queer and trans identities. Vaughn's latest piece for "Project 42" is a dress-like garment for Tiffany Berry, who was murdered in Memphis in 2006. The vibrant pink dress, with patterns over a Google Maps location of Berry's murder, and patterns of 21 triangles for Tiffany's age, also includes her name on the inside of the dress.
"Sketches of Cedar Riverside" by Mohamud Mumin
American Swedish Institute (2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis 55407)
Runs through October 29, 2017
Artist Mohamud Mumin of the Somaal House of Art Collective is everywhere. He recently organized "Receptacle," a group exhibition at Cedar Riverside and TK TK mosque, of all Somali artists. In this new exhibition at the American Swedish Institute, he further explores the history of Minneapolis' West Bank, which has historically been home to many immigrants, from Nordic to today's East Africans. The exhibition laces together past and present, bringing in objects form the American Swedish Institute and the Hennepin County Library. Mumin will host a public talk in conjunction with this exhibition on Wednesday, September 13. More info: https://www.asimn.org/programs-education/events/wednesday-wonderings-afternoons-asi-mohamud-mumin
Above: Kyle L. Fokken, "The Jack in the Basket" (Figurehead Series), Minneapolis
Art at the State Fair
Fine Arts Center, Cosgrove St. and Randall Av.
Free with fair admission
Runs through the state fair September 4
Everyday from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Baby animals are being birthed, bunnies abound, and there's more fried food than even conceivable. But amongst all these state fair standbys, there is also SO. MUCH. ART. The Fine Arts Center, located far from the livestock in the winding Minnesota State Fair complex, hosts the weirdest range of art you've ever seen in this part of the country. A total of 334 artworks, ranging from painting to huge sculptures, selected from 2,482 submissions from all over Minnesota, overtake the entire building. You may find yourself particularly haunted by a hollowed-out-looking man carved out of wood called "Entropy" by Brent L. Brager of Bethel, or overjoyed by a realistic painting of owls perched on an afghan, appropriately titled "Owlets on Granny's Afghan" (pictured ) by Malia Emma Wiley of Lake Crystal, Minn. Read more here: http://www.startribune.com/art-at-the-fair/441644223/
