Watching clips of Donte Collins reading poetry online, the first thing that stands out is the straightforward beauty of the words, the carefully observed imagery and perfectly chosen descriptors that immerse the audience immediately in Collins’s world. The second thing that grabs the attention is the confidence and nuance of Collins’s stage presence. The poet […]
Article · August 29, 2017 by Ira Brooker
Each year, the Knight Arts Challenge helps arts organizations’ biggest ideas take flight. Along the way, the funding also allows them the time, tools and training to elevate their work, opens up their organizations to new audiences and much more. As this year’s challenge continues to accept submissions in four cities through April 28, we […]
Article · April 21, 2017 by Ira Brooker
One of the unique things about the Knight Arts Challenge is that it provides funding to individual artists, so that they can help make their ideas a reality. For some, it’s an opportunity to get the supplies or training they need For others, the funding and acknowledgement opens doors to new opportunities. As Knight Foundation […]
Article · April 6, 2017 by Ira Brooker
Run an image search for “poet” and you’ll get a lot of variations on white men dressed like either beatniks or old English nobles, most of them holding a page at arm’s length with wide-open mouths captured mid-elocution. The average person probably understands that this is a rather reductive stereotype, but the fact remains that […]
Article · March 24, 2017 by Ira Brooker
The Saint Paul Saints’ baseball stadium is smack in the middle of the city’s thriving Lowertown Arts District. Neighboring businesses and public spaces have incorporated art into their regular routines, and the district has taken on a real “all the city’s a stage” mentality. It’s fitting, then, that a local theater company is taking its […]
Article · March 6, 2017 by Ira Brooker
We’ve all heard artists explain that the struggle of doing what they do is worth it for the sheer joy of creation. For some artists, though, even making it to a creative space is a struggle unto itself. Naomi Cohn, founder of St. Paul’s Known By Heart Poetry, sees evidence of that every time she […]
Article · October 5, 2016 by Ira Brooker
At a casual glance, Jutta Friedrichs and Ben Houge might appear to be something of an artistic odd coupling. Friedrichs works primarily in urban design, while Houge is a musician with an extensive background in video game composition. With two concurrent Knight-funded projects in St. Paul, though, the couple is proving that their disciplines go […]
Article · September 26, 2016 by Ira Brooker
Photos courtesy of Theater of Public Policy. In an instant-messaging age, when even email is dismissed as an outmoded form of communication, the notion of sending in-person, door-to-door greetings is downright antique. That isn’t keeping one Twin Cities comedy company from resurrecting the format with a contemporary spin. Theater of Public Policy has built a […]
Article · August 9, 2016 by Ira Brooker
All photos courtesy of The Floating Library. Minnesota takes a lot of pride in both its lakes and its literacy. We famously house more than 10,000 of the former and consistently rank among the national leaders in the latter. It only makes sense, then, that we’re also the home of The Floating Library, a unique […]
Article · June 8, 2016 by Ira Brooker
Above: The Qhia Dab Neeg film festival in St. Paul. Photo courtesy Qhia Dab Neeb. Cinema in St. Paul has a checkered history of late. While the city can claim a couple of small mainstream movie houses and a smattering of other occasional screening venues, it’s been a long while since locals had an art […]
Article · May 18, 2016 by Ira Brooker
Andy Froemke. Photo courtesy of IFP MN Screenwriting Residency. Minnesota might not be the first place most people associate with moviemaking, but locals know that our film culture runs considerably deeper than “Fargo” and “Grumpy Old Men.” The Twin Cities area is home to one of the Midwest’s longest-running film festivals, multiple film education and […]
Article · May 13, 2016 by Ira Brooker