Above: Detroit’s Sidewalk Festival of the Arts, by Cheryl Willard Photography. For the average patron, going to see some art generally means heading to a gallery, a theater or a museum. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. Dedicated art spaces are a vital part of any healthy community. But when art is presented in […]
Article · April 20, 2016 by Ira Brooker
Above: Cast in rehearsal at East Side Freedom Library, St. Paul. Photo Credit: LKBachman. The prevailing stereotype of the average American theater patron is someone of advanced years, considerable means and Caucasian heritage. Obviously that’s not an entirely accurate portrayal, but connecting with both younger audiences and audiences of color remains an evergreen challenge in […]
Article · April 18, 2016 by Ira Brooker
Above: Osama Esid and Mizna, STILL / LIFE / SYRIA, Northern Spark 2015, presented by Northern Lights.mn and Mizna, Photo: Ian Plant. An established and supportive community of arts patrons is one of the finest things a city can have, but if the art is only reaching those who know where to look for it, […]
Article · April 6, 2016 by Ira Brooker
Happy Hot Chocolate. Photo via Dangerous Productions. Standing outside a makeshift tent, two actors clad in blaze-orange jackets offer their parka-clad audience advice on planting a winter garden, scooping up handfuls of snow and sprinkling them across the ground as their seminar grows increasingly absurd. Several minutes in, a small boy springs up from the […]
Article · February 17, 2016 by Ira Brooker
All photos courtesy Electric Machete Studios. One of the most frustrating questions artists get asked on the regular is, “So what kind of art do you do?” Even for specialists, there’s seldom a straightforward answer for that. Whether motivated by financial necessity, available resources or diverse interests, most working artists wear a variety of hats. […]
Article · January 26, 2016 by Ira Brooker
Above: Winter ping-pong at last week’s 4Play event in St. Paul. Photo by Ira Brooker. While the stereotype of all Minnesotans loving the cold isn’t accurate – plenty of us would just as soon hunker down inside as soon as the temperature slips into single digits – we do take a perverse pride in doing […]
Article · January 13, 2016 by Ira Brooker
Photo courtesy Coffee House Press. One of the coolest things about living in a community as artistically active as St. Paul is the chance to see art on just about every scope and scale. Sometimes it’s as expansive as a display of colors literally lighting up the night sky. Sometimes it’s as communal as a […]
Article · December 17, 2015 by Ira Brooker
Photo above credit Knight Foundation. It’s early December and we’re now ankle-deep in the time of year when “As long as I don’t have to go outside” becomes the key motivator for many Minnesotans’ entertainment choices. But the Flamenco Christmas Procession on Payne combats the cold with a song in its step. The procession, which […]
Article · December 3, 2015 by Ira Brooker
All photos via David Glasgow except the open wall, which is via Rogue Citizen. For all of the strides hip-hop has made as an art form over the past several decades, there are still plenty of otherwise in-the-know arts patrons who think of it solely as a musical genre. In actuality, hip-hop encompasses everything from […]
Article · November 21, 2015 by Ira Brooker
Video by Asia Ward on Vimeo. Photo by Aaron Dysart. The District Energy steam plume may be the most misunderstood of all of the Twin Cities’ landmarks. Many of the commuters who pass through downtown St. Paul each day assume it’s a column of smoke polluting the atmosphere over the Mississippi River. In reality, the […]
Article · November 13, 2015 by Ira Brooker
Photo collage courtesy Ragamala Dance. Despite our reputation for “niceness,” Minnesota isn’t always the most neighborly place to call home. For better or for worse, the state’s well-known passive-aggression sometimes keeps us at arm’s length from our fellow Minnesotans. That’s the antithesis of the Indian festival of Navarathri, a celebration of art and community with […]
Article · November 13, 2015 by Ira Brooker