Art Hounds

Minnesota Public Radio
  • 4.2 (26)
  • PERFORMING ARTS
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Each week three people from the Minnesota arts community talk about a performance, opening, or event they're excited to see or want others to check out.

  1. MAR 5

    Art Hounds: Textiles and timelines, tabletop fantasy and a gallery launch

    From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.  Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here. ‘Our What Ifs Became Real Life’ Kayla Maria of Fort Ripley is an avid arts consumer, and she recommends a visit to the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids. She appreciated the multi-disciplinary show “Our What Ifs Became Real Life” by Amber Buckanaga and James Harvin, on view through March 27. She describes the “intimate moments” of the exhibit. Kayla says: As you walk into the exhibit, you're basically walking through time and through the timelines of James and Amber's ancestors and even thinking into the future. There were components like poetry, textiles, fashion, design and painting. There was a moment where they were talking about Amber's family history with boarding schools and relating that to James's family escaping slavery. — Kayla Maria ‘Monsters Not Monoliths! A DnD Actual Play’ Eli Effinger-Weintraub is really looking forward to seeing “Monsters Not Monoliths! A DnD Actual Play,” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 6, rescheduled from the original January date due to the federal immigration enforcement surge. Professional game master Manny Elliott will run a live table-top role-playing game with a group of experienced actors/gamers while the audience watches the story unfold. The show will run approximately three hours and is recommended for ages 18 and older. Eli says this show should be a blast for experienced and would-be gamers, improvisers and storytellers. The story follows a group of ordinary people in a city a lot like Minneapolis, when mythical monsters and fairy tale creatures start showing up, the characters have to decide whether to fight the new arrivals or stand with them. — Eli Effinger-Weintraub Lowry Hill Gallery grand opening Kristin Makholm has a bead on the arts community as a former art museum curator and director and now a nonprofit fundraiser in the Twin Cities. She recommends visiting the grand opening this weekend of the Lowry Hill Gallery in Minneapolis. Located on Franklin Avenue near Hennepin, the Lowry Hill Gallery will feature Minnesota and regional artists working in a representational style. Kristin describes the two artists with featured shows starting Saturday. Kristin says: Charles Lyon is a Minneapolis artist who paints what he himself has seen and experienced. For example, he paints nature as it appears in the urban environment or the landscapes of the Boundary Waters as seen from a canoe. The show he's opening this weekend is called “Round Here,” which features paintings of the greenery of our Midwest spring, summer and fall. Kirsten Tradowsky’s paintings are based primarily on photographs, reimagined through her own vibrant lens of paint color and expressive brushwork. The series of paintings called “Annemarie's Vision” uses her grandma's photos of family gatherings as source material to create paintings. — Kristin Makholm

    4 min

  2. FEB 26

    Art Hounds: Harp harmonies, Hildegard and heartfelt quartet

    From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.  Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here. Harp takes center stage Kathy Kienzle is a retired principal harp of the Minnesota Orchestra. She’s looking forward to the upcoming Bakken Ensemble performance where the harp gets to shine. This season Bakken Ensemble celebrates 30 years. The performance is 4 p.m. Sunday, March 1, at Westminster Hall in Minneapolis. Cheryl Losey Feder is the guest harpist, and Kienzle says this is a wonderful chance to hear her perform chamber music up-close, rather than with the full Minnesota Orchestra. Kathy is particularly looking forward to hearing André Caplet’s “Conte Fantastique,” which she calls “extremely difficult and very, very fun to hear.” Kathy says: One of the reasons I really love this piece is people think of the heart as a very beautiful, soothing, pretty instrument. And this piece really looks at the dark side of the harp. It's based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe called “The Masque of the Red Death,” about a group of nobles who hole up in a castle and throw a masked ball while the populace dies of a plague, only to be killed off by a masked figure dressed as a plague victim. — Kathy Kienzle A visionary’s early years on stage Brianna Regan is a former stage manager and ongoing arts fan in Minneapolis. She has seen both Theatre Elision’s current and previous productions of Grace McLean’s musical “In the Green,” and she liked it even better this time. The musical is about the early years of Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), a German Benedictine abbess, visionary, and composer whose writings spanned medical, natural history, philosophy, music and more. The 90-minute musical focuses on a young Hildegard’s early years, when she entered the church after having visions. She is cloistered with an older nun, Jutta. Brianna describes the show: It's a small, five-person cast that really deals with how to be a woman in the world, how to deal with using your voice, speaking up, being present and how to heal from trauma. This time around, I really think it is even more relevant in our current political environment, as well as what we are dealing with here in Minnesota; it really hit me and gave me that kind of catharsis. The artists in the show are just absolutely incredible. I cannot say enough good things about their musical talents. It is a little bit of a weird musical, but I will say, from start to finish, the story pulls you in. — Brianna Regan Chamber music in Nisswa Stephen Gurney of Bemidji is a retired English professor with a self-described “indefatigable love of classical music.” He and his wife plan to make the drive to Nisswa to see the Lakes Area Music Festival perform Mozart and Borodin. The concert is Sunday at the Lutheran Church of the Cross at 2 p.m. Saturday’s performance at Pillsbury Castle in Minneapolis is sold out. The program contains three pieces of chamber music by Mozart, Dvorak and Borodin. Stephen offers some background on Borodin’s “String Quartet No. 2 in D Major”: Stephen says: Borodin was one of the Russian five. These were five Russian composers who endeavored to express Russian folk music and even liturgical music in their in their works. Borodin was by trade a chemist, and actually contributed a great deal to the advance of organic chemistry, but the Second String Quartet is a pure love song from beginning to end. It was dedicated to his wife. It was written and given to her on one of their anniversaries. — Stephen Gurney

    4 min

  3. FEB 19

    Art Hounds: Spirituals, stand-up and a bold 'Salomé'

    Art Hounds recommend “VocalEssence WITNESS: Symphony of Spirituals,” “Oasis Laugh-Battle” and “Salomé.”

    4 min

  4. FEB 12

    Art Hounds: A space this week for beauty and joy

    From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.  Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here. ‘Fíodóireacht Bheirte / A Weaving of Two’ Matt Schneider describes himself as a dancer and dance floor builder for the underground scene of electronic music in the Twin Cities. He’s looking forward to the Valentine’s Day artist reception of a photography exhibit by married couple Saoirse and Sarah Weiss. Their joint exhibit, entitled “Fíodóireacht Bheirte / A Weaving of Two,” runs through April 5 at the Northside Artspace Lofts Gallery in Minneapolis. Matt describes Sarah’s work as daytime photographs involving portraits and family and Saoirse’s work as nighttime images that capture the DIY dance scene. He says the artist reception on Saturday (6-9 p.m.) will be a family-friendly dance scene with live music and a DJ. Matt says: She's one of the few people who is given the privilege to carry a camera in these spaces where anonymity and privacy are really respected. — Matt Schneider ‘Fiber, Fragment and Form’ Scott Pollock, museum director at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, made a recent visit to the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minn., where he enjoyed seeing Martha Bird’s woven baskets. Her exhibit, “Fiber, Fragment and Form,” includes baskets displayed through the Spring Flower Show, on view now through March 15. Bird, who has a willow garden in southeast Minnesota, will give an artist talk on Sat. Feb. 21 from 1-2 p.m. called “Cultivating Willow: Building community through the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.” Scott says most of Bird’s pieces are in the visitor center, though he advises stepping into the Arderson Horticultural Library to see Bird’s Japanese-inspired baskets with ikebana-style floral arrangements. Scott says: What makes Martha's work really special is the level of detail that she goes into. As a basket maker, a willow harvester, she really looks at the functional approaches to form, but then she takes them into a sculptural level. — Scott Pollock ‘Nordic Echoes’ Jennifer Olson of Golden Valley says she’s been visiting the American Swedish Institute since she was 5 years old. She’s looking forward to seeing the traveling exhibit “Nordic Echoes” when it opens on Saturday, Feb. 14. ‘Echoes’ of Nordic art and tradition across the U.S. The collection of contemporary Nordic folk arts includes works of textiles as well as work crafted from wood, metal, birchbark and more. A majority of the 24 artists represented are based in Minnesota, including Tia Keobounpheng, Sonja Peterson, Amber M. Jensen, Talon Cavender-Wilson, Pieper Bloomquist and Lucy and Gene Tokheim of Tokheim Stoneware. The exhibit will be on view through June 7.

    4 min

  5. FEB 5

    Art Hounds: Storytelling through dance, jazz along the Mississippi and cosmic reflections

    From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.  Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here. Collide Theatrical’s ‘Little Women’ Renee Guittar is a Twin Cities dancer, actor, and choreographer. She’s performed in the past with Collide Theatrical Dance Company, and she’s looking forward to being in the audience to see their production of “Little Women.” The show runs Feb. 6–15 at the Luminary Arts Center in Minneapolis. Renee says: I love seeing Collide’s shows, because the dancers are so impressive and athletic, and the shows are just jam-packed with storytelling that is accessible to all sorts of people, whether you've seen a dance show before or you haven't. Yes, you're watching cool dance moves and lifts and turns and all that stuff, but there's a reason why the dancers are doing all those movements, and it's because of the story. And I always loved that as a dancer, but then also, since I've been an audience member, it's so fun to watch. — Renee Guittar Rochester City Jazz Festival Eric Heukeshoven is a composer and jazz musician in Winona, and he says it’s worth the trip to Rochester on a Wednesday night to catch the Rochester City Jazz Festival. Each Wednesday in February, a different jazz group will perform at Thesis Beer Project from 6–8 p.m. Heukeshoven has this rundown: This coming Wednesday [Feb 11] is a relatively new group from Rochester called Snacklebox. I would call it sort of an instrumental funk band, something along the lines of Corey Wong or even Tower of Power. Really fun — almost all Rochester musicians or Rochester-area musicians. And then on February 18, Zacc Harris, who's an amazing guitarist from the Twin Cities, is coming down. He's a composer and a band leader who's been on the Minneapolis scene for many years." He's performing as part of a trio. And then rounding it out on the 25th is Winona's own Aaron Lohmeyer, and he's formed a trio with a pianist named Mark Whited and Rochester drummer named Alex Ortberg. Aaron has lived in different parts of the U.S., where he’s always been close to the Mississippi, and so his music reflects the various cultures [along the river.] — Eric Heukeshoven ‘Stardust & Soul’ by Sarah Pester Charles “Corky” Reynolds works in the Historic Fournet Building in downtown Crookston, Minn., so he gets to see the art gallery on its second floor. That means, lately, he’s had a chance to appreciate Crookston artist Sarah Pester’s exhibit “Stardust & Soul: it’s in everything.” The series of 41 watercolor, oil and mixed media paintings points both outward to the planets and inward, tying in Pester’s work as a yoga teacher and energy practitioner. The exhibit is on view through mid-April. Corky says: You get overwhelmed in a sense that we're such a small part of the whole universe concept, and you kind of reflect and go, “You know, the situation we're in now, maybe that's just a little speck in the whole cosmos.” — Charles “Corky” Reynolds

    4 min

  6. JAN 29

    Art Hounds: Literary legends on stage, Shakespearean jazz and the power of gospel music

    From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.  Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here. Dinner with literary greats Erin Janssens is a big fan of the Northfield Arts Guild Theater, and she is looking forward to their play “Little Wars,” which opens Friday. Set in the French Alps on the night before France falls to the Nazis, the play imagines a dinner party of female literary greats: Agatha Christie, Gertrude Stein, Dorothy Parker, Alice B. Toklas and Lillian Hellman. The play runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., through Feb. 8. As the characters discuss what they can do to help Jewish people targeted by the Nazis, Erin says the play raises questions that feel timely. Erin says: What do you want your legacy to be? How do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be remembered as someone who did something to help someone? Or do you want to just be someone who stood back and watched while others helped? There are some serious themes in the show. They deal with antisemitism, xenophobia and your own moral responsibility. — Erin Janssens Classical words meet musical improvisation Minneapolis author Cheri Johnson is looking forward to seeing the Ken Takata Ensemble set the words of Shakespeare, Jane Austen and other classic authors to music. The free event takes place this Saturday, Jan. 31, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at George Latimer Central Library, as part of the St. Paul Winter Carnival. Hear examples of Takata’s work here. Cheri says Takata began by setting the songs in Shakespeare’s plays to music, but he’s expanded to include short Shakespearean passages, often starring female characters, as well as passages from other classic works. She says the music style varies to fit the words. Cheri says: Ken started out as mostly a jazz musician, but there’s [also] stuff that sounds very classical, and then other times he does R&B, or it sounds very musical theater. He just sort of chooses a style, it seems, based on what inspires him in the text and how he can imagine a production looking. — Cheri Johnson A gospel tradition, continued Ella Gates-Mahmoud of Minneapolis says she’s been to nearly all the productions of “The Sound of Gospel” since it began in 2018. The production, presented by Second Chance Outreach, takes place Sunday, Feb. 1, at 3 p.m. at the O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. Ella says to expect an array of music, from spirituals to quartets, solos to choirs, spanning the history and styles of gospel. Ella says: I think it's important to note that gospel music is really a transformative experience. It covers an array of life experiences, and it encapsulates people's emotions, from happiness and joy to sadness to celebration. It encompasses all of that, and you can find yourself crying and laughing at the same time. It's just a beautiful experience. — Dr. Ella Gates-Mahmoud

    4 min

  7. JAN 15

    Art Hounds: Plein air paintings, immersive dance and a West African–Celtic music fusion

    From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.  Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here. Everyday beauty, captured outdoors Painter Adam Swanson of Cloquet recommends seeing the work of painter Matt Kania at Duluth Pottery, on view now through February. The exhibit “From There to Here” features Kania’s plein air paintings. There is an artist reception tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. Swanson says Kania is a prolific artist who takes the time to notice — and paint — both landscapes and scenes of everyday life. Dance meets science Rachel Doran is co-director of Hothouse, a dance arts space in Northeast Minneapolis. She can’t wait to see Black Label Movement's show “Rules of Life,” which combines dance with findings from cancer research. Performances are Jan. 16 and 17 — Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. — at the Barbara Barker Center for Dance in Minneapolis. Please note: this 45-minute show seats audience members in pods for an immersive and up-close experience of the dance; no late-comers will be seated. Rachel says: Black Label Movement, a local contemporary dance company helmed by Carl Flink. They are premiering a new work, “Rules of Life,” on Jan. 16-17, which has been in development for years, through Carl’s collaboration with cancer researchers David Odde and Paolo Provenzano. BL’s work is physical-to-the-max, impressively so, pushing limits of what the dancing body can do, and what dancers can do together. I can’t wait to see this culmination of research and output come together on stage. — Rachel Doran A fusion of West African and Celtic music Spoken word artist Ibrahima Kaba, known as IBé, of Robbinsdale loves the West African–Celtic blend of the musical group Canadh Croí, which means “singing of the heart” in Irish Gaelic and is pronounced “Conna Cree,” just like Conakry, the capital of Guinea (and hometown of drummers Fodé and Sana Bangoura). The Twin Cities group combines West African rhythms with Irish and Scottish melodies. Their debut album is called “Badenya,” which is Mandinka for a family relationship that encompasses extended family. There is an album release concert Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Celtic Junction Art Center in St. Paul. Ibrahima says: There is something nostalgic about the sound, how it both transport and transfixes. It both reminds me of the Guinean ceremonies and celebrations, and the feeling I get when I see pictures and videos of the Irish countryside. I think a blending of music tradition gives a result that's truly more than the sum of its parts. When I listen to Canadh Croí, they don't only take me to Guinea and the Ireland I imagine, but also a place totally different, new and refreshing, a place that I believe is as American as the Statue of Liberty. This is especially important to remember and celebrate in today's immigration climate, that one of the amazing and beautiful things about America is the opportunity it gives to bring together seemingly different cultures, to create something new, fresh and totally wonderful. — Ibrahima Kaba (IBé)

    5 min

  8. JAN 8

    Art Hounds: Fiber art at MIA, a multimedia premiere in Rochester and surreal sisterhood onstage

    From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.  Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here. Fiber art finds a spotlight Sandra Brick, a teaching artist at the Textile Center of Minnesota, recommends a trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to see Amy Usdin’s contemplative fiber arts exhibit, “After All.“ The show runs through Feb. 22 in the U.S. Bank Gallery. Sandra says: I think it’s really great that Mia is giving fiber art this call-out in this show because, historically, fiber art has been considered a craft, and by having this exhibit at Mia, we’re saying that it is an art. Amy's art is an expression of connection and transformation. There's woven layers, knots, found objects and time-composed pieces, both large and small, and many are hanging from the ceiling. So it's a truly immersive experience. You get to walk around the art. I would check it out just to learn and see how simple processes, like weaving, knotting, can be transformed into really contemplative, transformative pieces. A lot of the pieces are very airy, and so you're actually seeing through them. You see how it all blends together and flows into one really great use of the space. — Sandra Brick Multimedia storytelling takes the stage Performance enthusiast Laurel Podulke-Smith of Rochester follows the work of local artist Jessalyn Finch, who has a short multimedia film debuting this weekend. “Embodied Landscapes” is the creation of Finch, Mary Mailand Schlichting and Laura Sukowatey. The film incorporates dance, large-scale drawing and sculpture. The premiere takes place at the Historic Chateau Theatre in Rochester on Sunday, Jan. 11. Screenings are at 2 and 3:15 p.m., with an artist talk and Q&A in between. Attendees are encouraged to wear cocktail attire and enjoy mocktails while meeting the artists. Surreal sisterhood in ‘Plano’ Minneapolis theater maker Caleb Byers recommends “Plano,” presented by Third Space Theater. The play runs Jan. 9–18 at the Alan Page Auditorium at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis. Caleb says he’s been anticipating this production since seeing Third Space Theater’s original show “Breach” at the Fringe Festival. Caleb describes the play: Will Arbery is something of a magical realist-slash-surrealist playwright. And “Plano” is about three sisters, essentially in a sort of heightened reality and a sort of undisclosed period of time. Time is a little bit strange in “Plano.” They, in a very surreal style, move through their specific problems. There’s very snappy, casual, modern dialogue. I'm incredibly excited for these artists in particular to tackle this. — Caleb Byers

    4 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.2
out of 5
26 Ratings

About

Each week three people from the Minnesota arts community talk about a performance, opening, or event they're excited to see or want others to check out.

Information

  • Creator
    Minnesota Public Radio
  • Years Active
    2012 - 2026
  • Episodes
    61
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Minnesota Public Radio
  • Show Website
    Art Hounds

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