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June 22, 2008

Au revoir, Theatre de la Jeune Lune

Approximately 20 minutes ago, on a breezy, beautiful Sunday morning not unlike those we imagine the south of France to be blessed with almost daily, the Theatre de la Jeune Lune issued a press release disclosing that the Minneapolis company's board of directors had voted this week "to list the theatre's headquarters for sale and to shut down the arts group as currently organized."

For the troupe that more than any other had defined the inventiveness of the Twin Cities theater scene in its 30 years of
highly original, physical performances, an accumulation of financial and artistic shortcomings had thrown the troupe off its equilibrium. That the theatre had always been a little off-balance had been part of the excitement--they... Read more »

June 18, 2008

Yuri's last show plus movie and jazz festivals

It's true--everyone loves a parade. Except me. Same with most outdoor music festivals. A lot of hustle, planning, and putting up with Joe Public, just to sit on my butt and sunburn. Too passive, on a nice day. And yet, while I wish our town landed some festivals like this, I'll also say the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, formerly the Hot Summer Jazz Festival, also gets me off my feet and on my butt simply because of its agreeable venues, top-notch lineup, and pretty-good price: free.

Held June 19 to 29, the 10th annual festival features Ravi Coltrane, Charmaine Neville, and Salsa Del Soul, among others, for free at Peavey Plaza in Minneapolis and Mears Park in St. Paul.
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Posted on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 in Front & Center | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 11, 2008

The future of Twin Cities arts, today

This Thursday, June 12, at 5:30 pm in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the future of arts in the Twin Cities will be determined.

Or not. But in this fairly unprecedented convocation of Minneapolis institutions convened by the City of Minneapolis Arts Commission, the discussion will happen. With the attention given the Minneapolis arts scene having arguably peaked in 2005, with additions to the Walker Art Center, the Children's Theatre Company, the MIA, etc., where do we go from here? How do we sustain our reputation as a national arts center? How do we get more people through the doors while maintaining artistic integrity? Those are the topics of this panel discussion involving curantor Philippe Vergne of the Walker Art Center, curator Jennifer Komar Olivarez of the MIA,... Read more »

Posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 in Front & Center | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 6, 2008

Alec Soth, MOSAIC, and a new gallery

The Minneapolis photographer Alec Soth is remarkable for many reasons: because his original insights into what makes an interesting photograph are right up there with Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, and other greats; because he remains wonderfully humble in the face of fawning success; because we can still call him a Minneapolis photographer.
 
And the book that overburdened his bandwagon, "Sleeping by the Mississippi," in 2005, is now being revisited by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which has recently acquired the entire series of prints. Starting last week and running through August 10, the museum will showcase 26 prints following Soth's seminal journey through the melancholic but inspiring river cities from here to New Orleans.

These prints, of dreamers... Read more »

Posted on Friday, June 6, 2008 in Front & Center | Permalink | Comments (0)