Ya’ll made it into 2008? Considering how my family back in Milwaukee used to celebrate (see: Cannibal sandwich, raw-egg eggnog), I’m surprised I did. But it’s worth it, so I could live to see if my predictions for 2007 came true…
Was the Frida Kahlo show the biggest local art event of the year? Si.
Did the Warehouse District art revival happen? Sort of. Several new galleries moved in. But the bigger story now might be what’s happening in South Minneapolis. For years the city’s sleepy bedroom community, it’s now home to the area’s hottest restaurants and new galleries. The latest opened over the holidays–the Peter Van Brabson Gallery, owned by a nice young guy with ambitious plans. His first show is up through February and features Nick Harper of Rogue Buddha Gallery fame, Kyle Fokken, and Loretta Bebeau. (Not coincidentally, Harper showed Brabson’s work at RB recently, which speaks well of the guy.) His gallery is at 3749 Bloomington Ave. S., 612-532-2095.
By the way, for a ride down memory lane in the local art scene…
Two big shows coming up this year: EERO SAARINEN: SHAPING THE FUTURE, at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts this fall, will focus on the famed Finnish architect responsible for the St. Louis Arch, the TWA Terminal at JFK Airport, etc.
And the year-long Trisha Brown retrospective and Richard Prince retrospectives coming up at the Walker.
But I promised you some plays. Here’s the deal: The History Theatre in St. Paul is hosting a Raw Stages series of its upcoming plays-in-progress, with some pretty impressive names behind them, from January 10 to 13. Especially keep an eye on Tyrone and Ralph, the story of Tyrone Guthrie and architect Ralph Rapson (called, appropriately enough, Tyrone and Ralph), two old rascals battling to build Guthrie’s namesake theater. It’s written by perhaps our sharpest local wordsmith, the fine Jeffrey Hatcher, and directed by the former Fringe Festival head Leah Cooper. And also check out Invasion of the Colored People, whose provocative title matches the satirical material: a musical about the life of the first black nuclear physicist hired by Honeywell, in the 1950s. It’s directed by Ron Peluso, the History Theatre’s main man.
Now go work on your resolutions…
