This post-Valentine’s Day weekend, find a while to search for healing with the assistance of Twin Cities artists. Whether its engaging with Angela Two Stars and Jaime Black’s resonant interdisciplinary art at Catherine G. Murphy Gallery, experiencing healing music on the Cedar Commissions, or finding the humor in all of the strife with Nora Montañez Patterson’s latest play, art generally is a technique to reflect, grow and look for tactics to make this world a greater place. Also this week, the punk rock poetry and performance series The Riot Act, features comedian Mary Mack, and Gamut Gallery and Blu Dot provide you with a taste of Southern California style. At Urban Daisy in Northeast Minneapolis, ponder latest directions your fashion selections might take when senior fashion majors show their stuff.
Angela Two Stars performance event
In “(Re)Connected,” Angela Two Stars (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate) presents work that explores themes of historical an intergenerational trauma, in pieces that reference, for example, residential schools where Native Americans were robbed of cultural language and traditions. Two Stars’ work also speaks to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement and to ways Native communities find healing. This Thursday, Two Stars shall be doing a performance piece along with the exhibition. While you’re there, you’ll have the option to also view “She Holds Water” by Jaime Black, a Winnipeg-based artist who’s of mixed Anishinaabe and European descent. Black uses video and installation elements to seek out connections between the body, land and water. Each exhibitions run through March 16. Two Stars will perform this Thursday, Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. and likewise on March 2 and March 16 (free). More information here.
Riot Act Reading Series
Local comedian Mary Mack reached a national audience at the top of 2022 when she appeared the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and has been busy touring. Lucky for us, the high-voiced comedian with an earthy bite to her humor makes an appearance this week on the Riot Act Reading Series, a punk variety show that returns to Milkweed Coffee on East Lake Street (to not be confused with Milkweed Editions, the book store). It’s a likelihood to see Mack work on latest material. The Riot Act is hosted by poet and author Paul D. Dickinson, creator of “Junker Dreams,” a memoir of affection and junker cars. The long-running series has travelled to different venues across the Twin Cities, including the Turf Club, Dead Media, and Ground Zero. Besides Mack, the bill includes poets Danika Stegeman LeMay and Scott Vetch. The shindig takes place Thursday, Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Milkweed Coffee (free). More information here.
Astroturf
Gamut Gallery teams of with the furniture design firm Blu Dot for a gaggle exhibition that toys with the notion of appearances versus authenticity. Southern California artist Rachel Barnes (Human Shaped Animal) brings her plant-infused creations to the show together with Neal Breton, also based in Southern California, whose vivid, sunny abstract paintings can have you dreaming of California sunshine. Minnesota artists Genie Castro and Nicole Mueller are a part of the exhibition, together with pieces by Blu Dot. Expect a show full of daring pop with a touch of mid-century architecture. The general public opening takes place Friday, Feb. 16 from 6 to 9 p.m. ($7 pre-sale, $10 door) with the exhibition running through March 18. More information here.
Code You
Nora Montañez Patterson, who was recently announced because the casting and producing associate on the Playwrights’ Center, is the playwright and director for a brand new dark comedy being presented by Exposed Brick Theatre. Previously workshopped with Exposed Brick’s “Through Our Eyes” project, which commissioned eight artists to create work in the course of the pandemic, “Code You” takes on the pandemic era with humor and a watch toward healing. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Feb. 16 to 18 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m., through February 25 at Dreamland Arts ($22, 15 discounted for college students, seniors, those within the Latine community). More information here.
The Cedar Commissions
Extend your Valentine’s Day week by treating yourself to latest music, courtesy of the Cedar Commissions. A fellowship program supported by the Jerome Foundation, the Cedar Commissions helps emerging artists get to the following level of their careers. It’s divided into two nights. Friday, you’ll hear music that takes on the oil industry by Aram Kavoossi (biaban), a mixture of poetry, rapping, dancing and positive by DJ Fawzi | “Caruurteena,” and a song cycle by Emily Boyajian that attracts on texts by transgender community members. On Saturday, Theo Langason, a well-known face within the Twin Cities theater and performance scene, mixes music and community engagement to grapple with the problems of today. Also on Saturday, Sophia Deutsch meditates on grief, and Cydi Yang’s “Soul Call” find connection through connecting to her roots. Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. on the Cedar ($15, $25 two-show pass). More information here.
Apparel Design Fashion Showcase
Pick up some fashion suggestions from this 12 months’s seniors on the University of Minnesota, who shall be sharing their ideas for future fashion at an upcoming showcase. From fashion lines that explore adaptability for people of all abilities (like using magnetic snaps as a substitute of zippers and buttons), sustainable collections using zero waste patterning and natural fabrics, and designs that explore gender fluidity, cultural storytelling and more, it’s a foray into what the following generation of clothing makers are occupied with. It takes place Saturday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. and seven p.m. at Urban Daisy ($35 VIP, $22 general seating). More information here.