Disability-focused artist debuts Mixed Blood 12 x 12 series
Alison Bergblom Johnson poses for a portrait.
Courtesy photo of Mark Smeby
Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis has a new series debuting in March.
It’s called 12 x 12: The theater is partnering with 12 artists to put on performances at 12 different locations around the Twin Cities.
The theater is using a broad definition of the term ‘artist.’ 12 x 12 will feature chefs, poets, synchronized swimmers and ice skaters. Alison Berglom Johnson is the first artist featured in 12 x 12. Her work explores disability, identity and joy.
Alison joined MPR News senior producer Melissa Townsend to talk about the upcoming performance.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis has a new series of performances coming up. It's called 12 x 12. The theater is partnering with 12 artists to put on performances at 12 different locations around the Twin Cities. And by artists, I mean chefs, and poets, and synchronized swimmers, and ice skaters.
Alison Bergblom Johnson is one of the artists featured in the 12 x 12, and she joins me now. Hi, Alison. Welcome to Minnesota Now.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: Hi. Thank you.
INTERVIEWER: Glad to have you here. So you are a multidisciplinary artist. Tell me about your creative work.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: Yeah. So I'm an artist with disabilities. Everything I make has some connection to often disability, to joy, to identity. My work might be a collage. It might be an environment to hear a recorded story in. It might be an essay.
But one of the really important to me parts of my career is that I've often worked with other artists with disabilities, both on the career side and on the making art together or presenting art side.
INTERVIEWER: Interesting.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: One of the things Mark Valdez has talked about, and Mark is the director of Mixed Blood, is that part of what he hopes this project will do is reflect back what is Minneapolis now, or Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and suburbs, right now. So that there is that mix of this is a community project. The point is to be community driven, to present in the communities.
INTERVIEWER: Right. And so what have you been doing together that will show up in the 12 x 12 series?
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: Yeah. So it'll be low tech. It'll be in the gym at Powderhorn. There will be some number of pairs of people. Each pair will be facing mirrors, full floor length full mirrors, like you might have in a bedroom for getting dressed, back to back. So each participant is looking at a mirror. They're talking to themselves, but they're also talking to the person on the other side.
INTERVIEWER: So these are some of the things you heard in these meetings you had in preparation for the performance?
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: To some degree I do notice that for me, but also, sometimes, other folks. People get very uncomfortable/nervous going super specific and super detailed. And I think part of that is that there are a number of ways that someone might be nervous about what are the consequences of telling any particular story. And people with disabilities have so many landmines around that.
It may be fear of stigma alone. It also may be fear of someone is applying for benefits. They might be nervous about telling a story that might convince someone, oh, this person isn't disabled. Many conditions, even very physical ones that can be seen, what is the effect of this for this person and their ability to work is something that can be somewhat subjective. And there's a lot of fear.
So there are specific stories. There also-- also one of the things I'm saying is if you want to tell a story that you have personal insight into, please do. But it doesn't have to be your own.
INTERVIEWER: Wow that's interesting. Is there a story that really stands out from what you heard, one specific story?
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: Yeah. There's someone who was disabled in a different way previously and very suddenly had a brain injury. So she is really digging into that back and forth. As we are developing, one of the things we're trying to do is be multifocal because we want to be more than just one person telling one story for 15 minutes. And we've also been really intentional about collecting important information in the process where we're recruiting folks.
We're not trying to ask people to fill out full demographic checklists, or what is your disability. Instead, I think we ask something like how can we change anything to accommodate your needs. Rather than collecting everything you might collect in terms of information, we're trying to be pretty light on that, just what is essential.
INTERVIEWER: Interesting. It sounds like you're putting a lot of care into how you're working with people and how you are managing people's stories. And that seems like part of the artistry of the piece.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: I feel like art is a huge inclusive driver. For people to show up and make art together is such a huge benefit, both for individuals and for communities. Often, people who have disabilities might be meeting individually with providers. They might be being asked questions a lot about what doesn't work. And when they're in a-- and those are not necessarily invalid things.
But it's not infrequent that people are not having a chance to be in community, and for it to go well, and for them to feel seen, to feel like they can express where they're at, or even just to have space to have a bad day, but to do it in community is huge.
INTERVIEWER: So I understand in addition to being a performer, you're also a teaching artist. Tell me about that.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: In my art ability classes, it sometimes surprises participants how as a teaching artist I'm really worried about, how are you feeling about your work? Did you know that this shading you just made is very similar to Chiaroscuro. We can look at some examples from the Renaissance about that.
And then sometimes at the end of a group people will say, what are you going to write in the notes about me? And I can say, I don't write notes. Is there something you want me to make sure program staff know?
And it's similar I think in my work with Springboard For the Arts. I both work individually with individual artists, often people with disabilities. I also teach the work of art curriculum. I'm really hearing from people that it means a lot to them the way I create space and that-- that's really important to me. Anybody who comes to say my marketing workshop is going to get marketing info, but that community piece is always important.
INTERVIEWER: Well, it's been really interesting to hear about your work. Thank you for sharing.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: Thank you so much.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah. Alison Bergblom Johnson's performance piece will kick off Mixed Blood Theatre's 12 x 12 series. It happens on Saturday, April 1 at the Powderhorn Park Recreation Center. You can get more information at mixedblood.com. And I should say, Arts Programming on MPR News is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendments Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Alison Bergblom Johnson is one of the artists featured in the 12 x 12, and she joins me now. Hi, Alison. Welcome to Minnesota Now.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: Hi. Thank you.
INTERVIEWER: Glad to have you here. So you are a multidisciplinary artist. Tell me about your creative work.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: Yeah. So I'm an artist with disabilities. Everything I make has some connection to often disability, to joy, to identity. My work might be a collage. It might be an environment to hear a recorded story in. It might be an essay.
But one of the really important to me parts of my career is that I've often worked with other artists with disabilities, both on the career side and on the making art together or presenting art side.
INTERVIEWER: Interesting.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: One of the things Mark Valdez has talked about, and Mark is the director of Mixed Blood, is that part of what he hopes this project will do is reflect back what is Minneapolis now, or Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and suburbs, right now. So that there is that mix of this is a community project. The point is to be community driven, to present in the communities.
INTERVIEWER: Right. And so what have you been doing together that will show up in the 12 x 12 series?
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: Yeah. So it'll be low tech. It'll be in the gym at Powderhorn. There will be some number of pairs of people. Each pair will be facing mirrors, full floor length full mirrors, like you might have in a bedroom for getting dressed, back to back. So each participant is looking at a mirror. They're talking to themselves, but they're also talking to the person on the other side.
INTERVIEWER: So these are some of the things you heard in these meetings you had in preparation for the performance?
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: To some degree I do notice that for me, but also, sometimes, other folks. People get very uncomfortable/nervous going super specific and super detailed. And I think part of that is that there are a number of ways that someone might be nervous about what are the consequences of telling any particular story. And people with disabilities have so many landmines around that.
It may be fear of stigma alone. It also may be fear of someone is applying for benefits. They might be nervous about telling a story that might convince someone, oh, this person isn't disabled. Many conditions, even very physical ones that can be seen, what is the effect of this for this person and their ability to work is something that can be somewhat subjective. And there's a lot of fear.
So there are specific stories. There also-- also one of the things I'm saying is if you want to tell a story that you have personal insight into, please do. But it doesn't have to be your own.
INTERVIEWER: Wow that's interesting. Is there a story that really stands out from what you heard, one specific story?
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: Yeah. There's someone who was disabled in a different way previously and very suddenly had a brain injury. So she is really digging into that back and forth. As we are developing, one of the things we're trying to do is be multifocal because we want to be more than just one person telling one story for 15 minutes. And we've also been really intentional about collecting important information in the process where we're recruiting folks.
We're not trying to ask people to fill out full demographic checklists, or what is your disability. Instead, I think we ask something like how can we change anything to accommodate your needs. Rather than collecting everything you might collect in terms of information, we're trying to be pretty light on that, just what is essential.
INTERVIEWER: Interesting. It sounds like you're putting a lot of care into how you're working with people and how you are managing people's stories. And that seems like part of the artistry of the piece.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: I feel like art is a huge inclusive driver. For people to show up and make art together is such a huge benefit, both for individuals and for communities. Often, people who have disabilities might be meeting individually with providers. They might be being asked questions a lot about what doesn't work. And when they're in a-- and those are not necessarily invalid things.
But it's not infrequent that people are not having a chance to be in community, and for it to go well, and for them to feel seen, to feel like they can express where they're at, or even just to have space to have a bad day, but to do it in community is huge.
INTERVIEWER: So I understand in addition to being a performer, you're also a teaching artist. Tell me about that.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: In my art ability classes, it sometimes surprises participants how as a teaching artist I'm really worried about, how are you feeling about your work? Did you know that this shading you just made is very similar to Chiaroscuro. We can look at some examples from the Renaissance about that.
And then sometimes at the end of a group people will say, what are you going to write in the notes about me? And I can say, I don't write notes. Is there something you want me to make sure program staff know?
And it's similar I think in my work with Springboard For the Arts. I both work individually with individual artists, often people with disabilities. I also teach the work of art curriculum. I'm really hearing from people that it means a lot to them the way I create space and that-- that's really important to me. Anybody who comes to say my marketing workshop is going to get marketing info, but that community piece is always important.
INTERVIEWER: Well, it's been really interesting to hear about your work. Thank you for sharing.
ALISON BERGBLOM JOHNSON: Thank you so much.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah. Alison Bergblom Johnson's performance piece will kick off Mixed Blood Theatre's 12 x 12 series. It happens on Saturday, April 1 at the Powderhorn Park Recreation Center. You can get more information at mixedblood.com. And I should say, Arts Programming on MPR News is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendments Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
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