Art Hounds: Three shows on the refugee experience

Ifrah Mansour brings her performance "How to Have Fun in a Civil War" to the Rochester Art Center on Friday. Freelance artist Andi Cheney says Mansour tells the story from a child's point of view, making it accessible for all ages. In performing this piece, Cheney says Mansour is providing a vehicle for Somali immigrants to open up about their own experiences fleeing their homeland and is also helping other Minnesotans to gain a better understanding of their Somali neighbors.

Theater artist Marisa Carr recommends going to see "Freedom Daze" at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. Written by Aamera Siddiqui, the story weaves together several narratives to explain how Muslims have become portrayed as the enemy in the U.S., both through popular culture and in politics. Performances run through Dec. 9.

Opera and theater artist Scotty Reynolds is excited to see the premiere performance of a new local company, Arbeit Opera Theatre. The company is launching with a production of Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Consul," which Reynolds says seems particularly fitting. It details one woman's quest for asylum for her family, and the bureaucracy she must contend with. It won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Performances are Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. at the Wellstone Center in St. Paul.