Art Hounds: Landscapes from southern Minnesota celebrate light

Plus, M.A.C. House Gifted Variety Show puts emerging artists on stage, and a dance film’s world premiere invites audiences to listen well

"March Fields" by artist Hannah C. Heyer.
"March Fields" by artist Hannah C. Heyer.
Photo by Mitch Rossow Photography

Landscape painter Joshua Cunningham was delighted to see Hannah C. Heyer’s show “Wanderings'' at the Frameworks Gallery in St. Paul. Heyer is a self-taught artist from Nodine, Minn. Cunningham describes Heyer’s subject matter as “that rolling country that the last ice age didn’t get to.”

Her oil and watercolors, some painted outdoors year-round, are inspired the land her family has farmed for generations.

"A Handful" by artist Hannah C. Heyer.
"A Handful" by artist Hannah C. Heyer.
Courtesy of Hannah C. Heyer

“There’s a real intent in trying to share the specificity of that light, that day, that season, in that painting,” says Cunningham.

The show is up through March 27 online and in-person. 

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St. Paul singer-songwriter Shahidi always keeps an eye out for events put on by M.A.C. House in Minneapolis. M.A.C. stands for Mastering the Art of Communication, and it’s a Black-owned artist collective that coordinates arts and community service events.

“I think it’s just a pillar for the arts community,” says Shahidi. “For artists to have a space to share their arts, especially inside the Black community … it’s a space for young artists as well to connect and share their art.”

On Saturday, M.A.C House is putting on The Gifted Variety Showcase at the Underground Music Café in Minneapolis. The show runs 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Masks are required, and attendance is limited to 25 percent building capacity in accordance with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines.


Dancer Kelli Miles is looking forward to the premier of “Give Ear,” a contemporary dance film about listening and what it would mean to listen a lot more. The production is a collaboration between dance choreographer Berit Ahlgren and theater-maker Nathan Keepers.

The show was scheduled to be performed last March. Miles says the production got to its final dress rehearsal before theaters were closed due to the pandemic. Over the past year, the show has been expanded and reimagined to respond to this summer’s social justice movement, the election, and COVID-19.

The show premieres March 19 through the Cowles Center for Dance website, with a live Q&A to follow. The video will be available on-demand through the weekend.

This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.