MN Shortlist Sept. 4-10: Grand Portage National Monument artist, Nina Simone at Pillsbury, Penumbra’s 50th and more
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MN Shortlist is the MPR News weekly roundup of arts and culture recommendations. This week’s picks include a woodsy art exhibition at a Shoreview museum, art show for the 40th Duluth-Superior Pride and more.
‘Meet Me in the Forest’ at the Cafesjian Art Trust Museum in Shoreview — Through Feb. 27
After a record-hot sweltering summer, nothing sounds better than stepping into the cool, dark woods. The promo image for the “Meet Me in the Forest” exhibition is a glazed ceramic painting called “Trauma” by artist Amanda Michelle Smith. It’s an enticing rabbit hole, an artwork that feels part “Alice in Wonderland,” part psychedelia, and all woodsy fairy tale.
Wild, dark and sweet nature beckons in the exhibition’s artworks from oil paintings to glass sculpture, the latter of which the museum is known for. “Nature in this exhibition isn’t just a backdrop or landscape, but instead a main character in these stories artists want to share with us,” said co-curator Jill Ahlberg Yohe in a statement. (Alex V. Cipolle)
National Park System artist-in-residence at Grand Portage National Monument — Through Sept. 12
Grand Portage National Monument and the Grand Marais Art Colony invite the public to two free upcoming events with inaugural artist-in-residence Sofia Vanderlan. The Artist-in-Residence Program, which started this year, brings in local artists to create work inspired by the monument’s landscape, collections and Ojibwe cultural heritage.
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Vanderlan, a descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, is a beadwork artist. She will hold a demonstration at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Grand Marais Art Colony. Vanderlan says she is excited to honor her family and heritage through sharing her artistic knowledge.
“Beadwork is a way for me to express joy,” she said. “My goal when I create pieces is for people to feel that as well and also find belonging in a way with the pieces that I create.”
Vanderlan will do art demonstrations at the monument 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, and Tuesday through Friday Sept. 8-11. (Chandra Colvin)
‘Nina Simone: Four Women’ at Pillsbury House + Theatre in Minneapolis — Sept. 5-27
Nina Simone wrote the song “Four Women” in 1966, at the height of the civil rights era. Here, the singer and activist tells the story of four Black women, which inspired the 2016 play of the same name, set in the aftermath of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, when four girls were murdered. Ten years after its premiere at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, the Pillsbury is presenting “Nina Simone: Four Women” with its original director Faye M. Price, a founding member of Mixed Blood and Penumbra theaters in the Twin Cities. Theatre artist and jazz vocalist Thomasina Petrus is reprising her role as Sephronia.
After living through the police murder of George Floyd, and everything after, Petrus says that Simone’s song is prophetic for our own time.
“Here we are in the climate we're in now, very racially charged. A lot of the same things are happening in newer clothes and in more contemporary places,” Petrus said. “It just kind of makes you crazy a little bit that these songs are still so relevant now, today, because it begs the question: How far have we come? And who isn't doing their work? Who isn't doing the work that it takes to change things?” (Alex V. Cipolle)
40th Anniversary Duluth-Superior Pride art shows — Through Sept. 21
Duluth-Superior Pride runs through Sunday, Sept. 6, marking its 40th anniversary. Events include a festival on Saturday at Bayfront Festival Park, a Sunday art crawl in downtown Superior, and a series of art shows and performances. Two Duluth galleries are launching group shows featuring local artists to celebrate the occasion: Prøve Gallery opens “The Queerest Art Show Ever” with a reception at 6 to9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, and the Zeitgeist Arts Atrium will feature “Portraits of Pride.” That reception, including a spoken word performance, is Friday from 5 to 7 p.m., so it’s possible to attend both. “Portraits of Pride” will remain on view through Sept. 21. Find a full listing of events here. (Emily Bright)
Little Thistle Brewing Co. Book Fair in Rochester — Sept. 5
It's almost fall which means curling up with a good book, a blanket and a cup of coffee. On Saturday Little Thistle Brewing Co. in Rochester is hosting a book fair where, of course, a coffee truck by Sugar & Steam Coffee will be on site but also a tap room full of brews. It is the second annual fair, but the first that assistant taproom manager Modesta Headle has planned. Literary vendors include Garden Party Books, Once Upon a Crime, Cream & Amber, Griot Books, Safe & Pink Feathers mobile bookstore, Bookaneer and the Rochester Public Library (you can register for a library card while you browse!)
Headle said she recently got back into reading and has used it as an outlet to relax when she feels overwhelmed by current events. Last year Little Thistle hosted a Pizza Hut BOOK IT! inspired program that was overwhelmingly popular, so Headle got to thinking after she saw other breweries host events that Rochester bookworms might appreciate another get together.
"Highlighting local businesses is a big one for me, and also bringing the community together. Everyone that is here has one thing in common: We love to read,” Headle said. “It's just a great way of bringing communities together and vibing with each other.”
There will also be blind dates with a book available to purchase, the Taco Lab food truck for lunch and treats from Bites by Kara. The fair runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m (Sam Stroozas)
World premiere of “Mothership” at Penumbra Center for Racial Healing in St. Paul — Sept. 8-Oct. 4
Penumbra is launching its 50th theatrical anniversary with the world premiere of a play that looks into the future, and to the stars. Billed as an Afrofuturist parable, “Mothership” follows five people who escape a broken planet on a sentient ship.
This play about healing was co-written by Twin Cities therapist Resmaa Menakem, who is best known for his New York Times best-selling book, “My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies,” and playwright Kristen Calhoun. The show runs from Sept. 8 through Oct 4. There will be post-show discussions with Resmaa Menakem on Sept. 17. and Oct. 1. (Emily Bright)
(Correction: Sept. 8, 2026): A previous version of this story misidentified the piece “When Trauma Comes to Town.” The above story is accurate.
