MN Shortlist Sept. 18-24: A Native comic con, the 20th Arab film fest, mural mania, 'naughty’ crop art 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 crop art exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the 27th Children’s Book Festival at the Anderson Center in Red Wing, a 50th anniversary celebration of the Japanese Garden at Normandale Community College and more.
Chroma Zone Mural & Art Festival in St. Paul — Through Sept. 19
Since 2019, the Chroma Zone Mural & Art Festival has commissioned 80 murals across the South Saint Anthony Park and Midway neighborhoods of St. Paul. This year, the festival features six artists from Minnesota, Seattle and Los Angeles. Minneapolis public artist Daniela Bianchini, who participated in the inaugural festival, is back working on a mural on a brick building at 2336 W. Territorial Road.
“This is one of the great things about Chroma Zone: A lot of the artists get to have their own voice, and usually you don't do that in public art. You have to engage with the community and stakeholders and people with money and all that,” Bianchini told MPR News. “Here, we get to do pretty much whatever we want. So, I wanted to celebrate women in community and people being together for the sake of being together, celebrating the fact that we don't have to be working, producing, and doing things all the time.”
Artists have been painting their murals since Sept. 13 and, on Friday and Saturday, there will be a celebration of the completed artworks. Festivities include “alley jams” with local graffiti artists, mural bike and bus tours and a block party that takes place near Bianchini’s mural. (Alex V. Cipolle)
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Comic Con at the American Indian Community Housing Organization in Duluth — Sept. 19
Duluth-based American Indian Community Housing Organization joins the lineup of fan conventions this fall with its free AICHO Comic Con. The event will be held at AICHO’s center on Saturday.
Organizers will host a cosplay contest, where people are encouraged to dress as their favorite characters from movies, books, games and shows.
AICHO’s Indigenous First Art and Gift Shop coordinator and event co-organizer Khayman Goodsky said the no-cost event aims to make the event more accessible and better represent of Indigenous communities in media spaces.
“I think Indigenous people are very creative, and so when they do cosplay, I think they really go all out for it,” Goodsky said. The event also includes panels with local artists discussing publishing, mixed media and language revitalization. Breakout rooms will be held for social games and building social connections.
“I want to see everyone connect with everyone else,” Goodsky said.
AICHO Comic Con is open to all ages. It runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Chandra Colvin)
‘Cream of the Crop: The Second Harvest’ at Minneapolis Institute of Art — Sept. 19-Nov. 29
The Minnesota State Fair has ended but crop art mania continues, without the lines. This weekend, the Minneapolis Institute of Art opens its second annual crop art exhibition with 30 works of art chosen from the fair. The museum awarded four pieces with the “Hidden Gem at Mia” prize, which honors crop art that reimagines a lesser-known work in Mia's collection, including “La Petite Bergère – At Night" by Rochester artist Diane Klein.
The “Mia Favorite” prize, which recognizes artistry and creativity, went to “Twin Cities 2026 (Guernica 1937)” by Fridley artist Jennifer Nelson – a reimagining of a painting by Pablo Picasso, one of the most famous antiwar pieces in art history. Nelson made hers in response to Operation Metro Surge and featured imagery of Alex Pretti, Renee Good, Liam Canejo Ramos, whistles and the rebel loon.
“Picasso's is very heavy on the anguish, and I wanted my piece to capture not only the difficulty that that time was, but also the way that people rose to the occasion,” Nelson said. “The loon I have isn't screaming in anguish, but it's stoic and standing firm and kind of putting itself on the line.”
Need more crop art? St. Paul has got you covered. Can Can Wonderland is hosting a “Deviant Crop Art Show” Sept. 20-Oct. 11 with pieces that were “too naughty” for the State Fair and the Boréal Art Loft is showing State Fair crop art through Sept. 28. (Alex V. Cipolle)
Minnesota Children’s Book Festival at the Anderson Center in Red Wing — Sept. 19
Minnesota has an incredible kid lit community, and one of the events that best puts that richness on display is the Minnesota Children’s Book Festival, held every year in Red Wing. Anderson Center executive and artistic director Stephanie Rogers notes that, at 27 years, the festival has been going on long enough that people who attended as children can now bring their own. Held outside (under tents!) on the Anderson Center lawn, the event features nine authors and illustrators of books for kids and preteens. A different author or illustrator will read from their work every half-hour. Visitors can meet the presenters and purchase signed copies; participate in interactive activities including art projects and face painting, or grab a bite from a food truck. This free event runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Emily Bright)
Japanese Garden 50th Anniversary at Normandale Community College in Bloomington — Sept. 19
The Japanese Garden is a hidden gem in the Twin Cities, located on the Normandale Community College campus in Bloomington. The 2-acre garden was designed by Tokyo architect Takao Watanabe and incorporates more than 300 plants and trees, including Japanese cherry trees that were specially developed in partnership with the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum to survive Minnesota winters. The Japanese Garden is free and open to the public daily from sunrise to sunset spring through fall; It closes for the year when the pond begins to freeze. Much, though not all, of the garden is wheelchair accessible (details here).
This Saturday afternoon from noon to 4 p.m., there will be a celebration of the garden's 50th anniversary that is free and open to the public. Following an opening ceremony at noon, events include Taiko Drumming and dance performances, a Japanese tea ceremony, garden tours and hands-on activities such as koi feeding, calligraphy and origami.
While you’re there, look for plaques commemorating the work of Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service Language School at Camp Savage and Fort Snelling during WWII. Their interpretation and translation work, at a time when their families were in internment camps, were key to the U.S. war effort against Japan. In the early 1970s, veterans from that school donated key startup money to create the garden.
20th Twin Cities Arab Film Festival in Minneapolis — Sept. 23-27
Mizna is a St. Paul nonprofit that highlights and supports contemporary art, literature and film made by Arab, Southwest Asian and North African,or SWANA,artists. One of Mizna’s annual cornerstone projects is the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival, which runs for five days at The Main Cinema and Walker Art Center. Opening night is Sept. 23 at The Main with a screening of “The Stories” by Egyptian-Austrian filmmaker Abu Bakr Shawky. The festival also includes Minnesota-made films like “Woman Land” and “1001 Arab Futures,” an outdoor screening of a “mystery classic” and a closing reception at the Walker with the film “With Hasan in Gaza,” compiled by rediscovered 2001 footage from Gaza. (Alex V. Cipolle)
