MN Shortlist Oct. 16-22: Twin Cities Film Fest, ‘Swingposium,’ Walker Design Triennial, scary books and more
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MN Shortlist is the MPR News weekly roundup of arts and culture recommendations around the region. This week’s picks include a culminating semiquincentennial exhibition at the Duluth Art Institute, the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota’s remembrance for Renee Good and Alex Pretti, a book conversation with Patrick Hicks and more.
Twin Cities Film Fest in St. Louis Park and Edina — Through Oct. 24
The 17th annual festival returns with more than 100 films screened over 10 days at Marcus West End Cinema in St. Louis Park and Edina Mann 4 Theatre. Founder and executive director Jatin Setia says that these include the Midwest premieres of studio and independent films, and that 30 percent of the lineup has a Minnesota connection. Setia said 2026 highlights include a documentary shot over 10 years following the refugee experience of a Syrian child (“One in a Million” screening on Oct. 17) and many Minnesota-centric films, such as “A Month in Minnesota,” a documentary that’s already sold out.
“I think it's going to do very well,” Setia said. ”We had a screening; it sold out. We added a second, sold out. We added a third, and it sold out.” The good news is that the film, like many others, is available to stream for $10 during the festival.
Actress Frances Fisher (“Titanic,” “Unforgiven,” “The Lincoln Lawyer”) will also be in attendance because she is the recipient of the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. There will be a conversation with Fisher on Oct. 20, and the Midwest premiere of her 2026 film “Out of the Woods” on Oct. 21.
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“As soon as I saw the film, I knew that I had to have Francis here,” Setia said. “She's one of those actresses that always delivers, and she hasn't gotten recognized in the industry as much as I think she deserves.” (Alex V. Cipolle)
‘Swingposium’ by Theater Mu and TaikoArts Midwest at C.S.P.S. Hall in St. Paul — Oct. 16-18
San Jose Taiko’s “Swingposium” tells the story of how young Japanese Americans found hope during their unjust incarceration during WWII. The story is brought to life in an immersive theater production making its Midwest debut this weekend. Co-presented by TaikoArts Midwest and Theater Mu, the show invites audiences to move around and dance.
Performances are 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, and Oct. 17-18 at 2 and 7 p.m. Advance tickets are $35, or $25 for ages 17 and younger. Tickets at the door are $40. (Annie Russell)
‘Walker Design Triennial: Beyond Materialism’ at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis — Oct. 17-Feb. 14, 2027
MPR News got a sneak peek of Walker's first design triennial “Beyond Materialism” and it’s one hell of a show. There are almost 100 large-scale design objects by designers, architects, artists and artisans from around the world, and each one seems to challenge the quotidian purposes of furniture and other items — a chair on fire, a surrealist seesaw, a fountain about guilt.
“The one thing that unites all of the pieces in this exhibition is that none of them are useful in a conventional sense,” said curator Joseph Grima, who is in town from Milan. “They're not useful in the sense of giving you a place to sit down and eat your dinner, but they are useful because they address existential questions of our time.”
The Walker hosts a free opening day panel (registration required) with Grima and designers at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17. (Alex V. Cipolle)
Bloodcurdling Book Bash in Bloomington — Oct. 17
Trying to get into the spooky mood? The Bloodcurdling Book Bash is sure to help. Horror and thriller authors as well as gothic crafts, tarot readers and themed drinks will all be present. As locals know, Minnesota is not shy when it comes to book events. Rachel Silberman from Adventure Awaits Events is one of the lead curators.
Silberman is also the creator behind the Fables & Flames Romantasy Gala, Rewind Book Fair and the founder of the Book Fair for Grown-Ups (which she no longer organizes). She said her goal with the events is to support smaller businesses that may get overlooked in the mainstream.
“That’s what this is all about. Horror authors kind of get the short end of the stick. Romance is huge, but other genres kind of get forgotten,” Silberman said. “I’m really all about community, that is the biggest thing I want out of this.”
Ghoulish Books, a small local press that focuses on “transgressive spookiness,” will be tabling at the bash. Publisher and editor Max Booth recently relocated the business from Texas to Minneapolis. The bash will be their first event since moving to Minnesota.
“They can find the type of stuff that they might not have a good time finding at the typical Barnes & Noble,” Booth said of what’s available from the press. “Some really niche stuff that they might not even know is a thing.”
The event runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the DoubleTree in Bloomington. Tickets can be bought ahead of time online or at the door for $5. (Sam Stroozas)
‘Concert for Peace’ at Sundin Hall in St. Paul— Oct. 18
The Chamber Music Society of Minnesota is opening its season this weekend with performances both in a formal setting and on the streets of Minneapolis. The full “Concert for Peace” will be held at Sundin Hall at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18. Among the peace-themed musical selections will be the world premieres of two new chamber works by Minnesota composer Steve Heitzeg. His works, “Variations on Peace” (for clarinet, strings and violin) and “Lament for the Martyrs of ICE Violence” (for strings) respond to the federal immigration enforcement surge last winter. Heitzeg said in a press release that he “wanted to pay tribute to the brave upstanders bearing witness to these injustices and to anyone traumatized by ICE.”
This Saturday, Oct. 17, musicians will perform a preview of Heitzeg’s “Lament for the Martyrs of ICE Violence” at the memorial sites of Renee Good at 4 p.m. and Alex Pretti at 4:30 p.m. (Emily Bright)
‘Truths of Self and Materials’ at the Duluth Art Institute — Oct. 19-Dec. 21
At the beginning of 2026, the Duluth Art Institute kicked off “We Hold These Truths,” a yearlong series of quarterly exhibitions marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Christina Woods, the DAI executive director (and the institute’s first Anishinaabe leader), said the DAI team wanted people to grapple with what makes something American art, and settled on a theme that “enables artists to express their truths and give opportunity for community members to come in and talk about their truth as citizens of the United States.”
The final installment, “Truths of Self and Materials,” features the work of woodworker Andrew Webster, painter Robb Quisling and textile artist Lauren Faherty.
“They're each sharing their unique lived experience with how objects hold memory,” Woods said. “A scrap of wood can hold an entire history of a building” and “a quilt can hold generations of knowledge.” (Alex V. Cipolle)
Annual Book Conversation Series featuring Patrick Hicks, University of Minnesota Crookston — Oct. 19
This year marks the fifth annual book conversation held on the University of Minnesota-Crookston campus. Patrick Hicks is an English professor and writer-in-residence at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, and his latest book, “Greater Minnesota: Exploring the Land of Sky-Blue Waters,” is a travelogue love letter to his home state. Describing the book for Art Hounds last year, author Chris Vondracek said, “I came away from it feeling just this absolute sense of how large and how boisterous and how impossibly contradictory sometimes Minnesota can be.”
The conversation, hosted by Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Rosemary Johnson, will be held at 4 p.m. at the Bede Ballroom on campus, with a Q&A, refreshments and book signing to follow. The event is free and open to the public. (Emily Bright)
