MN Shortlist Oct. 23-29: Twin Cities Horror Fest, Moomin mini-prints and a time capsule
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MN Shortlist is the MPR News weekly roundup of arts and culture recommendations statewide. This week’s picks include a new exhibition by Frank Buffalo-Hyde at Northfield Arts Guild, a a textile arts group exhibition at Lanesboro Arts and more.
Twin Cities Horror Festival in Minneapolis — Through Oct. 31
The 15th annual Twin Cities Horror Festival has returned to the Crane Theatre for a total of 16 days of live performance. Artistic director Nissa Nordland says it’s the largest live performance horror festival in the country, which means stages full of horror-themed theater, dance, music, improv, puppetry and more.
“Kalinga: Feast of the Fallen,” a dance performance about the horrors of war by South Asian Arts & Theatre House (aka SAATH), is one of the buzziest shows this season, Nordland said.
“It is a really visceral production, and our audiences have been really speaking about that one and how it showed up differently in their minds of what horror can be,” Nordland said. “One of the things we love about this festival is that we believe horror is for everyone, and one of the things that unifies us as humans is fear, and we can share our nightmares and learn from each other by them.”
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The fest has everything from kid-friendly shows to adults-only, from an alien invasion and a haunted ice shanty to body technology horror and a 19th-century sapphic vampire tale. The website provides a handy rating system for suggested ages and gore levels. Single tickets are $15, a five-show pass is $70, and all ticket sales go to the artists. (Alex V. Cipolle)
‘State of Grace’ by Frank Buffalo Hyde at Northfield Arts Guild — Through Nov. 12
Northfield Arts Guilds present artwork by Indigenous creator Frank Buffalo Hyde in its main gallery. Buffalo Hyde, who is Onondaga and Niimíipuu, paints Indigenous life through vibrant colors and themes of satire. His pieces have been shown in galleries from Sante Fe, N.M. to Syracuse, N.Y.
“State of Grace” will open Friday, Oct. 23, and will run through Thursday, Nov. 12.
The gallery is open Tuesdays through Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. An opening reception will be held Oct. 29 starting at 6 p.m. (Chandra Colvin)
Moomin mini prints debut at Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul — until supplies last
Mini print machines have been popping up all over the state this year. Incardi Machines, a well-known national brand, announced an exclusive collaboration with the lovable Finnish character Moomin. Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul installed an Incardi Machine last year and is now one of only eight stores in the nation with the prints.
The $1 prints come from a machine that only takes quarters, and customers won’t know which design they’ll get. Bookseller Kelsie Pates said after releasing the new design on Monday, 500 prints had been purchased by Wednesday. Each order from Incardi has 2,000 prints, and Red Balloon has placed a second request. Customers are limited to 10 prints and yes, you can exchange cash for quarters at the register.
“This is so closely related to the blind box craze,” Pates said of the mini prints. “We’ve had a lot of people coming in specifically for it. It feels like even since we got the machine, we’ve had more people who are collectors of mini prints come in.”
Pates said she hasn’t heard of an end date for the release, but the store will likely keep it up through the holidays. (Sam Stroozas)
‘A Common Thread’ textile exhibition at Lanesboro Arts Gallery — Oct. 24-Dec. 20
For 25 years, the Minneapolis Textile Center has hosted a biennial exhibition featuring the work of its member artists, and for the first time that exhibition will be hosted at Lanesboro Arts. On view are 30 artworks – of quilting, knitting, needlework, basketry, sculpture and more – by some of Minnesota’s most skilled textile artists.
A favorite of gallery manager Maggie Schwarz is a quilt called “And Another Door Opens" by artist Emily Chesick that has cinematic qualities. It features an arched hallway with a dark passage at the end.
“It really draws your eye all the way down to whatever's in that dark room,” Schwarz said. “You can see that the artist has really taken care to get the palette and the color of the piece to a certain tone, which is just really inviting, and it's amazing to get to witness that creativity.”
Lanesboro Arts hosts a free opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24. (Alex V. Cipolle)
‘Time Travel Through Art and Letters’ at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery in Grand Marais — Oct. 24
Earlier this year, the Cook County Historical Society launched a project called “Letters to Our Future” as a way to document the community’s response to Operation Metro Surge. With a recent grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, the project is expanding to capture experiences about the summer wildfires, the U.S. Semiquincentennial, mining ban reversals, elections and other major events.
This stage of the project kicks off with a free event from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery where the historical society will give a presentation on how letters help tell histories and a hands-on letter-writing session for Cook County residents to write their own. The event will also host a Q&A for its open call for artist proposals to create a physical time capsule that will hold the community letters. (Alex V. Cipolle)
