The biggest art crawl in the universe, interactive theater at the historic Searle Mansion, Duluth music, mental health at the movies and painted outdoor folklore in Winona — find out more in this week’s MN Shortlist.
Art-A-Whirl in Northeast Minneapolis Arts District — May 15-17
Art-A-Whirl, one of the biggest art events of the year, returns this weekend to the artist mecca that is northeast Minneapolis. The Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association says it's the largest open artist studio tour in the country and why fact-check that when it feels so true?
The association says more than 1,600 artists, galleries and businesses open their doors at 100-plus locations. Last year, for the art crawl’s 30th anniversary, they estimated there were 120,000 attendees. That said, it’s advised to find alternative forms of transit, from biking and trolleys to free Metro Transit (the Whirl has a handy guide).
Once you’re there, it’s a whirlwind of art demos and markets, live music (The Current also has a handy guide), food trucks and opportunities to meet artists in their workspaces.
A few picks we’re looking at: Community-building a ceramic city at Aldo Moroni Studios all weekend long in the California Building; the “Artlesque: A Dark Mythology Burlesque Show” Saturday at Marble Fae Creative Collective, bra-printing demos Saturday and Sunday at the Casket Arts Building and, most curiously, the “Make Your Own LICK Art (For Dogs)” all weekend long at Logan Park which sounds like it includes loads of peanut butter.
There are also a couple of ongoing exhibitions nearby that have been looped into Art-A-Whirl including: the ”Cinema Red” exhibition at Public Functionary in the Northrup King Building, “Anne E. Orbovich: deep mapping wildness” at Clifton E. French Regional Park; the 5th Annual Book Arts Show at Open Book and “LEGACY: The Women of WARM Gallery” at the Kickernick Building, which you can read more about in this long-form story MPR News did in April.
— Alex V. Cipolle
‘Fefu and Her Friends’ by Theatre Pro Rata — through May 28
In the 1970s, playwright María Irene Fornés created “Fefu and Her Friends,” a play that brought audiences into the story through a clever narrative device. Told in three parts, the first and third acts are fairly standard for theater — the characters mill about a living room of a large estate as they plan a charity event.
Act two, however, breaks up the characters into different locations (the lawn, a bedroom, the study and the kitchen), where four separate scenes happen simultaneously.
Audiences are then broken into four groups and rotate through each of the distinct scenes and locations, unlocking parts of the story and insights to the characters in the play — with the new order the audience learn things contributing to how the play evolves for them.
For this production, Theatre Pro Rata stages “Fefu and Her Friends” at the historic Searle Mansion in Minneapolis, which masterfully evokes the 1930s New England manse where the play is set.
—Jacob Aloi
Season-closing concert at the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra — May 16
The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra (originally called the Duluth Civic Orchestra) was founded in the 1930s, and it’s about to wrap up its 91st season. The symphony orchestra will perform “Masterworks 6,” Saturday, which will feature Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 — a regal ode to the Rhineland.
The ensemble will also honor its concertmaster Erin Aldridge, who has been with the orchestra for 20 seasons. Aldridge will perform solo violin for one of her personal favorites, Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1.
—Jacob Aloi
‘Myths & Legends of Minnesota’ at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum — May 16-Sept. 13
The Minnesota Plein Air Collective opens an exhibition at the Winona museum that celebrates “Minnesota’s rich tapestry of folklore, cultural heritage and oral tradition as expressed through the landscape, focusing on the lakes, rivers and other waterways of Minnesota.”
Through these nature tableaus, artists dive into local legends, tall tales and personal narratives.
On May 16, artist Neila Harper French and the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota organization will host a “paint-along” demonstration and the collective will host a “paint-out,” both in the museum gardens.
— Alex V. Cipolle
Three exhibition openings at Soo Visual Arts Center — May 16-June 28
The Uptown Minneapolis art center opens three exhibitions by three artists this weekend. There’s “Dream of Dawn” by Yuming “Griffin” Liu, which includes a beautiful and sandy miniature light house installation. Jay Katelansky explores how “Black bodies navigate safely in the United States” using texts in their exhibition “We all live with dreams.”
Artist Savannah Tines, the first artist to participate in SooVAC’s residency, will show sculptural work that “creates speculative ecosystems where nature intersects with the remnants of technological collapse” in the exhibition “A Walk in the Night.”
— Alex V. Cipolle
‘No One Cares About Crazy People’ at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis — May 18
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, marked with major campaigns by organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness to raise awareness and offer education on issues surrounding mental health.
At the Parkway, NAMI Minnesota and NAMI Ramsey County will host a screening of the 2025 documentary, “No One Cares About Crazy People,” which explores the lives of people living with severe mental illness, as well as their loved ones. The documentary is narrated by Bob Odenkirk with a score by Jeff Tweedy, and a brief Q&A will follow the screening.
For further coverage on mental health this month, listen to “Call to Mind” from American Public Media, hosted by MPR News’ Angela Davis.
— Jacob Aloi
