Artists investigate what it means to neighbor, “What the Constitution Means to Me” comes to Artistry, a Red Eye Theater experimental bonanza, new local “sad boy” music and hot glass art — find out more in this week’s MN Shortlist.
Two art shows about ‘neighboring’ in Minneapolis — Through June 20
Attention Merriam-Webster, Oxford and other English dictionaries! Here is my official plug for the word of the year: Neighbor, or some variation thereof. In Minnesota, that term has taken on deeper meaning in 2026, and it has become a source of inspiration for artists.
Case in point: two art exhibitions are currently up that explore what it means to neighbor. “Neighboring: On care, connection and the quiet strength of showing up,” a group show at the Douglas Flanders & Associates Gallery, and “Neighborisms,” a solo show by Julie Buffalohead at TOA Presents.
For the latter, Buffalohead has created new works on paper featuring her signature painted animal coterie that “embody the range of emotions felt – and the actions undertaken – by the people of Minnesota throughout the [Operation Metro Surge], calling out the wrongdoings of ICE agents while formulating community-driven resistance to occupation.” (Alex V. Cipolle)
‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ at Artistry Theater in Bloomington — through June 7
Playwright Heidi Schreck paid for college through winning constitutional oratory and debate competitions. That experience serves as the basis for her 2017 play “What the Constitution Means to Me.”
In the play, a fictional version of Schreck rediscovers one of her speeches about the Constitution that she delivered at American Legion halls in her teens. What follows is an examination of the Constitution — especially the Ninth and 14th Amendments—while even questioning if we should abolish the current Constitution to create a new one. (Jacob Aloi)
‘Second Glance Crop Art Exhibit’ at Kickoff to Summer at the fair — through May 24
If the Minnesota State Fair is the unofficial end of summer, the Kickoff to Summer at the Fair is the unofficial start of the season. What I think of as a “mini-fair” keeps growing, and this year, for the first time, organizers are bringing back a selection of crop art pieces to view.
Considering how long the lines are during the State Fair, the exhibit gives crop art enthusiasts a chance to spend more time up close admiring the artistry of the folk tradition, which has gained popularity since it was featured in exhibitions at the Smithsonian and the Minneapolis Institute of Art in 2025. (Lisa Ryan)
Red Eye Festival in Minneapolis — through June 13
If you need more locally inspired experimental art in your life, the Red Eye Theater has you covered for at least the next month with its “Works-in-Progress” festival (formerly known as New Works 4 Weeks Festival).
The first batch of performances this weekend — a mix of dance, storytelling, satire, sound and textiles — includes “Dear Mom My Gut is Your Gut” by Edna Hand, “A Waiting Room” by Jarek Pastor, “planet of disruption” by Gaya Sani and “trans soils, borderless bodies” by Río Saúl. Saúl says the multimedia performance explores land and gender through “memories of my grandfather, plants, and a small gay bar.”
Also look for the group performance “an experiment in wielding ripples of vibration | INTIFADA INCANTATION” June 11-13 led by star dancer-choreographer Leila Awadallah, a Palestinian American who describes her approach as centering “Palestine, a body-as-homeland practice.” (Alex V. Cipolle)
‘George Pfeifer 60th Anniversary Retrospective’ at The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum — May 22-Aug. 9
For more than six decades, the Fargo-born, St. Paul-based artist George Pfeifer has been making landscape art that ranges from realistic paintings of Midwest nature to pop art depictions of fields and skies.
The Rourke Art Gallery + Museum is marking the 60th anniversary of Pfeifer’s first solo exhibition at the Moorhead artist institution with a sprawling retrospective –— 60 artworks will be on view — through Aug. 9.
“George's work is central to the development of the art scene here in the Red River Valley,” Rourke executive director Jonathan Rutter told MPR News.
Rutter says the gallery opened in 1960, and Pfeifer was involved since the beginning.
“He started out as a teenager taking art classes at the old gallery, and very soon it became clear that he was a capable and really adept artist, and one who had tapped into broader cosmopolitan art movements and made them something local to Minnesota.”
Pfeifer will give an artist talk 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24. (Alex V. Cipolle)
Jeremy Messersmith’s ‘Fox/Coyote’ at The Great Big Jamboree — May 23
Known for his clever lyrics and haunting “sad boy” music, Jeremy Messersmith is a darling of the Minnesota indie music scene. On his 2026 release, however, he taps into his most mischievous energy.
“Fox/Coyote” can be streamed on various platforms, but it also comes as a vinyl LP (Fox on side A, Coyote on side B) which features relatable songs like “Huckleberry,” about the people in your life who you know are toxic but you just can’t shake, to earnest songs like “The View,” which feels like a love song about repairing a relationship, even if it’s only temporary. The album took several years to create.
“The album that I started making is very different by the time I finished with it,” Messersmith said, acknowledging that the last few months have been difficult for Minneapolis in the wake of the immigration enforcement surge that left two U.S. citizens dead.
“You just have to have a bit of faith…that the songs will kind of find a home in people's hearts, or it'll do what it needs to do,” Messersmith told MPR News.
You can hear Messersmith play from the new album May 23 at The Great Big Jamboree in Bloomington. (Jacob Aloi)
‘Kilnforming in the Upper Midwest’ at Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts — May 22-July 22
Foci, a Minneapolis hub for glass arts, is opening a juried exhibition that “highlights the creative breadth and technical innovation of kiln-based glass practices across the region.” As the name implies, kilnforming is a type of glass-working that uses a kiln versus, say, glassblowing or lampworking.
The exhibition features some fascinating pieces by artists based in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin that demonstrate the medium’s range, from spindly crystalline towers to ethereal glowing faces. There will be an exhibition reception Saturday, May 30. (Alex V. Cipolle)
