This month I intended to write in depth about a number of exciting events that are happening in the Twin Cities, and after a fashion I suppose I will. The thing is, this month I have been reminded why all of these wonderful events are out there to be seen. It is because of the people who dedicate themselves, often for little recognition and less remuneration, to the art of …more…
Archives for May 2012
Arts America Blog
My Experience at 2012 ArtWalk, Simsbury!
May 31, 2012 by
Last Saturday May 19th Simsbury, Connecticut welcomed local artists onto their main street and into their shops for the Simsbury ArtWalk. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, perfect for the artists that hope to make the event an annual celebration of the arts. The diversity of the event made it enjoyable for all ages, and allowed many to experience local fine art, music, dance, and craft. A wide array of styles and …more…
Santa Fe International Folk Art Market
May 31, 2012 by
photo credit Bob Smith
July 13 – 15, the largest global pop up market comes to town. Part shopping fest, global eatery, and cultural + world music extravaganza, The International Folk Art Market captures large interest (last year 20,000 people descended on Museum Hill just for this event). To promote some continuity, the city of Santa Fe hosts an entire week dedicated to International Folk Art. Of the many …more…
Live Music…and Yoga?
May 31, 2012 by
We have all heard the remarks about Santa Fe being the land of seekers, usually mentioned as a put-down. Granted, there is a fairly large segment of the population that fits into the yoga practicing, mantra sayin’, retreat going, equinox/solstice detoxifying, macrobiotic/vegan/fair trade eating group. (And by the way, full disclosure here: I fit into most of that category myself). Yet, there are times when seekers overlap with art folk. …more…
Two Great Festivals in Berkeley
May 31, 2012 by
The tradition of the music festival emerged from the great choral festivals of the 19th century, and although the most prominent festivals nowadays do not involve choral music, the best festivals are not just an excuse to perform outdoors, program lighter repertoire, or don white tuxedos. Festivals serve as a medium to do out of the ordinary work and to bring together artists usually unavailable to collaborate.
Two great festivals occur in Berkeley …more…
Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival: Composing, Maybe… Rehearsing, Not So Much
May 31, 2012 by
Summer always feels like a dry spell for classical music in Alaska. The symphonies, the opera, the choirs all take summers off, and it’s no wonder. Desperate for vitamin D, with the precious warm season beckoning, most Alaskans, musicians included, are off fishing, hiking, or boating this time of year. After nine months of brutal winter, what Alaskan would reject sunshine for a windowless studio to practice arpeggios? ...more...
Beat the Heat: A Summer Art Walking Tour of Austin
May 31, 2012 by
Now that school’s out, there are some fantastic new art shows on view in Austin. If you can stand to walk outside in those soon to be 100 degree temps, there are some very cool stops along this short tour of museums and galleries.
New and noteworthy at the Jones Center are the three finalists in the illustrious Texas Prize, a juried exhibition in which one finalists receives the coveted $30,000 …more…
Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
May 31, 2012 by
I decided to venture into the bustling center of Washington D.C. one lazy afternoon (during the lull in traffic) to experience the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. The gallery, which is housed in the recently renovated former U.S. Patent Office, is an impressive marble structure set among otherwise inauspicious office buildings.
As I walked the marbled corridors of the National Portrait Gallery, I was reminded of Washington D.C.’s unique place in the …more…
Journey To The South Pole, Via Miami
May 31, 2012 by
If you are looking for a novel take on an evening of theatre you may want to try Conquest of the South Pole presented by the PlayGround Theatre. Written by Manfred Karge, who is a member of Brecht’s Berliner Ensemble, Conquest of the South Pole is an immersive theatre experience where the spectator is encouraged to move freely through the playing space as the action unfolds.
The play centers on four …more…
Call it a theatre bucket list — make sure you check out all the new shows opening up this fall
May 31, 2012 by
Recently, a friend gave me some words of wisdom. They went something like this: “Life is short; so try to keep things interesting.” I translated that into the following: You should always have something to look forward to because it helps you get through the slower times.
To that end, I took great pleasure in reading through the latest 2012-2013 calendar of events I received from the Fisher Theatre. There are …more…
Sweet, Poison Apple!
May 31, 2012 by
I love to write and I love to compete. So the other day, when I stumbled upon a writing/competing event that’s coming up in July, I fell in love with the concept. I’ll share it with you now, in words that I’ve lifted almost verbatim from the Facebook page of Poison Apple Initiative (PAI), an Austin, TX-based theatre company that specializes in “sharp, dark comedy with a social consciousness.” (Sure, …more…
Summer Movie Madness: June Releases to Watch
May 30, 2012 by
With summer upon us, the season of the Hollywood blockbuster has finally begun. There’ll be more than our fair share of both good and bad films to crowd us into movie theaters on those hot summer days when all we want is a tub of popcorn, a large diet soda, and two hours of a working air conditioner. But let’s dig through the riffraff and find some worthy films for …more…
Angels in America: two parts, two seasons
May 30, 2012 by
Kate Czajkowski and Luigi Sottile in the Wilma Theater's Angels in America, Part One: Millenium Approaches
Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater, one of the city’s leading playhouses, is concluding its 2011/12 season with Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches. The first part of Tony Kushner‘s acclaimed two-part saga exploring love, sexuality, and politics at the height of the AIDS crisis opens tonight.
The year is 1985. In New York City, Roy Cohn, the politically …more…
Guessing Icons on Memory Lane
May 29, 2012 by
Cheryl Cabrera’s sixth exhibit at D.o.c.s. gallery is an amazing collection that will keep you guessing and maybe take you on a stroll down memory lane. Her inspiration was taking famous Icons from her childhood and brilliantly dissecting them on canvas. The symmetry of the lines and the distortion of the faces takes the art to a childhood place. The viewer somewhat feels like they are playing pictionary with an …more…
Good Dose of Grit from San Francisco’s Guerrilla Rep
May 29, 2012 by
We like classic, elegant theater just as much as the next avid theatergoer, but sometimes we’re in the mood for something a little more…well, gritty. When we checked out the Guerrilla Rep theater company we found just what we were looking for. In their own words Guerrilla Rep’s mission is to “explore class in American society through provocative and entertaining new plays created by artists focused on the evolutionary process …more…
Actor’s Express Announces 25th Anniversary Season; Next Stage Gets a New Stage
May 29, 2012 by
For a snapshot of the breadth and depth of the Atlanta theater community, one could hardly do better than a pair of upcoming season announcements by two very different theater companies over the past month.
Actor’s Express, known for its dedication to boundary-pushing works, announced a 25th anniversary lineup of big-name controversial dramas and other productions, signaling that the company, which was forced to reach out to the local community for …more…
Expose Yourself to (Public) Art
May 29, 2012 by
Michael Ryerson_expose-yourself-to-art
Visitors to Portland, Oregon are sometimes astounded by the number of public art installations in the downtown area. Strolling through the central city, a person encounters a diversity of artworks on nearly every block.
Since 1980, the City of Portland and Multnomah County have required a percentage of the cost of new construction or major building renovation projects within their jurisdictions to be earmarked for purchase of permanent artworks. …more…
Miami’s Egyptia 2012 Festival: Celebrating the Art of Egyptian Dance in June
May 29, 2012 by
Egyptia 2012 is coming to town from June 1st to 3rd. Here the authenticity of Arabic Dance will be celebrated through workshops and a final gala performance studded with stars of the genre.
Dance as Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt
We’ve seen depictions of Egyptian dance in ancient paintings and etchings on murals, tombs, and artifacts enough to realize how much a part of everyday life it figured in ancient Egyptian culture. …more…
Brews and Blues Festival at the Springs Preserve
May 29, 2012 by
When summer sets in and the temperatures in Vegas maintain a steady triple digits there are are few things that can get you to commit to an outdoor event better than live music and beer. The Springs Preserve is hosting its third annual Brews and Blues Festival. Last years event sold out with over 2,500 people coming out for a afternoon of beer tasting and live Blues.
Starting at 3:00 for Springs Preserve …more…
Embrace your inner weirdness at The Cincinnati Fringe Festival
May 29, 2012 by
Are you weird? Do you like things just a little….abnormal? If so, you won’t feel alone in Cincinnati during the 9th annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival! From May 29 to June 9, artists and art lovers will converge on Over the Rhine for a 12 day long festival of all things avant garde, offbeat, or just plain out there. Inspired by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Cincinnati Fringe Festival …more…
Take-Home Musicals
May 28, 2012 by
As of this writing, cast albums of most of the recently ended season’s new musicals, revivals, and “revisals” have been or are very soon to be released. So, for the benefit of those who are planning to acquire some or all of the recordings, here in no particular order is my review rundown. Still to come is Sony’s cast album of the ersatz Gershwin tuner Nice Work if You Can …more…
No Rules Theater Company Brings “Suicide, Incorporated” to Washington, DC
May 28, 2012 by
Joshua Morgan, Co-Artistic Director of New Rules Theatre Company, explains the challenges and delights of staging Andrew Hinderaker’s play, “Suicide, Incorporated,” about a man who gets a job with a company that helps suicidal people compose satisfying and eloquent final notes.
1. How did the play “Suicide, Incorporated” come to your attention?
We had settled on our 11/12 season when Brian (Co-Artistic Director and “Jason” in “Suicide, Incorporated”), who had been talking …more…
Lois Dodd Retrospective at Kansas City’s Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
May 27, 2012 by
The first painting I saw at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art’s exhibition Lois Dodd: Catching the Light, perfectly set the stage for the rest of the show. Dodd’s 2010 Shadow with Easel (above) portrays the essential qualities of her works: observations of herself, the place(s) she inhabits, and the interaction between the two. The painting also shows playful brushstrokes and a bent towards the representational.
Dodd’s retrospective is a testament …more…
HYAC 25th Anniversary Reunion Concert
May 27, 2012 by
As one the the foremost leaders in publicizing classical music for young people all over Houston, the HYAC continuing this tradition by holding its 25th Anniversary Young Musicians concert.
The mission of the Houston Young Artist’s Concert (HYAC) is to showcase highly talented young classical musicians age 4 to 18 in a variety of venues throughout the city with the hope of fostering a greater appreciation for classical music in the …more…
Jurassic … er, I Mean Triassic Parq Opens This Summer
May 27, 2012 by
The dinosaurs are back, and they’re taking over the SoHo Playhouse. A 2010 New York International Fringe Festival hit, Triassic Parq the Musical (previously titled Jurassic Parq) will rule Off-Broadway this summer with a limited engagement currently scheduled from June 12 to August 5.
I attended the original Fringe Festival run with some trepidation. Given my longstanding affection for the book and movie Jurassic Park, I was intrigued. But I also …more…
