What does it mean to talk about art of place? At Fresh Eye Gallery, curator Alondra M. Garza has put together an exhibition featuring indigenous artists — both Native American and with indigenous roots in the Americas — in an investigation of what the artists from this land are making and thinking about. The gallery will hold an artist talk with some of the participating artists this Saturday.
Also happening this week, a group of local writers and music makers offer a night of performances at the Bryant-Lake Bowl. Jazz lovers may wander to Jazz Central Studios for music by double bass and bass guitar player Ted Olsen, or, head to the Granada Theater for jazz standards inspired by the Blue Note Record Label. Also this week, the delightful comedians of FAWK take over the Ordway. Then, on Wednesday, check out the virtual launch of a book about the origins and history of the Bell Museum.
Fresh Eye Gallery hosts an artist talk on Saturday with a handful of the artists featured in “The Land Within Us,” now on view. The show’s curator, Alondra M. Garza, is a Tejana/Tex-Mex artist based in the Twin Cities, who has recently been announced as a fellow with the Emerging Curators Institute. She’s also had a solo exhibition at MCAD, and has shown work at the Walker and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. With the exhibition, Garza has brought together Native American artists with Indigenous artists of Latin America, in a show that highlights the artistic visions of people with ancestral roots to this land. 7-8:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at Fresh Eye Gallery (free). More information here.
There’s a crack in everything
Head to the Bryant-Lake Bowl for an evening of music and poetry with a lineup of talented Twin Cities artists who have built careers making engaging work that experiments with form. Musician and theater person Jen Scott has put a keen group together, including composer, sound designer and musician Daniel Bonespur, mover, writer and theater performance artist Miré Regulus and Diver Van Avery, known for her work in the public art and engagement realm in the Twin Cities as well as her poetry and performance. Silversmith (Margot Bassett Silver) also performs ahead of her first album release in July. 7-9 p.m. Saturday, April 16 at the Bryant-Lake Bowl ($12 in advance/ $15 at the door.) More information here.
Ted Olsen is a regular face around the Twin Cities music scene, versed in jazz, contemporary classical, as well as popular music styles. A double bass and bass guitar player, he’s played with artists like Aby Wolf, Eric Mayson and J.T. Bates, and he’s been a bandleader with groups featured in the Twin Cities Jazz Festival and Icehouse. His latest album, “Joyfire,” gives a taste of his talents as a composer. See his work at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at Jazz Central Studios ($10). More information here.
The Blue Note Review
Saxophonist Pete Whitman has put together a show of Jazz “greatest hits,” inspired by the iconic Blue Note Record Label, which recorded the likes of Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock and Art Blakey. Joining Whitman for the evening will be Steve Kenny on trumpet, Will Kjeer playing piano, Graydon Petersen on bass and Abinnet Berhanu on the drums. It takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at the beautiful Granada Theater ($30-55). More information here.
The Funny Asian Women Kollective (FAWK) sold out the main floor of the Ordway back in 2019, and are back to the venue this weekend for an evening of entertainment that uses comedy to combat racism. With stand-up, sketches and videos, the group takes on everything from invisibility and dehumanization of Asian women, to sex, misogyny and white supremacy, all with savvy humor. FAWK regulars Naomi Ko, May Lee-Yang and Saymoukda Duangphouxay are joined by local and national guests. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at the Ordway ($37-57). More information here.
Bell Museum
In “A Natural Curiosity: The Story of the Bell Museum,” authors Lansing Shepard, Don Luce, Barbara Coffin and Gwen Schagrin tell the story of the Bell Museum, from its beginnings in an old Victorian Building called “Old Main,” to its recent expansion on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus surrounded by a rainwater pond and native plants. Fans of the Bell Museum’s dioramas will enjoy the history of how they came to become a staple of the institution, as well as the photographs of Francis Lee Jaques’s incredible creations of Minnesota’s natural world. The book opens with “A Note to Readers,” acknowledging the fact that the University of Minnesota is a land-grant institution, meaning it was funded by land taken from the Dakota via the treaty of 1851. It also gets into the nitty gritty of how the museum developed its ethos, including recent groundbreaking research into technology, environmental science and DNA sequencing. The book launch for the publication will be hosted by the Bell Museum’s Science Director Dr. George Weiblen, and will feature coauthors Don Luce and Barbara Coffin discussing public education, with fellow coauthors Lansing Shepard and Gwen Schagrin joining Q&A portion of the event. 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, via zoom (free). More information here.
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