The Great Northern Festival blasts into the Twin Cities and beyond this week with a lineup of art and performance. Read on for a couple of events in the festival— including music in the dark with violinist Ariana Kim and a visit by Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. Also this week are two upcoming art exhibitions— Nathanael Flink at Veronique Wantz and Ifrah Mansour’s “The Healing Aqal” at the Gorecki Art Gallery at the College of Saint Benedict & Saint John’s University. Down in Winona, The Minnesota Marine Art Museum launches all new ambitious programming as it ventures into new directions, and photographer John Noltner continues to find peace through the varied stories of people across America.
Freshwater at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum
The Minnesota Marine Art Museum pushes forward with its bold new direction that re-envisions our relationship with water and highlights underrepresented voices. The museum has long been a “hidden gem” in the Midwest for its collection of Marine Art. In recent years, the leadership of the organization has shifted its focus toward contemporary and diverse artists, and is opening four new exhibitions this week that align with that attention.
The first is “Water,” featuring work by New York and Berlin-based photographer Mustafah Abdulaziz. Abdulaziz documents the impact of climate change, investigates water access, and reveals environmental concerns in places as far reaching as Somalia, Brazil, Pakistan, China, and California.
Another MMAM exhibition, “Across a Wide Ocean: Remarkable Stories about the Origins of Identity” takes two picture books as its source material, including “The 1619 Project: Born on the Water” by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson, illustrated by Nikkolas Smith, and The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Khoa Le. Finally, MMAM also opens “Reflective Impressions: The American Society of Marine Artists 19th National Exhibition,” featuring work by more than 100 members of the American Society of Marine Artists.
The First Look Preview party includes drinks, music, a DJ, and an artist talk, and takes place Friday, January 26 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ($20). The weekend festivities continue on Saturday, Jan. 27 and Sunday, Jan 28 with painting demonstrations, lectures, artist tours, and more. ($10 general admission, additional costs for some activities). More information here.
The Healing Aqal
Ifrah Mansour has been developing her project “The Healing Aqal,” over a number of years, often in collaboration with Somali community members and community organizations. Now, the interactive project is getting its first formal exhibition. The work speaks to a longing felt by being part of a diasporic culture, as it creates space for nurturing, intimacy, and communion in the form of huts found in Somalia. The exhibition runs Monday, Jan. 29 through Wednesday, Feb. 28, with an artist reception on Thursday, Feb. 1, 6 p.m. at Gorecki Art Gallery, at The College of St. Benedict from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Free). More information here.
Nathanael Flink: Falling into Place
For his first solo exhibition with Veronique Wantz Gallery, Nathanael Flink explores the art of the fragment in works that utilize formal assemblage of textile pieces. The works evoke emotion and sense through the careful selection of fabrics. Through sewing, dying, appliqué and even paint and marker, Flink evokes the expressions of the human experience, treated with abstraction and subtle sensitivity. Saturday, January 27 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Veronique Wantz Gallery (free). More information here.
Ariana Kim & Steve Heitzeg: light/see + dark/hear
Add a bit of Hygge to your week with a cozy musical performance in the dark. As part of The Great Northern Festival and co-presented with The Minneapolis Institute of Art, composer Steve Heitzeg and violinist/improvisor Ariana Kim plan an event that intersects music and the senses. Visitors will move through the exhibitions surrounding the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s black box theater, Gallery 370, before entering the performance space. There, you’ll be invited to choose a pillow or cushion with which to curl up while you listen to world premiere music. The score includes seven movements that explore time, space, the night sky, and more, in a commission by Dr. Thomas von Sternberg and Eve Parker. Friday, Jan. 26 through Sunday, Jan. 28 at 10:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. ($40). More information here.
Creative Changemakers series – Book Launch and Exhibit Premier
Photographer John Noltner is on a mission to find the commonality of our society. He’s traveled all around the country, mining stories from all sorts of different communities of people as he asks what peace means to each person. This week, Noltner launches the fourth book in his “A Peace of Mind” series, called “Lessons on the Road to Peace.” An event on Thursday features a pop-up exhibition where you can see some of the images in the book, and hear from Noltner about his ongoing work. Thursday, Jan. 25 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN) (free). More information here.
Víkingur Ólafsson
Back in 2022, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson gave a delicious concert at the former event space Aria featuring his bold interpretations of music by Bach and Philip Glass, in addition to a performance of “Mozart & Contemporaries” at the Ordway Concert Hall. Lucky for us, the Schubert Club International Artist Series is bringing him back this weekend for two performances as part of Ólafsson’s international world tour performing “The Goldberg Variations,” by Johann Sebastian Bach. It’s part of The Great Northern Festival. Tuesday, Jan 30 at 3:30 p.m. and Wednesday, January 31 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ordway Concert Hall ($36-$85). More information here.
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