Archive: Arts in Minnesota
an award-winning online series celebrating the rich diversity of arts in our great state
When YAANW pivoted to virtual events, we knew we wanted to talk about how the arts community in particular was navigating this pandemic while also highlighting the incredibly rich diversity of arts here in the North Star State.
Each month, we have hosted a new episode in the series, with theater critic Rohan Preston ‘89 serving as the emcee during each of them.
By the end of 2020, this online series had become such a smashing success that the Yale Alumni Association presented its Board of Governors Excellence Award to our association “for embracing Yale values of openness, inclusion, collaboration, and impact, and for enhancing and renewing the lifelong Yale experience for all alumni.”
Below is a selection of the events. To hear about future virtual (and live!) events, be sure to subscribe to our monthly newsletter here.
VIDEO: Laila Robins & Kate Nowlin
Two noted St. Paul-bred stage and screen stars talk about their lives, joys and work during the pandemic.
Laila Robins '84 MFA has appeared at the Guthrie in the title role of “Antony and Cleopatra” and in an indelible production of “Summer and Smoke” as well as on Broadway in “Frozen” and “The Real Thing.” The onetime “Homeland” regular now plays a former KGB agent on NBC’s “The Blacklist.”
Kate Nowlin ’01 MFA played Goneril in “King Lear” at the Guthrie, and has written, directed and produced her own films, including “Blood Stripe,” which was shot in the Twin Cities.
VIDEO: From the Rhine to Chile to George Floyd America: a panel on the arts in distressed democracy
Part of the monthly Arts in Minnesota online series, discussing how arts operate in and react to distressed democracies.
Featuring:
- Cadex Herrera, artist and one of the painters of the George Floyd mural at 38th & Chicago, Minneapolis
- Marcela Lorca, theater artist and artistic director, Ten Thousand Things Theater
- Karen Painter ’87, author and University of Minnesota professor who’s an expert on the music and ideology in Weimar Germany
- Sun Yung Shin, poet, educator and editor of “A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota.”
VIDEO: Love in the Time of Corona: Reverie and Requiem at the Holidays
The Yale Alumni Association of the Northwest (YAANW) presents the final Arts in Minnesota installment of 2020 featuring these incredible artists:
- Jamecia Bennett, Grammy-winning lead singer, Sounds of Blackness
- Philip Brunelle, founder and artistic director, VocalEssence
- Lise Houlton, artistic director, Minnesota Dance Theatre
VIDEO: Dreams for a New America
The Yale Alumni Association of the Northwest (YAANW) presents the first Arts in Minnesota event of 2021! We heard from these incredible artists:
- Maija Garcia - director, producer, and director of professional training, Guthrie Theater
- E.G. Bailey - filmmaker, theater artist, and poet
- Christina Woods - executive director, Duluth Art Institute
VIDEO: The Art of Medicine, Medicine of Art
In this latest installment of YAANW's award-winning online series, we explore the intersection of art and healing with three experts who respectively use theater, visual arts and music as part of their therapeutic practices:
- Jon Hallberg, M.D., medical director, M Physicians Mill City Clinic
- Signé Harriday, Twin Cities/NY theater artist and activist
- Annie Heiderscheit, Ph.D., MT-BC, FAMI, LMFT, director of music therapy and professor of music, Augsburg University
VIDEO: Theater Outside Theater Walls: Inspiration and Connection in a Time of Distance
In this iteration of YAANW's Arts in Minnesota series, we heard from these great panelists:
- Sonja Kuftinec, professor, University of Minnesota
- Jack Reuler, founding artistic director, Mixed Blood Theatre
- Harry Waters, performer, professor, dean, Macalester College
- Lily Tung Crystal, artistic director, Theatre Mu
VIDEO: Who You Gonna Call?
Prolific ‘Ghostbuster’ actor Ernie Hudson, who has been sequestered at his Minnesota home during the pandemic, talks about single fatherhood, finding his calling and leaving the Yale School of Drama for a life on stage and screen.
VIDEO: After the fires: Arts leaders chart a post-pandemic, post-Chauvin vision for Minnesota
After a full year of monthly Arts in Minnesota events, the grand finale brings back some past guests to check back in on how the arts have survived this tumultuous year and are rebuilding the road ahead.
Hear from these wonderful guests:
- Sarah Bellamy, artistic director, Penumbra Theatre
- Peter Brosius, artistic director, Children’s Theatre Company
- Maria Isa, podcast producer/co-host at Latina Theory; founder and CEO at SotaRico
- Peter Rothstein, founding artistic director, Theater Latté Da
