My first annual “Post One” Awards for Excellence in Non-Traditional Arts Journalism

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On June 18, the Minnesota Pro (as opposed to student) chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists held its annual Page One Awards. I was pleased to receive the award for Best Independent News Blog for this very blog, and I thought it would be appropriate to use my first post-ceremony post to recognize some people and organizations that deserve awards for their accomplishments on the new frontier of journalism—arts journalism in particular. They may not all consider themselves journalists, and they may not all consider themselves professionals, but they’re all contributing tremendously to keeping people informed and entertained in jobs (typically online) where there aren’t Pulitzer, or even Page One, categories…yet.These are entirely subjective “awards,” and, yes, many of the recipients are my friends. Call that a conflict of interest if you will, but (a) I’m inventing these awards, so I get to make up the rules, and (b) it’s not like those professional journalists who give each other awards aren’t all friends too. At some point, everybody knows everybody and that’s just the way it is. Continue Reading

Big fun with mini-golf at Walker on the Green

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At the suggestion of the editor at TC Daily Planet (and Great Caesar’s Ghost! Don’t call her chief!), I am trying out the slide show feature.The subject is the opening evening of the course(s) at the Walker on the Green: Artist-Designed Mini-Golf. More information is available at Walker Art Center. The link has a slide show taken by another photographer aproximately at the same time as those presented here. Be sure to take a camera.. The Walker photos have the names of the “holes.” Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | Mayor RT Rybak proclaims Social Enterprise Week

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Never heard of social enterprise?  Well, it’s here and growing.  That’s why RT Rybak has proclaimed this to be Social Enterprise Week in Minneapolis.  Minnesota has sometimes been called the “Land of 10,000 Non-Profits,” so deeply embedded is the culture of compassionate support. It’s not surprising that the Twin Cities is ranked #1 for volunteering.  But there are a few new twists on this story. Many Minnesota nonprofits are functioning as “social enterprises” – and yet they might not identify themselves as one.  It’s a new term for a growing national and international trend. Social enterprises bridge the for-profit and non-profit worlds because they operate with a “double bottom line” — profits and social mission.  They sell products and services, which then generate funds that can be used to address social issues.“Not enough people know about the depth of social enterprise leadership and innovation in our area, many started decades ago,” said Mayor RT Rybak.PPL Industries, for example, was launched 30 years ago.  Instead of being primarily funded by grants or donations, they relied largely on fees generated by providing light assembly for larger businesses.  Their operation provided essential work skills and job training for individuals with multiple barriers to employment.  Following a merger with Rebuild Resources last year, the new $6 million organization has been rebranded as Momentum Enterprises.Why are more nonprofits starting or expanding a social enterprise?  Some say it is because they are experiencing the “new normal”, based on increasing competition for both charitable dollars and government contracts.  To become more self-sustainable, nonprofits are increasingly considering the “earned-income” strategies of social enterprise to support their mission.In 2002, CityKid Java was created to raise funds for a worthy cause: the revitalization of the South Minneapolis community.   Since then, they have grown to become a $2 million business selling coffee through Target, Cub, and Whole Foods as well as businesses and faith-based organizations.  The “profits” are used to fund Urban Ventures.  CityKid Java is undertaking an aggressive growth strategy to use this “business model” to expand and support youth in other states.   Social enterprises are as varied as the communities they serve.  Twin Cities based social enterprises include the Beez Kneez, The Arc Value Village Thrift Stores, DumpTech, Finnegans, Genesys Works and Tasks Unlimited.  Another twist is that more for-profit companies are operating with a double bottom line as well, such as Moss Envy and The Data Bank.The Social Enterprise Week proclamation is one way to raise awareness about the social and economic benefits of social enterprise in our communities.  St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman signed one for St. Continue Reading

Obsidian Arts spotlights cutting-edge black visual culture

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“I’m white and I have a lot to learn about black art,” I wrote in February, “but I believe I could contribute valuable insight to Obsidian Arts in an advisory capacity.” That was how I found myself sitting in a conference room at Pillsbury House last week, joining a conversation as part of the nonprofit arts organization’s newly-formed advisory panel.The seed of Obsidian Arts, I learned, was planted in 1994 when the artist John Biggers was commissioned to create a mural—with 17 emerging artists—on a North Minneapolis freeway wall. The mural was torn down for construction in 2001, just a few months after the artist’s death, but the community organization that had come together as part of the mural’s creation was going strong, taking the name Obsidian Arts in 2003 with a mission to promote and examine African-American visual culture in all its forms: painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, fashion, design, dance, and more.The organization’s many innovative exhibits and programs have included shows inspired by protest, gumbo (yes, the stew), Afro-futurism, ideas of God, sagging clothes, and the beloved Minneapolis ZIP code of 55407. Obsidian Arts has also become well-known for the national and international tours it organizes to visit landmark sites of African history and black visual culture around the world.Just learning about the busy organization’s work was enough for one night; the panel will reconvene soon to discuss ways that Obsidian Arts can continue to grow and to engage diverse new audiences in the ongoing story of African-American art and visual culture.Also read “Obsidian Arts shares richness of black art with the community” (Susan Budig, 2006), “Black culture is right ‘under our nose'” (Jimmy Stroud, 2008), and “Afro Art Trippin’: Obsidian Arts broadens local perspectives on black culture” (Makula Dunbar, 2012). Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | Embedded: With the Mosaic Quilting Project in Minneapolis’s Kingfield neighborhood

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I am not the craft-making type. I am a klutz, with an X-Acto blade scar on my thigh to prove it. I agreed, however, to be an embedded journalist–on hand to observe, not to participate–in a public art project in south Minneapolis called the Mosaic Quilting Project.Mosaics are made of little pieces of cut glass, arranged to make a picture. Glass is dangerous. Ancient people made arrowheads out of glass, and modern people hit each other with beer bottles.”We don’t eat at the tables where we’re gluing down the glass pieces,” one of the mosaic project coordinators, Mary Ann Schoenberger, told me. Continue Reading

Q&A with Minneapolis fashion designer Brianna Westlund

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Brianna Westlund is a young fashion designer from Longfellow who is having her first independent show, Vintage Vixen, this Saturday at T’s Place on East Lake Street. In February, she was one of four designers to be included in MN Fashion’s Emerging Designer’s Showcase during Fashion Week. Her designs have been described as “feminine and classic…not only wearable, but meticulously constructed” by l’etoile, a Minnesota arts magazine.We wanted to learn more about Westlund, her designs, and plans for growing her design business SIX25designs.MB: When did you first become interested in pursuing fashion design?BW: I have approached the world from a design perspective since I was a very young child and, as my family often reminds me, the signs were there from very early on that I would follow this path. It wasn’t until my sophomore year of high-school that I realized that I could pursue design as a career choice however. Once I became aware of it that was kind of it for me, I knew from then on that I would work towards this and here I am incredibly sleep deprived but elated to know that I have the skills and determination to move forwards with this venture. Continue Reading