Green art for the Green Line

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As I walked along University Avenue from Western Avenue to Lexington Parkway during the Open Streets event a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that all the people and activities were centered around the Green Line station areas at Western, Dale, Victoria and Lexington, where there were local ethnic shops and restaurants, arts and crafts for sale, activities for children, and neighbors greeting one another. In contrast, the blocks between stations seemed incredibly long. Even though it was a beautiful day, there was very little to see along the way. There were no displays in store windows, no sidewalk cafes, no attractions to encourage people to walk from one station to the next. The Green Line trains passed by from time to time, the sidewalk was newly paved and lined with smallish trees that will someday provide shade and greenery, and there were a few colorful murals on the sides of buildings, but mostly it was pretty bleak and dull. Continue Reading

Museum Day Live: An excuse to be a tourist in your hometown

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Saturday, September 27 was Museum Day, or at least according to Smithsonian Magazine it was. Five museums in the Twin Cities participated; we visited four. The fun part was that they were museums that we don’t visit often – two were entirely new to me. Celebrating Museum Day really just means you can get access to free tickets but it’s also a good excuse to get out.Stop number one was the American Swedish Institute; this was one of the new-to-me museums. The best part of museum is FIKA, the restaurant. I would go there again in a heartbeat. Continue Reading

TC Weekend | Open Streets Saint Paul and Lowry Avenue, Fall Fine Arts Show and more!

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This weekend offers a number of colorful outdoor events, from hip-hop fests and fine arts shows, to beer fests and Open Streets. Taking place in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the events encourage you get out and savor the last official summer weekend of the year.Let us know how you will spend the weekend by sending your photos and comments to tcweekend@tcdailyplanet.net or tag them with #tcdpic or the name of the event, and we’ll add them to our story. If you know of an event fit for TC Weekend, use our calendar to upload the event or use the email address above. Fall Fine Arts Show: Opening Reception, September 19The Fall Fine Arts Show is sponsored by the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA) and features works from over 150 artists. The Opening Reception offers the opportunity to view and purchase a diverse collage of paintings, photography, sculpture, mix-media art, while enjoying hors d’oeuvres from Create Catering, wine from Indeed Brewing, and live music from Upton Mixx. See the Facebook page for updates.Solar Arts Building711 15th Ave NE, Minneapolis6 p.m. – 9 p.m.Free  PARK(ing) Day, September 20This event is billed as the “largest Park(ing) Day celebration in the Twin Cities,” the second annual PARK(ing) Day, and is sponsored by Experience Southwest and the Minneapolis Government’s Great Streets program. Continue Reading

Honoring Saint Paul legend Leroy Neiman

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When I was a kid, I watched the Olympics on television and they had this artist with a big mustache painting a big canvas. That painter was Saint Paul native Leroy Neiman. Whenever there was a dull moment or a break in the action, the announcer would ask, “What’s Leroy Neiman up to?” and the cameraman would pan to the painter daubing the canvas with bright pigments. Somehow, Neiman was able to finish the painting just as the games ended. It was real performance art. Here’s a YouTube video showing Neiman painting. Here’s another one. Continue Reading

Photo essay captures bizarre phenomenon of college move-in week

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Last week photographer Wendy Schreier witnessed something many college students overlook entirely. Her latest photo essay captures the bizarre phenomenon of move-in week.Originally from Northeast Minneapolis, Schreier moved to the Marcy Holmes neighborhood last April and was astounded by just how much furniture, clothing and general household items littered the streets and curbsides last week as University of Minnesota students moved into their new homes.“It was just a funny transition to see because I grew up in Northeast and lived in Roseville for a really long time,” Shreier said. “And unless you live in this neighborhood you don’t know that this happens, and it’s crazy. The whole neighborhood moved at once.”Schreier said she became frustrated with how much seemed to be going to waste despite seeing several signs for university programs aimed at recycling old furniture and reusable household items. So, she set out on foot and documented the discarded couches, mattresses and televisions in a photo essay she titled Left Behind – A neighborhood moves.But not all those items went to the dump.Last year, Pack & Give Back recycled almost 70,000 pounds of household items from students living on and around campus, said sustainability coordinator for University Services Stacey White. The University of Minnesota program, which works with the city of Minneapolis, collects reusable household items in Marcy Holmes, Southeast Como, Prospect Park and Cedar-Riverside neighborhoods, and then redistributes them for free to students who can use them.The program collects the discarded items before the city collects its trash, White said, but not all the items can be used. Continue Reading

The hands that feed us: Workers at the Minnesota State Fair

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Every year crowds of people head to the Minnesota State Fair, thinking about the food they’ll eat, the rides they’ll take and the people they’ll watch. But how often do we notice the people who make this whole thing happen? From the people who make and serve us the food, to the ride operators, to the folks who clean up after us — who’s working behind the scenes at the fair? This photo essay is just a start in telling the story of the many people who work behind the scenes to give us the Minnesota State Fair. Continue Reading

Kaleidoscope of quilts at the Minnesota State Fair

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Remember kaleidoscopes, where impossibly bright designs shift and rearrange as you turned the cylinder? I thought of those as I looked at the extravagantly colored and stitched quilts at the Minnesota State Fair. Hours of thought clearly go into not only the stitching and cutting, but also the artistic design and patterns. Whether they are painstakingly hand-stitched or machine-quilted, each one is a work of art.

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Minneapolis farmers market photos capture transactions and diversity

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Twin Cities photographer Mark Peterson is at it again. And this time, he wanted to document one of summer’s fleeting moments — the Minneapolis Farmers Market.The prolific local photographer shot over 50 photographs of customer’s transactions with vendors at the Minneapolis Farmers Market on North Lyndale earlier this month. And the results are surprisingly entertaining.Related article: The 30 hottest Minneapolis murals“It’s a moment when people stop walking, stop browsing and actually transact,” Peterson said. “The focus of the whole thing is right at that moment.”Peterson said he went to the farmers market looking for something interesting in the large crowds there, but wanted to get away from the milling about and blank stares. Taking the photos right as the customer handed over money offered a moment of human interaction, he said, and it also offered a sense of nostalgia since using cash is becoming less and less common.“You don’t see the greasy bills and the heavy change,” he said. Continue Reading

SE 21st Ave: A Rob Kirby comic

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I’m Rob Kirby, a Minneapolis cartoonist. I occasionally draw installments for a series of comics called “Time Forgot,” which pays tribute to old and/or forgotten places and artifacts in the city that interest me. The latest episode is “SE 21st Ave,” a mini-tribute to a cool little block in the SE Como area that I took a real shine to.

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