Art Hounds: Somali dance traditions, sculptural books and raw photography

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. 

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Showcasing dance from across Somalia

Sabrin Nur is a multi-disciplinary artist living in Minneapolis, and they are excited to see “Dhaxal-suge: the Somali Museum Dance Troupe Showcase.” The Somali Museum has maintained a youth dance troupe since its inception, teaching young people the widely varying folk dances from across Somalia.

This will be the first performance by the museum’s dance group residency program. There are two upcoming performances: at the Paramount Center for the Arts in St. Cloud, Tuesday, May 13, at 6 p.m., and at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis next Sunday, May 18, at 7:30 p.m.

Sabrin reflects on the themes of the show: The storyline is “when a beloved leader falls, who carries the crown?” and I think the question they're asking is a big question for Gen Z and also the Somali millennials who have grown up in the wake of the war, right? I'm 25 years old. For people like me, we've never known a peaceful Somalia.

We've had a lot of our elders looking down to us and being like, “This is your history. This is what we used to be like. Now, what are you gonna do?” They've put a lot of responsibility on our shoulders, and a lot of us are ready to take it on, but it's like, what kind of future do we envision for ourselves? How do we carry that responsibility? How do we wear that crown?

— Sabrin Nur

Books meet architecture meet sculpture

Peggy Korsmo-Kennon of Eagan, a former museum and arts administrator, recommends that people see “Building/Books | Karen Wirth: A Retrospective Exhibition” at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts Main Gallery in Minneapolis.

The exhibition spans 40 years of Wirth’s work, and the pieces spread through the space include architecture, photography, sculpture, books, and the spaces where these disciplines meet. The exhibition is on view through June 8.

The exhibition also marks the 25th anniversary of the Open Book Building and the 40th anniversary of the Minnesota Center for Book Arts.

Peggy says: Karen has an extraordinary ability to think spatially and structurally, creating work with both conceptual depth and visually engaging images. Her projects range from small handheld artist books to major public artworks. Her art is playful, both thought-provoking, blends clever wordplay with striking visuals.

You'll see this in her handwritten text that spirals through the Gale See staircase and in the whimsical assemblages of the Grammar of Architecture. Upstairs there are more works: my favorite are her “Follies.” She takes books and found architectural objects and put them together in a really interesting way.

— Peggy Korsmo-Kennon