Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities
17 Unique Stations from Border to Border
17 Unique Stations from Border to Border
Every first Friday of the month, we check in with Katie Marshall, the Executive Director of the MacRostie Art Center. She filled us in on the first Friday events in Grand Rapids this past Friday. She also shared some of the many happenings coinciding with the Rural Arts and Culture Summit that happened this past weekend in Grand Rapids. People from 26 states converged on Grand Rapids for the event which delved into so many aspects of art – from marketing for artists to the economic importance of the arts in rural communities and much more.
Emily Swanson and her husband Glenn started the Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community in Carlton, MN. They are committed to using art and cultural experiences as bridges between people that inspire community development.
I have to thank Mrs. Strickland, a fifth grade teacher in south central Los Angeles…I was a child that was motherless. I was moved around a lot. We didn’t have foster care but I actually kind of cycled between several families – some biological, some not. And, I stuttered, and I was always a new student, always you know, very very shy. And she caught me writing and I used to just write stories that were basically things of whimsical stories about talking animals or something I wanted to say some to somebody and I couldn’t get it out…
“The Felt Here pop up is really… asking how the places we live connect to our family histories, the histories of industry and work in a community, and then also the stories that we tell about who we are and how that relates to the future that we imagine for the places we live….One of the things that I try to do with these art projects is really just create an environment where people can visit. I did one of these workshops in Aurora a couple of weeks ago and a couple of the women who showed up told me they were surprised because they kind of were expecting that it would be an instructional like step by step process like you might do at a traditional art workshop, but really I just put all the supplies out, I explain what we’re doing, and then I make time for people to come up with an idea that they want to work on and while they’re doing that we’re just visiting.” – Shanai Matteson on her traveling pop up art experience, Felt Here.
“…as a vocal professor you teach voice…which is a little bit different than what sometimes people think in the sense that we approach the voice as an instrument. So we are looking for how it functions and how to make that function as efficient and natural as possible. And that can take a long long long time because it takes a tremendous amount of self-awareness and exploration…when people sing in a way that is efficient and natural, they can do it for their whole lives. When people modify their voices in ways that go against their natural function, then that’s going to wear and tear over time and they’re not going to be able to do that forever.”
“Every student is unique… I’m actually teaching a 61 year old saxophone player right now, who is a beginning saxophone player, and he is doing so great…if you’re learning an instrument that’s new to you, the first step is really exploring that instrument. Really getting to know that instrument and playing it in a way where you’re being more creative and improvisational…so there’s really no judgement and then at the same time we have a six level music theory system that helps people learn to read and understand music notation and theory concepts…it’s very free form and focused at the same time, if that makes sense.” Kiki Carter Webb on helping students of all ages get past the fear of learning an instrument.
Kristen Anderson is passionate about art’s connection with the scientific world. On her Instagram page she says she connects environmental science and ecological wonders to people thru art. Her newest exhibit “Overstories” is on display in Aitkin at the Ripple River Gallery. She’ll be giving an artist’s talk Satrday at 1pm at the Ripple River Gallery as part of their yearly Fall Open House and Wild and Free benefit for the Wild and Free Animal Rehabilitation Center.
Four years ago, Lakeland Public Television(LPTV) revived a beloved music program that aired decades ago. Backroads showcases northern Minnesota musicians and has become somewhat of an Austin City Limits of the northland. Each September, LPTV schedules a week’s worth of concerts complete with live audiences. Beginning in November, those concerts and backstage interviews with the artists begin airing on LPTV as the Backroads season takes off.
Northwest Minnesota Arts Council (NWMAC) Executive Director Mara Hanel gives details on grant application deadlines, the amount of money available and an update on the new NWMAC Artist Gallery – located on the Thief River Falls, MN campus of Northland Community & Technical College.
