I had a meeting with Kimberly Nightingale in Lowertown two weeks ago and, sure enough, we got invited to play around with a Hasbro toy from our youth. Ta-coumba Aiken is the talent behind the world’s largest (they are going for the world record) Lite-Brite sculpture planned for the Union Depot. I am told that the bright sculpture will measure 9 x 27 feet and illuminate some 570,000 tiny blue, green, pink and red transparent pegs.
The Saint Paul Almanac is pleased to announce the fifth in its 2012–2013 season of acclaimed Lowertown Reading Jams, which celebrate the rich literary history of Minnesota’s capital city. The “When Poets Found Bass” Lowertown Reading Jam will be presented on Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar, 308 Prince Street in Saint Paul. This presentation of the popular and eclectic series, curated by Saymoukda Vongsay, features performances by Fres Thao, Desdamona, Truthmaze and Saymoukda Vongsay, with music by DJ Kool Akiem.
David “Dancin’ Dave” Marcotte could be considered a household name in the Twin Cities Hip Hop community. Dancin’ Dave became nationally known as one of the original Red Bull Beatriders after participating in weeklong workshops with Masters of Hip-Hop Dance, an event that was sponsored by Red Bull. He competes and judges competitions both locally and nationally and has even been brought to Europe several times in the last few years as a dance instructor, competition judge, and featured performer. David continues to teach and perform bringing with him wherever he goes a deep comprehensive knowledge of both his crafts as well as the various elements of Hip Hop culture.
The City of Saint Paul has announced that the groundbreaking has begun on an exciting new near-Downtown Saint Paul affordable housing project, the Schmidt Brewery Artist Lofts. The historic Schmidt Brewery has featured in several editions of the Saint Paul Almanac. The $120 million project will redesign the historic Schmidt Brewery to specifically meet the needs of artists. Schmidt Brewery, built in the 1930s, will have 260 units after the full-scale renovations, including 121 units in the bottling house, 126 units in the brew house and 13 new construction townhouse units built on a vacant lot adjacent to the bottling house.
Around the Editors’ Table is the freshly-baked-pulled-from-the-oven-steaming-hot blog that will feature original writing by members of Saint Paul Almanac’s community editor group. We envision this blog as a place to get to know the editors, past and present, through their personal writing. It will feature poetry, prose, lyrics, interviews, articles, Spoken Word compositions and more. Text, photography, artwork are all welcome.
The full list of monthly Wednesday Lowertown Reading Jams For 2012–2013 . Events take place at the Black Dog Café, 308 Prince Street, 7-8:30 p.m., each with a featured curator.
AZ Gallery’s annual Winter Carnival Children’s Art show is back! The show features artwork by elementary and middle school students from public and private schools throughout St Paul, in celebration of the St Paul Winter Carnival. Visit the Winter Carnival Children’s Art Show at the AZ Gallery, 308 Prince Street #130, St. Paul, MN 55101. January 24th–February 3th, 2013. Gallery Hours: Thursday & Friday 5:30-8:30pm, Saturday & Sunday 9:00am-3:00pm.
Photos from the January 23rd “Nuevo Mestizos” Lowertown Reading Jam with Louis Alemayehu. “We will explore through song, story and spoken word some of the ideas of Gloria Anzuldua as to what it means to live in the border lands of culture, race, sex, class and nationality. There is a visionary identity that connects us to the world, ecologically, spiritually, politically, culturally in a new way… Nuevo Mestizos.”
The sunrise hits the roof,
and turns it into peaches.
As an artist, performer, poet, educator, spoken word artist, dancer, and director, Antoine Duke is indeed a man of many hats. As a 19-year-old performer and teaching artist he has received grants, founded companies, and has competed nationally as a spoken word artist. Antoine is currently working for Pillsbury House Theater. Antoine chooses social justice education through theater, and art because he believes that art cannot only teach creative, and powerful practices, but also because it can educate us on how to become better human beings. He says that “Art allows you to listen to the world around you and take in other perspectives.”
Saymoukda “Mooks” Vongsay is a Lao American poet and playwright whose passion is arts advocacy. Her work has been published by Altra Magazine, The Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, Saint Paul Almanac, Lao American Magazine, and Bakka Literary Journal, to name a few. Vongsay pens the series Pushing the Pen, published weekly in the Asian American Press, interviewing literary artists from across the nation. She has taught and performed spoken word poetry from the Midwest to the East and West coasts, as well as in Italy and Japan.
Patricia Van Ert is a poet, writer, storyteller, mentor, social activist and mother. She is an enrolled member of the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation and a member of the TGI-Frybread Native American writing group at the Loft. Currently working on a monologue around congestive heart failure and a series of children’s stories, Van Ert is creative director/teacher of Words Out Loud—a spoken word poetry group and class at the Rondo Library from 2006–2010.
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