Culturology 8-25: Treuer named to Arts Board

by Travis Ryder

Dr. Anton Treuer

Governor Mark Dayton has appointed Dr. Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, to a four-year term on the Minnesota State Arts Board.  The board’s eleven citizen-members are charged with stimulating and encouraging the creation, performance, and appreciation of the arts.  Its $60 million biennial budget is appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature; funds are used to provide financial assistance and other programs and services designed to make the arts more available to all Minnesotans.  Treuer is editor of the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language and author of eight books including:  The Assassination of Hole in the Day and Ojibwe in Minnesota, which was named “Minnesota’s Best Read for 2010” by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

The Lyric Center for the Arts is seeking submissions for an upcoming exhibition of Street Art, to be called North Street and running October 5 through November 5 at the center in downtown Virginia.  Media desired includes installation, painting, comic, sculpture, poster art, sticker art, skate board decks or anything "street".  Street art can be a powerful platform for reaching the public; themes can include adbusting, subvertising and other culture jamming and has launched the careers of many artists. like Jean Michel Basquiat & Shepard Fairey.  Submit images of your work by September 9.  Follow this link to find the details.

Culture Calendar

Thursday

Playing the Bill, an original musical by Steve Saari, is about the waning years of vaudeville. It is a tale of troupers, shadow-painted survivors, and lost souls swept up in the immediate aftermath of the Crash of 1929 and the recent advent of "All Talking, All Singing, All Dancing" motion pictures.
Tickets will be available at the door one hour prior to curtain at the Chief Theater in Bemidji Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday at 7:30, and Sunday at 2:30.

"The Lady With All the Answers" is the story of Ann Landers, presented by The EdgeWild Players, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 7 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.,  at the Edge Center for the Arts in Bigfork.

Friday

A correction to our broadcast this morning: The Ojibwe Forest auto rally weekend slated for the dirt roads around Bemidji this weekend has been cancelled due to an inadequate number of entries.

Saturday

"Real Horse Power", 11 to 4 at the Forest History Center outside Grand Rapids. Draft horses provided the muscle to move heavy timber and giant sleigh loads of logs during the heyday of highball logging. This event features the versatility of the horse as a motive of power and the skills of the teamsters, blacksmith and the barn boss in a logging operation.

Bill and Kate Isles play the Lake Bemidji State Park amphitheater Saturday night at 7:30.  A songwriting workshop is at the park from 1:30 to 5 with Bill Isles leading the session.

Kaivama, a Minnesota-based Finnish-American folk duo, plays the Reif Center in Grand Rapids Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

"Ole & Lena and the Great Big Walleye" just finished their 5-show run at the 18th annual Minnesota Fringe Festival. The cast and crew have returned home to Brainerd and will perform two encore performances at Central Lakes College, Saturday at 2 and 6 p.m.

Katie McMahon, known as "The Voice of Riverdance," along with her band and The Corda Mor Irish Dance Troupe will perform at 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday at the Aitkin High School Auditorium.  Proceeds will be used to purchase improved sound/lighting equipment from lakes area suppliers in order to help bring higher-caliber performances to the area.

Sunday

The free summer choir concert at Union Church in Hackensack will be this Sunday, August 29^th at 7:00 PM. Refreshments will be served.  All are welcome.

Tuesday

Itasca Youth Orchestra soloists perform at noon at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Grand Rapids.

Minnesota History Datebook

August 26, 1731 French explorer La Vérendrye and his voyageurs land at Grand Portage to begin an expedition into the region west of the Great Lakes. La Vérendrye eventually establishes a trading post, Fort St. Charles, on Lake of the Woods.

August 25, 1917 Reacting to protests in New Ulm over the use of draftees in the European War, the Commission of Public Safety, under orders from Governor Joseph A. A. Burnquist, suspends Mayor Louis A. Fritsche from office. Other city officials and the president of Martin Luther College are also removed from their positions. These actions effectively end the protests, although Fritsche would later be reelected.

August 26, 1919 The state legislature ratifies the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, granting women the right to vote. Prior to this federal amendment, the state's women had been permitted to vote only in elections for school officials and for library officials, since 1876 and 1898 respectively.

August 21, 1965 The Beatles perform at Metropolitan Stadium to an estimated crowd of 4,000 teenagers, mostly girls, turning the event into what one writer described as "Shrieksville, U.S.A." With the continued popularity of Beatles's recordings long after their breakup in 1970, the irony of early panning is shown in sharp relief by a Pioneer Press comment on the performance: "The Twin Cities was visited Saturday by some strange citizens from another world. They wore long hair and wide grins and were easily identified as Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney. They were the Beatles—alleged musicians."