Salon Saloon // The Home & Garden Show (Photos by Zoe Prinds-Flash)
Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of Salon Saloon? Well, for a very long time, I did. And on Tuesday, January 24th I finally got the sneak peek I’ve dreamed of my entire life (we’re talking womb-dreams here, guys). Though Home and Garden was the third Salon Saloon I’ve attended as a Regular Jane audience member, it was my first foray into the seedy underbelly of the SS Ship as a member of the background staff. Which means that I got to be there for the pre-show rehearsal, scurry around attempting to make myself useful after the show, and finally explore the depths of the Bryant-Lake Bowl basement.
Totally rad.
For those of you who weren’t able to make it on Tuesday, here’s what went down from the audience perspective.
The Salon Saloon house band kicked it off with an original home and garden themed song, complete with Donna Reed name drops. Andy Sturdevant informed the audience that guest Ben Heywood’s Chicago flight was scheduled to set down at MSP any minute, and encouraged those with a smart phone (which is apparently everyone in the world except Andy and I) to track his flight arrival LIVE—so intense!
The guests that weren’t currently flying 37,000 feet above the city came up on stage to share their Home and Garden glories.
First up, Broc Blegen, artist-around-town and founder/owner of Hopsack Painting Company. Hopsack, for those of you that don’t already have the neutral beige splashed on your living room wall, is the top-selling paint color in the United States according to Valspar Paint Corporation. Blegen and his team reinvent the traditional interior painting model by only using Hopsack paint and primer. The results are abstract, artistic, and sometimes a little outside the Hopsack bounds—one artist slapped chard from the client’s fridge on the wall just to incorporate a little color.
Next up was Allison Broeren. Allison is the creator of Speak Easy Twin Cities, a monthly reading series, hosted in the homes of friends, performers, and volunteers. The readings for Speak Easy are similar to what you might see at any other live reading, but in a cozier atmosphere and with more freedom to read longer pieces.
Mike Haeg, a regular on the show, talked about his experience as Mayor of Mount Holly, an official city within Shakopee city limits that he created around the property of his own home. Population: 4 (his family). Want to know more about Mount Holly and the life of a big time mayor? Check out the Mount Holly register, follow Mayor Mike on Twitter, or watch this short segment Fox 9 News did on Mount Holly in 2009.
Brad Liening and Lani Merritt, a married couple that run Hell Yes Press out of their home, spoke about the dynamic of living and working together. Along with their trustworthy staff of two house cats, Brad and Lani put out a variety of poetry projects in different formats, from zines to chapbooks to their newest project, a mix tape (yes, tape) of live poetry readings.
Finally, arriving just in the nick of time, Executive Director of the Soap Factory Ben Heywood. Ben filled us in on the intense culture of English gardening, read a few letters from the Soap Factory’s Leon Bowser archives, and shared some information about the Soap’s upcoming FLO(we){u}R project.
Naturally, the Salon Saloon house band then closed out the night with a rousing rendition of The Beatles’ Octopus’s Garden.
Sad you missed The Home and Garden show? Never fear, the Salon Saloon Radio Show is coming up in just a few weeks! Visit the Salon Saloon website for more info.
Salon Saloon: The Radio Show
Tuesday, February 28th, 7 to 9 pm
Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater
Tickets $6 - 12 sliding scale (pre-order here!)
Art Shanty Projects
Shanai and I volunteered for parking lot duty at Art Shanty Projects a couple of weeks ago. If you haven’t been before, National Public Radio sums it up nicely:
Call it the Burning Man of the Midwest: a temporary city, built around artistic expression. Only this one takes place in the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minn., in the middle of winter.
We’re looking forward to going back with more time to enjoy the shanties, including a handful by friends: Audio Adventure Shanty, Actually I’ve Been Pioneering New Enthusiasms, Fort Shanty, One Room Schoolhouse, and Letterpress Shanty. See the full list of shanties here. Just one more week left!
February Newsletter
Thanks to our new Project Assistant Regan Smith for helping us get the first Works Progress newsletter in 8 months out to nearly 1,400 subscribers! Sign up here if you’d like to get our new and improved monthly newsletter!
Works Progress Wish List
We’ve spent the last month getting settled into our new space at 734 E. Lake Street, above Roberts Shoe Store. We’ve been opening our doors each Friday for a weekly happy-hour gathering. This picture was taken from the rooftop patio, where it’s currently too cold for hanging out, but just wait until spring!
In the meantime, there are still a few things we’re looking for:
- Couch
- Water Dispenser
- Potted Plants
- A Coat Rack
- Office Supplies
- Plants
- Lamps
- Folding Chairs
- Frames
If you or anyone you know has any of these items to donate, or any idea where we can find them on the cheap, please let us know!
You can reach us at hello at worksprogress dot org
Thanks!
A PUBLIC THING NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT
In November, Shanai and I were part of collaboration that launched A PUBLIC THING - an experimental civic platform that creates open space, in public and in print, for substantive conversation on pressing societal issues.
The first APT gathering was held at Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis and addressed financial independence and interdependence. Energized by OWS and the 99% Movement, we created a temporary commons where anyone could ask a burning question and immediately make connections with others in the community who had relevant knowledge, stories, and questions of their own. About 50 people showed up, and we had some great conversations! This gathering became the source of a collectively-authored, beautifully designed, print publication that created space for the conversation beyond the event. With help from an awesome team of organizers, contributors, and editors, we printed 2,000 copies of the newspaper and distributed it for free during the holiday shopping season. It’s also available online at apublicthing.org and in print at our new Works Progress office space at Lake and Chicago. (Come say hello!)
We’re looking for a way to continue the project in the spring, and we need your support. If you’ve got a moment, check out our entry to Good Magazine’s 30 Day Challenge on Financial Fitness, and please vote for A PUBLIC THING if you think our idea is a good one! Winning the $500 prize would allow us to host another iteration of APT this spring, connect the program up to the equity work we’ve been doing, and cover our costs for a second issue of the APT newspaper.
There are just 4 days of voting left so we’d truly appreciate it if you help us spread the word! (You can share our entry on Facebook or Twitter directly from the website after voting.) Thank you thank you!
Last November, Shanai & I found ourselves on a plane to Detroit as part of the Minnesota delegation to PolicyLink’s Equity Summit 2011. Our delegation of 150+ Minnesotan equity workers and advocates was the largest in attendance at the summit and we were there, in part, to learn how Works Progress can be of service to their work.
We were also there to help tell their story. How do you sum up the burning questions, deep knowledge, and incredible passion of 150 Minnesotans? Well, we still don’t know that, but we think this video is a start. More on that in a bit. Going into this project, we wanted to not only document the delegation & summit, but create situations where stories and connections could emerge between MN delegates and also among our colleagues back home via the web.
Creating connections and telling stories
One of the important outcomes of this project were the connections that it instigated. Nearly everyone from the MN delegation (and a few lucky people from other states) were given “EquityNowMN” buttons to wear - a fun way to identify & connect with one another face to face over the course of the 4 day summit. New and unexpected conversations were sparked between MN delegates this way, as well as with curious people from other states. In fact, there were so many MN delegates, and they were so visible, that there was a bit of a MN buzz going on throughout the summit.
In addition to encouraging new connections, we also tried to capture stories from the delegation in a variety of ways. We gathered stories by hand, through video interviews, on Facebook, and with Twitter. This is the kind of sentiment we heard again and again:
“I tend to subconsciously feel like I’m out there doing my own thing. Coming here, and even just at the plenary, you get filled-up with the sense of thousands of other people doing this work in so many ways. I’m not alone. I don’t have to figure it out myself.” - Mihailo Temali, Neighborhood Development Center
Storytelling, in person and on video
On the last day of the summit, attendees were treated to a performance from Rha Goddess, a spoken word artist who has been telling the stories of everyday people through her art for years. Before launching into an amazing performance of her piece “Advocates’ Anthem,” she told the audience what inspires her creative practice:
“What separates people who feel isolated and hopeless from those who feel they can make change is the ability to tap into the stories of others, and to find humanity in their own lives.” - Rha Goddess
Storytelling is something we think about a lot around here. Many of our public programs have storytelling at their core, even if that wasn’t always our intention. Telling stories through video feels like a natural extension of the face-to-face storytelling that happens at Salon Saloon, Give & Take or A Public Thing and we’re excited to have been given some great opportunities to explore this type of work in 2012. (More on that later!)
The video above is more of a prologue than anything else. Equity Summit 2011 was more than a summit, it was a catalyst for hundreds of Minnesotans with shared values and goals to come together and imagine a new way of working together. In fact, if you share this passion for a more equitable Minnesota, this is your call to get involved!
After one post-summit gathering, the delegation is opening up their meetings to those who weren’t able to attend the summit in Detroit. The first open gathering is this Thursday and Shanai and I will be there. We’re especially interested in finding other artists, designers, and story-tellers who want to get involved in messaging and communications efforts. Details below:
EquityNow Convening
Thursday, January 26 from 2 to 5pm
Urban Research Outreach and Engagement Center
2001 Plymouth Ave North
Minneapolis, MN
Four main themes have emerged from previous gatherings: Messaging & Communications, Policy, Philanthropy and Sustainability, Civic Engagement. We’d love for you to join us as this work continues!
Video Credits
Video produced by Works Progresss. With Support from Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, Nexus Community Partners, Minnesota Center for Neighborhood Organizing, and The McKnight Foundation. Writing by Maura Brown, Neeraj Mehta, Tracy Nordquist Babler, Ebony Adedayo, Colin Kloecker, and Shanai Matteson. Narration by Yolanda Cotterall. Videography and editing by Colin Kloecker. Music is “Something Elated” by Broke for Free.
Works Progress Happy Hour
This & Every Friday!
To celebrate our new home in the Robert’s Shoes building at Lake & Chicago, we’re hosting a weekly happy hour on Fridays from 3 to 6pm. Stop by anytime for a cup of coffee, tea, wine or beer. Learn what we’ve been up to, relax, brainstorm or share your ideas, meet and chat with other creative people, or just browse our growing library of books and resources.
Works Progress Happy Hour
Every Friday from 3 to 6pm
734 East Lake Street, Suite 208
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407Important note: The buzzer is on the Chicago Avenue side of the building. Press # and then 09 to ring Suite 208 (a directory on the window will tell you the same) and we’ll buzz you in. Or call Colin at (612) 839-0810 if that’s giving you trouble.
You never know who else might be there! We’ve been doing this for a couple of weeks now and some great connections have already been made. Please direct any questions to hello[at]worksprogress[dot]org.
Looking forward to seeing you!
Colin Kloecker & Shanai Matteson
Co-Directors
Works Progress
Law of Two Feet
Hey everyone,
I’m Regan Smith, the new Project Assistant for Works Progress. I’ll be working here part-time helping out with communications and program-based work. In my non-Works Progress life I’m a freelance writer and the Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Paper Darts, a Minneapolis-based literary and arts magazine. If you have a pressing need to know more about me, please feel free to check out my half-finished personal website, follow me on twitter @regglandsbest, or send me an email at regan(at)worksprogress.org. Neat!
In a futile effort to catch up 1/100th of the way to the Works Progress genius, I’ve been doing a lot of reading from some of Shanai and Colin’s favorite books. Though I’m generally not one for inspirational quotes (except for obvious classics like “Live. Laugh. Love.” and “Dance like nobody’s watching.”), the text that really resonated with me and seemed most apt for this post is from Harrison Owen’s Wave Rider: Leadership for High Performance in a Self-Organizing World.
“It is a common experience, shared by all of us, that when we encounter situations where we are neither learning nor contributing, we leave—if not physically then mentally and emotionally. It might appear that sitting in the corner inert is the proper thing to do, but our continued (physical) presence is rarely if ever inert. We impact the conversation, and usually in a negative fashion. Our bored, frustrated demeanor spews negative energy over the entire affair.
Much better that we actually allow our feet to follow our hearts and minds and just leave.”
As someone who recently quit my secure full-time job to pursue a relatively unstable creative professional life (freelancing, yo), this quote hit home. Much more than simply being a less cheeseball way of saying “follow your dreams,” the Law of Two Feet touches on something I think very few of us take into consideration before a major life change. When trying to decide whether to quit an unfulfilling job or time-consuming creative project, most of our thinking goes into how our current situation affects us—it’s draining, stressful, dissatisfying, management sucks, etc. But rarely do we consider how our feelings about our current situation affect those we’re working with, and even more rarely do we let that factor into our decision to stay or go.
Making a major career shift is usually complicated and always really effing scary, there’s no two ways about it. But maybe if we focus more on the negative ramifications—both for ourselves and for those around us—of staying in our current situation and less on the fear of the unknown if we leave, we’d all be a little bit more inclined to take a chance and make positive changes in our lives.
I’m pumped to be contributing to Works Progress, excited to feel invigorated and inspired by my job again, and so, so proud that I finally allowed my feet to follow my heart and mind and took the plunge.
Here’s to all the other people out there who are doing the same!
Two seemingly opposite pedagogical poles appear to be collapsing. On one side is the singularity of artistic vision expressed as a commitment to a particular material or medium. On the other is an ever-increasing pressure on students to work collaboratively through social and participatory formats, often in a public context outside the white cube. One of the most common catchall terms for the latter tendency is social practice art. Currently, there are about half a dozen college-level programs promoting its study. However, if you include the many instructors who regularly engage their students in political, interventionist, or participatory art projects, the tilt toward socially engaged art begins to look more like a full-blown pedagogical shift, at least in the United States.
After OWS: Social Practice Art, Abstraction, and the Limits of the Social by Gregory Sholette
A lot to think about in this great essay.
Our friend Jaimie is story editor at Once Magazine, and as much as we wish she would move back to the Twin Cities, we love what she & her colleagues are doing with photography & storytelling for digital platforms like iPad. It’s been fantastic to see them get some much-deserved recognition for their work!
Also worth noting: they actually pay their contributors with revenue from subscriptions. So subscribe!
Or submit? (Zoe-prinds Flash we are looking at you)
