KFAI's MinneCulture Presents

Ty Yule Remembers Pi: “The Dyke Bar of Our Dreams  by Sheila Regan ~ Pi Bar infused the Twin Cities with an ecstatic, high-energy jolt of queerness for the year and a half it was open . The bar was established in South Minneapolis in 2007. They catered to lesbians and queer women, but was also open to the entire LGBTQ scene and made its embrace of the transgender community explicit. In his recent memoir, “ Chemically Enhanced Butch ,” former Pi proprietor Ty Yule reflects on Pi’s brief but impactful existence in the Twin Cities. KFAI’s Sheila Regan reports. BYO Boat at Float-In Theater  by  Paul Brohaugh  ~ As COVID Summer 2020 heated up, Minnesotans got creative about socially distant summertime events. Parks and outdoor recreation venues saw a surge in visitors and drive-in theaters are back in style.  MinneCulture ’s Paul Brohaugh took his family to  Silverwood Park  in St. Anthony, just north of Minneapolis, to see their version of a so...

Sharp Imagery and Precise Language: Heid Erdrich's Little Big Bully by Sheila Regan. Heid E. Erdrich's latest volume of poetry, Little Big Bully , is brutal and beautiful. It won the National Poetry Series, and was released just before the 2020 election. A major theme throughout the book of poems is poor behavior, manifested in numerous ways. An Anishinaabe poet and member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe , Erdrich writes of violence and erasure with aching clarity, in one case, comparing the disappearance of bird species with that of Native nations. Erdrich talks to KFAI's Sheila Regan about her latest work and why folks get hoodwinked by bad people. Courtroom Theater by Rob McGinley Myers. There’s been an experiment going on in the Hennepin County Government Center, applying the tools of art to the world of criminal justice. Reporter Rob McGinley Myers went to investigate.  At Studio Payne, Bones and Pine Cones Comprise The Art by Dixie Treichel. Cameren Torgerud ...

Theater Artist Kim Hines Authors Novella for Young Adults by Dixie Treichel. The Young Adult Novella Wingo Fly  revolves around Christy Wingo, a 10 year old Black girl in 1965 Minneapolis, Minnesota. The book which was published in 2020 is filled with humor, mystery and social justice issues. Based in Minneapolis, Kim Hines  has been a theater artist for 50 plus years and this is her first book. Driven by Hope: Paul Deng Kur and the Story of a Lost Boy by Britt Aamodt. As a rideshare driver, Paul Deng Kur had heard hundreds of stories. But this passenger's loss had left the man feeling suicidal. So when they reached the destination, Kur turned off the car and they talked -- for two hours.  Britt Aamodt spoke with Paul Kur, author of " Out of the Impossible: The Hope of the Lost Boy ," about the power of stories. From Aisles to the Art Gallery, Juxtapositions of Opposites by Sheila Regan. Who would have thought 2020 would bring a shortage of toilet paper, flour, and Clor...

A New Territory Of Dance Party by Dixie Treichel. DJ Shannon Blowtorch &  Mpls Adonia have had years of experience working the crowds and pumping up the energy in the room. To keep their love for entertainment alive during Covid-19, they presented "Quarantine Live: Online Dance Party" on Tuesday nights. Delivered with an upbeat, raw energy, it was an interactive event which streamed live and somehow managed to keep homebound booties shaking. Scarce Paper, Extreme Historical Phenomena by Sheila Regan. Polish American artist Piotr Szyhalski turned to drawing during pandemic stay at home orders. Working in his basement, he responded to virus news reports by making incisive drawings that utilize sharply drawn humor to criticize America's response to the coronavirus crisis. Taylor Seaberg and the Art of the Revolution  by Sheila Regan. Living just blocks away from where George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis Police, musician Taylor Seaberg wanted to enact change and tu...