‘Arts’ Archives
Free Leonard Peltier
Featured Documentary at the 2025 Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Film Festival By OLIVER STRICHERZ Although there may be many, films aren’t the only thing getting people to come to MSPIFF. This year, the festival had many events, including everything from panels to karaoke parties. The opening night of the fest began with the documentary Free Leonard Peltier, which brilliantly told the story of the 49-year-long unjust imprisonment of Leonard Peltier, one of the most impactful Indigenous activists ever. The film, directed by Indigenous director Jesse Shortbull and reporter David France, used archival footage and interviews with other activists who were involved in the 1973 revolution in Wounded Knee. Near the end of his term, former President Biden commuted Peltier’s sentence to house arrest after the previous 49 years he spent in maximum-security prison for a crime he didn’t commit. The film had been completed by this point and had its premiere at the Sundance [...]
The Sky Is Falling
By SHELIA BLAND The sky is fallingA heart is breakingAlone in a crowdBetween ears emptinessCries in the nightTears falling from the heavens Where is this worldInside a twilight of griefWasteland of desire and wantA touchless world of longing Tunes of anxiety screech across ears All horror, all anxietyAll a prism of science fictionReligions of Religions Religions of objectivityReligions of scienceReligions of statisticsReligions of factsAll is religion—A belief in non-belief Longing to shatter the prison of individualism A prison of me, me, me— I, I, IWinner-take-allSurvival of the fittest Philosophy of annihilationism Dog eat dogFight to the finishOnly one left standing A climax of doom, gloom, and isolationThe real made fantastically unreal Screeching, screaming hollowness between earsOozing the slime of loneliness Transcendental isolation…The “I” as Godhead Shelia Bland lives in Midtown Phillips. She has been writing most of her life [...]
Meet Midtown Global Market Resident Artist Ron Brown
Free Artist Workshop on August 9 By MIKE HABERMAN Midtown Global Market is excited to announce the continuation of its 2025 Artist in Residency program by welcoming Ron Brown to its artist space through August 31. Artist Ron Brown will be leading an artist workshop at the Midtown Global Market on August 9. Brown’s artistic practice is rooted in Afrofuturism, a movement blending African culture with science fiction and speculative futures. He uses art as a tool for cultural affirmation, historical reflection, and spiritual resistance. Brown will host a free artist workshop at Midtown Global Market on Saturday, August 9 from 2 – 4 p.m. This event is free and open to the public but registration is required as space is limited. Register at midtownglobalmarket.org/meeting-artistspace. About Ron Brown Ron Brown’s 35 year + artistic journey began early, shaped by imagination and experiences. Art is a limitless universe. Ron’s work is a testament; creativity should [...]
