The City Behavior of Grace MN

October 30 – December 11, 2009

Metropolitan State University

Third Floor Gallery

645 East Seventh Street

(In the Library and Learning Center, St. Paul Campus)

Opening Reception: November 5 from 4-7 p.m.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Friday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m

This exhibition is a look back at some of the works created by behavioral artist Marcus Young, individually and in collaboration, since 2004 when he first began creating for public and semi-public spaces. The work explores rituals, systems, and institutions of our daily lives or imagined daily lives. Many of the works have been realized in Saint Paul, where he serves as the current City Artist in Residence, a program of Public Art Saint Paul.

Young founded Grace MN, a behavioral art studio whose work attends to the inner, natural, and civic life, creating personal practice and collective experience. Grace MN is also a conceptual place that promotes artistic unorthodoxy, spiritual experimentation, and Midwestern sensibility. Played out practically in public spaces, within institutions, or across systems of the city, their work invites individual commitment, public involvement, and transdisciplinary collaboration. Grace MN members are Marcus Young, Kathleen Maloney, Aki Shibata, and Travis Spangler.

Public Performance/Mind-Body Workshops NYC

Contact: www.naatf.org or hillary@naatf.org


What: A workshop to introduce a new form of public performance and mind-body experiment called “Don’t you feel it too?”

For: Artists, non-artists, meditators, yoga folks, experimentalists, dancers, people looking for happiness or mischief, etc.

Why: To expand the discourse on performance practice: How does this practice relate to theater, to disruptive realism or pranksterism? Where does work like this belong?

When: Take one or more of the following sessions. Sessions will be indoors if it rains.
-Saturday, Oct 10, 12.00-3.00pm
-Tuesday, Oct 13, 10.30am-1.30pm
-Friday, Oct 16, 10.30am-1.30pm

Where: Theater for the New City, 155 1st Avenue at 10th St.

Cost: $5/session cash at the door, or FREE with purchase of a mainstage ticket of the National Asian American Theater Festival

How: Participants must bring an mp3 player with some of their most beloved music on a playlist, approximately 30 minutes. We will dance in public, so wear comfortable shoes and clothing. Bring water.

Contact: For sign-up or questions, visit www.naatf.org or email: hillary@naatf.org. Sign-up for the workshop is recommended. If you drop in without signing up, just be sure to bring an mp3 player.

Info: "Don’t you feel it too?" is the practice of freeing your spirit through dancing your inner life in public places. A generous and courageous act of self-embarrassment and joy, the work is also emotional study, gentle protest, social interaction, performance, and physical exercise. While other more venerable forms of mind-body practice have developed over millennia, this new practice premiered on the streets of the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul in 2008. We invite artists and non-artists to learn and expand this playful form.

Grace MN is a behavioral art studio whose work attends to the inner, natural, and civic life, creating personal practice and collective experience. The group is founded by behavioral artist Marcus Young, currently public artist in residence for the City of Saint Paul, a program of Public Art Saint Paul. This activity is made possible by funds from Jerome Foundation and is a parallel project of the National Asian American Theater Festival. www.graceminnesota.org

Rain Dancing

OK, the dance is on for Friday, Sept. 25.  It may not be a bright sunshiney day but the weather may take you to a new, quieter place in your DYFIT practice.  Do not think that you have to come out in this grey-ness.  If you do chose to dance with us maybe the rain will be transformative.

Meet at the Library at 4PM.  Questions?  Call 651-336-4202

Weather Update

As of right now we are on for today, Friday Sept. 25.  In the case of passing rain or drizzle we will still dance.  If there is a dangerous storm we will cancel. 

At 3:30 we will make the final call.  You can check back here on this site, on http://twitter.com/DontUFeelItToo or call 651-336-4202 for a voice mail message.

Today's Activity

We meet today, September 23 and Friday, September 25 at 4PM on the steps of the downtown Minneapolis Central Library.

If you are dancing with us, by now you should have signed up and are getting the participant updates.  If you are not on the update list yet please contact kathleen.