Northeast : Buzz

USA Today's 10 Best Readers' Choice awards includes Best Art District, which went this year to Northeast Minneapolis.

Northeast Minneapolis beat out art districts in Santa Fe, Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia and Detroit.

"Centered around the Northrup King Building," according to the USA Today 10 Best website, "the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District serves as a home or workplace to more than 400 independent artists. Studios, galleries and performance spaces occupy re-purposed industrial building, and the art scene is characterized by its many annual events, like the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association's spring Art-A-Whirl and fall Fine Arts Show, Art Attack at the Northrup King Building in November and Casket Arts Quad's Cache open studio events, also in November."

A local project called Nerdy Candles: For Nerds reached its fundraising goal of $5,000 on Kickstarter last month. 

The project, led by Tom Lubanovic of Frostbeard Studio, centers on handmade candles inspired by video games, movies, and comics. It’s a “fun mash-up of traditional craftsmanship with geek culture,” the Kickstarter page reads.  

This is the group’s second foray onto Kickstarter. In the past, the group created book-themed candles for the literary set. “It's become apparent that people really like our candles, both for smelling nice and for being... different,” the Kickstarter page continues.  

The new line of candles will take inspiration from Zelda, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Doctor Who, among other pop culture icons.  

Fast Horse featured Public Functionary, a new nonprofit art gallery in Northeast Minneapolis, in a Q&A on its blog.

The post’s author, Jen Kreilich, was among the 230 people who contributed to the gallery’s $30,000 Kickstarter campaign.

Right now, the gallery is preparing for an event centering on building momentum for such a campaign.

Kreilich says in the post, “I can’t wait for Public Functionary to open its doors. I’m thrilled by their focus on making art more accessible, cultivating young collectors and using content to expand the experience beyond the walls of a gallery.”

Recently, Artforum, a national art magazine, included a review of a local art show from Andy DuCett at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis.

The story’s writer, Jay Gabler, is also from the area.

Gabler compares the installation, called, “Why we do this” to a film.

“DuCett has created dozens of distinct spaces and assembled them in an eccentric progression that draws the viewer through the gallery with the promise of a surprise around every corner. His themes are memory and life history—specifically, the memories and history of the thirtysomething Minnesotan man he is,” the piece reads.  

The Anchor Fish & Chips restaurant in Minneapolis is featured in a Yahoo! Travel piece about the best seafood spots in the country.
 
“Crisp Alaskan cod and hand-cut fries steal the show at this traditional Irish chipper,” the piece reads. “Request a side of tangy curry sauce to layer on your fries and you're sure to tantalize your taste buds.”
 
The Anchor’s seafood isn’t the only thing drawing people to the small hole-in-the-wall pub, the piece points out. It also has a solid beer selection, well-executed Shepherd’s Pie, and a trendy ambience.  
 
For those on the go, the restaurant’s food truck is a good option, adds Yahoo!
 

The "jewel of the crown" of Minnesota biotechnology wants a prominent place in China's growing biotech economy, too.

The Star Tribune reports that Techne, a Minneapolis biotech and hematology company, is seeing results from its recent expansion into China, despite challenges from knock-offs and counterfeits:

"Less than a year after its Shanghai division began operations in fiscal 2008, it made its first profit and sales grew nearly 22 percent, delivering the largest double-digit sales growth in Techne's biotech division in its last fiscal year," writes Star Tribune reporter Wendy Lee.

Techne, a growing company with 726 employees, creates proteins that are used in medicine and research, including in the development of drugs for cancer and AIDS.

"Back home, they would shoot me in the head for doing this to hummus," Holy Land CEO Majdi Wadi tells the New York Times.

In Wadi's home country of Jordan, hummus is strictly a puree of chickpeas, sesame paste and garlic. Here in northeast Minneapolis, though, Holy Land is finding success with its expanding line of flavored hummus.

They introduced jalape�o hummus in 2000. The most recent addition is guacamole-flavored hummus, and later this month it will introduce a peanut butter variety.

"I'm making this an American product," says Wadi.

Read the New York Times article here.

The New York Times updates America on what's happening on one of the hippest streets in Minneapolis, 13th Avenue in Northeast: galleries, restaurants, a record store, and that indefinable urban vibe. Read the story here.

Source: New York Times