Creative Leadership : Buzz

The Minneapolis landscape architecture firm Coen + Partners was recently award the 16th Annual National Design Award in Landscape Architecture from the Smithsonian's Design Museum, Cooper Hewitt.

“With the reopening of the museum this past year, Cooper Hewitt is scaling new heights to educate, inspire and empower our community through design,” said Caroline Baumann, director, in a press release. “I am thrilled and honored to welcome this year’s class of National Design Award winners, all of whom represent the pinnacle of innovation in their field, with their focus on collaboration, social and environmental responsibility, and the fusion of technology and craftsmanship.”
 
First launched at the White House in 2000 as a project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards were established to promote design as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world. The awards are accompanied each year by National Design Week, which this year will take place Oct. 10–18 and include a variety of public education programs, panel discussions and workshops. First Lady Michelle Obama serves as the Honorary Patron for this year’s National Design Awards.

Founded by Shane Coen in 1991, Coen + Partners works through a process of collaboration, experimentation, and questioning, to embrace the complexities of each site with quiet clarity and ecological integrity. The practice has built a distinguished body of award-winning work that is widely recognized as progressive and timeless, receiving numerous awards for landscape architecture, planning, and urban design. Coen + Partners has been recognized by the AIA, the ASLA, the GSA Design Excellence Program, and the editorial staff of such influential publications as Metropolis, Dwell, and Architectural Record. New York Times architectural critic Anne Raver has described Coen + Partners’ work as “pushing Midwestern boundaries.”

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."

MSP International Airport is finalizing plans for its new “arts corridor” on the C Concourse, The New York Times recently reported. Under the guidance of Robyne Robinson, one of the Twin Cities top jewelry designers, a former news anchor and Airport Foundation MSP’s arts and culture director, the new corridor will create a “gateway” to the abundant arts and culture of the cities.
 
“We want to make sure that when people get off the plane, they know there’s a place they can go to and get to know us and get onto their flight and have a better understanding of what Minneapolis is, so that the next time they come through, they’ll want to see some film, see some art,” Robinson said.
 
The corridor includes a new screening lounge that will open in November. The lounge has modular and cinema-style seating with multiple high-definition screens; rotating programs highlighting local filmmakers; and a collapsible stage for lectures or small performances, according to the article.
 
While commercially run movie houses are available to passengers in Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore airports, the MSP airport’s screening room is the first of its kind in the United States.
 

The Minneapolis-based Works Progress, comprised of Colin Kloecker and Shanai Matteson, is part of the State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AK. Just inside the museum’s lobby is Kloecker and Matteson’s project Water Bar.
 
A partnership between Works Progress and the museum, as well as scientific researchers, environmental advocates, public employees, educators and local residents, Water Bar is an interactive installation that invites visitors to sample and compare water from three local sources: Beaver Lake (Bentonville), the Illinois River (Siloam Springs), and an artesian well in Sulphur Springs.
 
Representatives from the Illinois River Watershed Partnership and local educational institutions are staffing the bar. In addition to serving water, they engage visitors in conversations about drinking water, where it comes from and how to protect it.
 
The exhibition, with Water Bar, is on view until January 19, 2015. Works Progress is also participating in a State of the Art Symposium on November 14-15 to talk about how they engage artists, designers, organizers and creative professionals to realize public art rooted in place and purpose.
 
“Works Progress uses place, design and the shared experience of drinking water to focus our attention on local water sources,” says Chad Alligood, curator, Crystal Bridges. “The collaboration with Works Progress and the Illinois River Watershed Partnership represents a convergence of art and advocacy that engages the community in conversations about an issue that affects all of us.”
 
Matteson adds that, “We hope to install a local version of the Water Bar project in 2015 that will highlight Minnesota's water resources, and are currently seeking collaborators and support.”
 

Minneapolis-St. Paul was recently named one of the top 10 innovative cities in the U.S. by CNN Money.

"From technology and infrastructure, to job creation and sustainability," the article stated, the cities included are "leading the pack when it comes to creatively solving urban issues."

About MSP, the article stated, "June saw the opening of a new light rail line between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Experts from around the country praised it as an example of transportation infrastructure done right -- it integrated the needs of the affected communities and used the new line to drive economic development."

The Twin Cities were also selected as "early adopters of programs to help immigrants start businesses, artists buy real estate, and enlist local execs in solving community problems. The Cities also get high marks for their public health efforts, including smoking cessation programs, cancer screening and efforts to create walkable communities."
 

The International Committee for the Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites, and Neighborhoods of the Modern Movement—better known as Docomomo—has initiated a new program, the Modernism in America Awards. Docomomo US is a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to the modernist movement. The juried awards program honors individuals and organizations dedicated to preserving and/or renovating midcentury architecture and design.

Among the award’s inaugural recipients are the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, and the Minnesota Chapter of Docomomo US for the groups’ efforts to save Peavey Plaza in Minneapolis. The groups were given the Advocacy Award of Excellence.

Designed in 1975 by M. Paul Friedberg + Partners, the plaza is located adjacent to the newly renovated Orchestra Hall. The groups collaborated to “successfully communicate Peavey Plaza’s on-going importance and prevent its demolition,” states the Docomomo website. “The Board of Directors of Docomomo US is impressed by the well-coordinated collective nature of these efforts; their outreach to a wide audience including local constituents and national interests; and their use of a combination of advocacy tools including the solicitation of pro bono design concepts by the plaza’s original landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg.”

Minneapolis author Kate DiCamillo, who has won numerous awards for her books Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux, is the Library of Congress' new Ambassador of Young People's Literature. "The position," according to the LIbrary of Congress website, "was created to raise national awareness of the importance of young people's literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education and the development and betterment of the lives of young people."

The appointment is a two-year term. The selection criteria, in addition to authoring books, includes being "revered by children," a "dynamic and engaging personality," and having a "known ability to relate to children."

In a New York Times article, DiCamillo said she moved to Minneapolis on a whim and "It was the best thing I ever did." DiCamillo is the fourth author appointed to the position.

Sources: Library of Congress, New York Times

Nancy Close, the founder and CEO of CKC Good Food, a St. Paul-based school-meal catering company, recently was singled out for her efforts to bring healthy food to local schoolchildren. 

Close received an honorable mention at the Homegrown Heroes Awards from the Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council at a presentation at the Walker Art Center earlier this month. 
 
“Awards honor those who help expand the community’s ability to grow, process, distribute, eat and compost more healthy, sustainable, locally grown foods,” a prepared statement from the company reads.  
  
Sarah Reuben, a public health specialist with the Healthy Living Team in the City’s health department, nominated Close for the honor. Reuben had worked with the company to start salad bars at several Minneapolis charter schools. 
  
Source: CKC Good Food

Two local corporations, 3M and Target, were included in Fortune magazine’s list of Blue Ribbon Companies, which was released last week, Twin Cities Business reports. 

The Blue Ribbon list includes companies that have gotten high marks from Fortune on other lists the magazine has published throughout the year.   

3M has appeared on four of Fortune's lists, as has Target. Wells Fargo, a company with strong Minnesota ties, also appeared on four Fortune lists this year.  

Source: Twin Cities Business 

This year, Minneapolis author Louise Erdrich was recognized with an American Book Award for her 14th novel, The Round House.

Erdrich’s novel, set on an American Indian reservation, tells of a teenage boy’s struggle in the aftermath of an attack on his mother. 

The American Book Awards “celebrates the diversity of the country’s literature,” according to an article in the Star Tribune. The awards were established in 1980 by the Before Columbus Foundation, a nonprofit organization, founded by author-poet-playwright Ishmael Reed, that promotes multicultural literature.

A ceremony for the 34 authors who received awards took place at the Miami Book Fair International last month. Erdrich is also the owner of Birchbark Books, an independent bookstore in Minneapolis.

The awards don’t involve a cash award or individual competitive categories, the story adds. 

Source: Star Tribune 

The Minneapolis groups Rhythmic Circus (percussive dance) and Root City (funk and blues musicians) joined forces several years ago to create "Feet Don't Fail Me Now!", an evening of high-energy tap dancing and music. The groups have since toured the country with their show to popular acclaim.

Recently, the performers realized a long-held goal of gigging in New York City, off-Broadway at the Victory Theater.  The New York Times called the hour-long show (which has been performed several times in the Twin Cities) a "entertaining display of music and tap-dancing skills." The publication also called out beatboxer Aaron Heaton as "practically another band on his own."

Writing in her blog Infinite Body, Eva Yaa Asantewaa called the show "wildly entertaining in the very best blue-eyes-soul kind of way," She asks "How did Ricci Milan (dancer/artist director) and Nick Bowman (dancer/executive director) manage to pack so much content and value into a single hour? Don't know, but the set list gives these performers a chance to show off their amazing vitality."

Source: The New York Times, Infinite Body

Minneapolis is among “20 Awesome U.S. Cities You Need to Visit in Your 20s,” according to the Huffington Post. 

The article mentions that New York City and certain areas across the country, like Southern California, which has landmarks like Disneyland, might seem like obvious destinations. 

“But for the cash-strapped, adventure-seeking, microbrewed-beer loving, locavore millennial, the old favorites of U.S. tourism don’t hold much appeal,” the story states. 

Minneapolis is a draw for the “traveler that loves physical activity,” the article says. Besides being a top bike city, it’s known as one of the country’s most physically fit. The city also boasts plenty of parkland, restaurants, and cultural institutions. “Plus, everyone’s really nice,” the story reads.    

Source: Huffington Post 

St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood recently snagged headlines for recognition as America’s top hipster zip code.

The label comes from RealtyTrac, which analyzed hipster zip code markets. RealtyTrac states in its study that while it's tough to pin down what exactly a hipster is, "there’s no doubt the culture surrounding the hipster lifestyle has a major impact on local real estate markets, and mostly in a positive way.”

An influx of trendy restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and other amenities make a particular zip code stand out as hipster-ish. Such amenities translate into higher property values and rental rates, and lower vacancies and foreclosures, the study states. 

“As a nascent hipster market emerges, it can be an extremely appealing target for real estate investors looking to make some quick fix-and-flip profits or to purchase rental properties that provide a steady cash flow and the promise of strong appreciation going forward,” according to RealtyTrac.
 
  
Source: RealtyTrac 

Of the three new appointees to the National Endowment for the Arts' prestigious National Council on the Arts, two are Minneapolis arts leaders: Ranee Ramaswamy, founder and co-artistic director of Ragamala Dance, and Olga Viso, executive director of the Walker Art Center. The third appointee is Rick Lowe of Houston, Texas, founder of Project Row Houses.

The National Council on the Arts convenes three times a year to vote on funding recommendations for grants and rejections; to advise the chair on application guidelines, budget, and policy and planning directions; and to recommend to the President of the United States nominees for the National Medal of Arts. The three new appointees were confirmed by the U.S. Senate and appointed by President Barack Obama.

The appointees "bring their varied experience--ranging from contemporary art curatorship, to classical Indian dance, and creative placemaking--to help the NEA advance its mission to support artistic excellence, creativity and innovation in communities across the country," states the press release.

Ramaswamy has been a master choreographer, performer, and teacher of the South Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam dance since 1978. She founded Ragamala Dance in Minneapolis in 1992. Her work has been commissioned by the Walker Art Center, American Composers Forum, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and has been supported by the National Dance Project and the Joyce Foundation. Ramaswamy’s tours have been highlighted by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the American Dance Festival, and the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai, India. She's earned numerous regional and national awards for her work.

Prior to joining the Walker, Viso was director at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden – Smithsonian Institution. She was a curator at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida from 1993 to 1995, and held several curatorial and administrative positions at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia from 1989 to 1993. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors. From 2003 to 2006, she served on the Federal Advisory Committee on International Exhibitions.

Source: National Endowment for the Arts

A local architect is one of 50 finalists in the “Draw Up a Chair” competition for New York City’s Battery Park. 

John Dwyer’s design, titled “The Carbon Rune,” was among more than 1,500 design submissions to the contest, according to Inhabitat magazine.   

A panel of world-renowned jurors sifted through the entries. The top 50 designs are now on view near the Battery Green while the winning designer will be announced later this month. The prizewinner will receive $10,000 and his or her chair will be used in the park.    

The city’s park commissioner Veronica White is quoted in the piece saying, “We are proud to share the designs with the public to receive feedback since the chair is for all New Yorkers and visitors to use when they come to Battery Park.” 


Source: Inhabitat