Phillips : Buzz

The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis recently announced its June 30 grand reopening with the addition of the Nelson Cultural Center.

The expansion and other campus enhancements will get a visit from Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia in October. During their Minnesota trip, the king and queen will also go to the Swedish-founded Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, which will be celebrating its 150th anniversary.

“The Nelson Cultural Center’s innovative design and handcrafted, Swedish-inspired detailing embrace Nordic values--including respect for nature and quality materials, as well as for the environment, through energy conservation and sustainable building practices,” the statement from the American Swedish Institute reads.  

The web-based Education News, which covers various national and international education topics, recently highlighted the comic degree that’s available through the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.  

It’s one of only three such programs around the country, the story states, citing information from MPR and the Star Tribune.

Local author Britt Aamodt, who profiled over 20 area artists in a book called, “Superheroes, Strip Artists & Talking Animals: Minnesota’s Contemporary Cartoonists,” is quoted saying that a “recent crop of artists is taking Minnesota’s scene to new heights.”

Aamodt goes on to say that the local comic artists have "really spread their wings,” and, “They can tell any kind of story. And they just don’t have to be about men in tights.”

 

The Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis is being used for inspiration in turning around a Memphis building, according to the Memphis Daily News.

The co-directors for the Sears Crosstown building in Memphis toured other cities to come up with a blueprint to make the Memphis building an urban arts village.

It reads, "While Minneapolis' Sears building is anchored by a major 400,000-square-foot health care tenant, the progress of the Phillips neighborhood and its dramatic transformation is the piece Crosstown Arts wants to bring to Memphis."

In the story, Crosstown Arts co-director Todd Richardson says, in reference to the Midtown building, "Nobody thought that was possible. It was in the worst neighborhood in Minneapolis, and in large part because of that redevelopment, it's been a catalyst."