Artists across the Twin Cities are exploring the stories that haunt us — from the horrors of war and family trauma to the environmental concerns shaping neighborhood life. 

In Minneapolis, the Twin Cities Horror Festival brings 14 spooky stories to the stage, while a new exhibit and film at the Minneapolis Institute of Art explores the lasting effects of family trauma. 

Across the river in St. Paul, the Solidarity Street Gallery turns climate concerns into public art and community conversation.

A little festival of horrors

Looking for a good scare? The 15th annual Twin Cities Horror Festival will bring 14 live shows to Minneapolis’ Crane Theater over 16 days. 

Among this year’s lineup is South Asian Arts and Theater House’s “Kalinga: Feast of the Fallen,” a dance-theater production that explores the gruesome aftermath of war. 

On a blood-soaked battlefield in Eastern India, the play follows a swarm of ghouls descending to feast on the dead under the watchful eye of the Hindu goddess Kali. She becomes a guide for those left to navigate the devastation of war. 

“In India, Kali came from a very poor community, a poor woman who faced so much struggle in her life,” said co-director Bagu. “Kali is kind of a guidance character. She leads the team. She knows how to face struggles and how to handle situations.” 

The production draws inspiration from “Kalingathu Parani,” a 12th-century poem by Jayamkondar that recounts the conflict between Southern India’s Chola Empire and the Kalinga kingdom in modern-day Odisha. The poem describes the brutality of battle, including the deaths of soldiers and civilians and the slaughter of elephants. 

“The Chola Empire won this war by slaying 1,000 elephants,” said co-director Divya Maiya. “Bagu is from Tamil Nadu so they translated a lot of the Tamil literature for us, and from there, we took that story and reimagined it.”

A 16-member cast brings the story to the stage through Bharatanatyam (a classical South Indian dance form), tribal street dance, contemporary dance, traditional South Indian drumming, singing and elephant puppetry. 

“Horror is such a popular genre in South Asian mythology and literature, which is not seen or heard of in Western theater,” Maiya said. “The Twin Cities Horror Festival was a very good opportunity for us to bring that to stage.” 

The festival also features “Lumbrada,” a coming-of-age horror play by emerging Mexican American playwrights Maria Arreola and Jazmin Villalobos. The title refers to a “large fire” in Spanish. 

The play follows a group of high school freshmen sharing ghost stories around a campfire. When one of their friends disappears into the woods, the group must piece together his story for clues, confronting the fears and secrets that surface along the way. 

“I want people to remember being teenagers and the friends they had during that time,” Arreola said. “It’s really a play about friendship and seeing your friends change. It’s about the scary secrets that we sometimes don’t want to share because they feel so insurmountable.”

For those looking for more horror after the festival, Bagu recommends three South Asian films: “Kantara,” a mythological action drama; “Pisaasu,” a supernatural horror-drama; and “Tumbbad,” a folk horror film. Villalobos recommends “Monstrillo,” a folklore-inspired horror novel by Gerardo Sámano Córdova.

Exhibiting Forgiveness

The Minneapolis Institute of Art’s show, “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” pairs paintings by Connecticut-based artist Titus Kaphar with his debut feature film of the same name. 

The film follows Tarrell (played by André Holland), a Black painter whose growing success is interrupted by an unexpected visit from his estranged father. 

Through a free exhibit and film screening, Kaphar invites Twin Cities audiences to explore generational trauma, the complexities of forgiveness and art’s potential to heal fractured family relationships. 

Watch the film’s trailer here. 

Art and climate action on St. Paul’s East Side

The Solidarity Street Gallery will bring three days of public art, Afro-Indigenous music, food trucks and spoken word to St. Paul. 

More than 40 artists will display their work in storefronts along Payne Avenue and dozens of artists will present their paintings, prints and photography in Art @967 Payne’s indoor gallery, exploring the theme “Common Ground.” 

On Friday, artists Suzanne Thao and Tshab Her will discuss Hmong textile traditions at the East Side Arts Council, following a 7 p.m. performance by Afro-Indigenous soul singer Obsidian James at ArT @ 967 Payne. 

Saturday’s lineup includes an environmental fair focused on climate resilience, pollinator gardens and sustainable energy, followed by poetry at 3 p.m.

On Sunday, the community will come together at ArT @ 967 Payne to share their thoughts about climate change through poetry, music and written reflections. 

“Neighbors have spent years organizing around lead and particulate pollution from the Northern Iron foundry and the safety of the water in their pipes,” said Stephan Kistler, co-founder of ArT @ 967 Payne. 

The street gallery “gives those concerns a place on the walls, alongside wonder, grief, humor and hope,” she added. 

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