In a 1969 interview, Nina Simone stated that it’s an artist’s duty to “reflect the times.” Painters, sculptors, writers and musicians have a responsibility to look at the world around them and tell the truth of what they see, she believed. 

More than 50 years later, Twin Cities artists are proving that truth-telling knows no bounds of medium. This weekend, a Minneapolis group exhibit explores community defense against federal immigration enforcement. At the Minnesota State Fair, music and dance performances celebrate cultural resilience. And on Chicago Avenue, the return of playwright Christina Ham’s “Nina Simone: Four Women” bridges civil rights activism with Minnesota’s present-day resistance. 

Anthems against injustice

By the time Simone wrote her song “Mississippi Goddam,” she had lived through the height of the civil rights movement, including the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama — which killed four Black girls — and the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. 

This Saturday, the Pillsbury House and Theatre is bringing “Nina Simone: Four Women” to the stage, a production fueled by Simone’s civil rights anthems. 

“When we originally did this play in Park Square [in 2016], it was a world premiere and it was hot off the press and it became really successful around the country,” said Minnesota-based director Faye Price. “But since that time, the play has changed. The idea is the same, but it is a new play. It’s been rewritten.” 

The play imagines Simone in the aftermath of the Birmingham bombing, in conversation with three Black women who represent the archetypes explored in her 1966 song “Four Women.”

Twin Cities actors Aimee K. Bryant, Thomasina Petrus and Traci Shannon — all members of the original cast — will return to play Sarah, Saffronia and Sweet Thing, respectively. Erin Willis, a newcomer to the Twin Cities, will step into the role of Simone, while jazz pianist Sanford Moore joins as Simone’s brother. 

For Simone, an artist’s duty was not simply to observe suffering and injustice, but to actively respond to it. 

“Her music is her weapon,” Price said. “There’s no more ‘We Shall Overcome’ for her. It’s ‘Mississippi Goddam.’ There’s no more galvanizing us to take action. It’s condemning and demanding that we do something.” 

Simone’s rage in “Mississippi Goddam” unsettles the role she had been expected to play as a musician. She was already known for her classical piano training and ballads like “I Loves You, Porgy” and “My Baby Just Cares for Me.” But the country around her was changing, and love songs were growing insufficient. 

“Nina has a line in the show that says, ‘If more of us say the unspeakable when the horrific happens, it will become a shout instead of a whisper,’” Price said. “I think Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, audiences are going to find the show very relevant to our recent experience with Metro Surge and ICE, and our continuing experience with our government.” 

Cultural footprints

Spend your weekend at the State Fair’s Dan Patch Park, where you can learn dances inspired by reggae, K-pop, salsa, samba, Afrobeats and Bollywood. 

On Saturday, Pan Latino Day brings six music and dance acts to the stage. On Sunday, Cultural Destinations Day will highlight four Minnesota cultural festivals — Little Africa Fest, Fiesta Latina, Slavic Experience, and International Festival of Minnesota. 

If you’ll be at the fair on Monday, the park will also host Hmong Minnesota Day with performances and activities from musicians, dancers, martial artists, community leaders and organizations from across the state.

Artists reckon with Metro Surge

“The Radical Act of Having Each Other’s Back” brings together more than two dozen Minnesota artists responding to Operation Metro Surge. 

The exhibit explores migration, displacement and cultural resilience through painting, sculpture, photography, installation, fiber, graffiti and public art. 

At the center of the exhibit is “Iced Out Guernica,” a 21-foot collaborative work that reimagines Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” through the lens of contemporary Minnesota. 

The show also documents how communities supported one another, from organizing demonstrations and raising legal funds to bringing groceries to families who were afraid to leave their homes. 

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