Minnesota’s arts calendar is packed this weekend with live music, outdoor festivals and cultural celebrations across Indigenous and Asian communities. 

In Minneapolis, a new exhibit features Palestinian American artist Lamia Abdukhadra, whose paintings reflect on how images from Gaza are captured, circulated and experienced online. 

Slowing down the feed

At Minneapolis’ Hair + Nails, 28 local and national artists will debut new work in the contemporary art gallery’s second annual Painting Show, opening Saturday. 

Among them is Lamia Abdukhadra, whose featured work asks how viewers engage with images of violence in the endless scroll of social media. 

Her oil painting is based on a photograph of a painting by Palestinian artist Dina Mattar, shown amid rubble and twisted metal after the destruction of a contemporary art gallery in Gaza where it was once displayed. 

Abdukhadra, who serves as arts and communications director for the St. Paul-based organization Mizna, examines what can be lost when Palestinian photographs are viewed primarily as documentation of violence, overlooking the risk and creativity behind the lens. 

Born in Minneapolis, Abdukhadra moved to Beirut, Lebanon in 2019 for an arts fellowship. During her six years there, she lived through the COVID-19 pandemic, political unrest and recurring power outages as conflict escalated in the region. 

Many days were spent waiting for the electricity to return, gathering outside with neighbors for air during outages and forming close friends with fellow artists as they attended protests across the city. 

“The amount of images being produced from people just holding smart phones and sharing them really exploded,” Abdukhadra said. “It corresponded with this desire to tell the world about what’s happening. There isn’t much you can do about the situation except witness it.” 

In one ongoing series, Abdukhadra focuses on photographs taken from behind windows, where glass functions as both a barrier and a lens. Across Palestinian photography, she said she has noticed recurring visual patterns — windows, edges, silhouettes and partial framing — that emerged while documenting violence and resistance.

“People don’t want to get too close to the event because they’re either scared for their lives or scared they’ll be seen filming,” she said. “The images often reflect the conditions in which they were taken.” 

By translating digital photographs into oil paint, Abdukhadra slows the pace at which such images are typically viewed online. She asks viewers to investigate what lies behind the frame, using painting as a way to question the cultural narratives within Palestinian images. 

“I really think art has as much value as any other practice or research, in that art is the base for which the imaginary can open up possibilities or connections that we wouldn’t necessarily see without it,” Abdukhadra said. “We can’t stop art in order to take action. We have to do them together.” 

Indigenous hip-hop and poetry

A show at the Hook and Ladder Event Center will bring together Indigenous musicians and poets from across the Twin Cities. 

Kick off your weekend at “Turtle Island Voices Rising” with performances from R&B singer Jada Brown, hip-hop artists Thomas X and Day Days, poet Isavela, and DJ sets throughout the night. 

St. Paul’s weekend playground

The Ordway’s Flint Hills Family Festival returns to downtown St. Paul with two days of free outdoor performances, hands-on art activities and food trucks at the Ordway, Rice Park and Landmark Plaza. 

At Rice Park, expect taiko drumming, Hmong qeej music, DJ sets and Sons of Mystro, a violin duo reimagining reggae and pop songs. The park will also host youth activities, including henna and Vietnamese and Indian folk art projects. 

On Saturday, Landmark Plaza will host Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese and Colombian dance ensembles, while indoor programming at the Ordway includes family shows like opera for babies and circus performances. 

Multicultural performances at Asian Fair

The Asian Fair returns to Plymouth with cultural showcases from 20 Asian communities, including Karen and Philippine groups participating for the first time. 

The festival will feature more than 300 performers throughout the day, 12 food vendors and a new focus on sustainability.  An Eco Street will offer workshops on how to make upcycled tote bags and jewelry from recycled glass. The fair will also host a watermelon-eating contest at 2 p.m. 

READ MORE

Palestinian American artist Lamia Abdukhadra reframes Gaza’s viral images in new Minneapolis exhibit

New Dakota Waḳaƞ Ṭípi Center opens on reclaimed sacred site in St. Paul

Saanta Collective’s ‘GAAF’ fuses traditional and modern Somali dance storytelling