Minneapolis, MN
National cigarettes, banned pop songs and memory oceans: Minneapolis Iranian artists show work about diaspora
![National cigarettes, banned pop songs and memory oceans: Minneapolis Iranian artists show work about diaspora National cigarettes, banned pop songs and memory oceans: Minneapolis Iranian artists show work about diaspora](https://img.apmcdn.org/cba3caa406de1b0dbfac4ee0d30cb0ccf4e02bca/widescreen/1beef8-20240909-inside-an-art-gallery02-2000.jpg)
In the underground gallery of the Q.arma Building in northeast Minneapolis, there is a line of giant stubbed-out cigarettes, all of them glossy and hard ceramic.
Nearby are watercolor prints of Persian calligraphy featuring lyrics by female Iranian pop artists who worked in exile after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. In a back room, artist Shirin Ghoraishi places a virtual reality headset on visitors, chaperoning them through an ocean horizon that leads to a subway car.
This is the show, “So Far, So Close,” featuring Ghoraishi, Ziba Rajabi and Katayoun Amjadi. The artists were all born in Iran.
Artist Shirin Ghoraishi, here with curator and artist Ziba Rajabi, guides guests through her VR experience inspired by dreams and memory. Courtesy of Drew Arrieta
“We all have been living outside of Iran for years,” says Rajabi, who also curated the show. “This is an exhibition that explores the complicated experience of displacement from the motherland through themes of space, distance and memory by three Iranian female artists.”
When breaking news happens, MPR News provides the context you need. Help us meet the significant demands of these newsgathering efforts.
The exhibition was funded by the Twin Cities Iranian Culture Collective and the Minnesota Humanities Center.
Rajabi’s works are the series of watercolor calligraphy. In her artist statement, Rajabi explains that in “the ‘80s and ‘90s, the Islamic regime banned pop music, and the only art and music allowed were war propaganda.”
The pop songs she references in her work come from Iranian artists whose work was smuggled into the country on tapes or VHS. For this show, she focuses on the music of Leila Forouhar, an Iranian woman who fled Iran in the 80s.
The “Forget to Fly” series by artist-curator Ziba Rajabi uses watercolor monotypes of Persian calligraphy “employing verses from pop songs by Iranian female singers who lived and worked in exile after the 1979 [Iranian] Revolution.”
Courtesy of Drew Arrieta
“Her experience of exile was similar,” Rajabi says.
Ghoraishi created a VR experience about reality, dreams and memory and where these areas overlap.
“The audience will see an ocean that is a representation of dreams and memories, which doesn’t mean they are true or not true,” Ghoraishi says. “Sometimes memory tricks us. We remember something that didn’t exist before.”
Ghoraishi ends the user experience by placing them in front of a full-length mirror in a dim room.
“This final moment is a necessary reminder that as an immigrant, we are shaped by what we remember of our past and what we have had to forget,” Ghoraishi says. “The mirror reflects not only the self but the constant negotiation of one’s identity.”
A still from the virtual reality experience “Echoes and Fragments” created by Minneapolis artist Shirin Ghoraishi.
Courtesy of Shirin Ghoraishi
Amjadi created the nine giant ceramic cigarettes. The rest of her installation includes silkscreen prints of cigarette packs as well as two actual cigarette packs encased in a clear box. “Two ordinary cigarette packs picked up from newsstands in Tehran and Jerusalem,” Amjadi wrote in her artist statement.
The brands are Bahman, the national cigarette of Iran, and Alia, a cigarette brand from Palestine that is sold in Israel.
Amjadi says her art investigates “how objects carry memory, and the objects that we collect, especially as souvenirs that we bring from one place to another, are signifiers of memory, nostalgia and also identity are embedded in them.”
Bahman, Amjadi explains, is Farsi for “snow avalanche” and is also the word for February, the month of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
“Bahman is the month of revolution, a 1979 revolution in Iran that, in a sense, caused the Iranian diaspora,” Amjadi says. “So me and my friends right here would not be here if that event would not have taken place.”
Minneapolis-based Iranian artists Katayoun Amjadi, Shirin Ghoraishi and Ziba Rajabi with moderator Aida Shahghasemi at the opening of the show “So Far So Close” at the Q.arma Underground Gallery in northeast Minneapolis.
Courtesy of Alaleh Naderi
Alia is the Arabic word for “exalted.” Amjadi says it also has the meaning of a return to the Holy Land for the Jewish people. (Aliyah means “ascent” in Hebrew and is used in Judaism to represent both the act of being called to read from the Hebrew Bible and the act of immigrating to Israel.)
“Which is a reverse diaspora but causes another diaspora, a Palestinian diaspora,” she says. “I’m interested in the desires and yearnings of one population for a homeland, for belonging to a place, and how it causes another group to be displaced, and the parities between these diasporas in a way.”
Gallery hours are 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays through Tuesdays. Visitors can do the virtual reality experience Saturdays and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibition will have a closing reception on Sept. 21.
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Minneapolis, MN
Mothership Pizza Paradise will land on France Avenue this fall
![Mothership Pizza Paradise will land on France Avenue this fall Mothership Pizza Paradise will land on France Avenue this fall](https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/startribunemedia/MZUJ7YD6DHEXWX5XNB2OPMHE6U.jpg)
Soul Bowl began as a pop-up in north Minneapolis before growing into the fast-casual spot, popular for its menu of comfort foods with plant-based options. (There’s a State Fair outpost, too.)
As it marks 20 years in business, local burger chain My Burger has announced it will open its 10th location at the Viking Lakes complex in Eagan near the intersection of Interstates 494 and 35E this fall. The new location kicks off plans to double the number of My Burgers.
My Burger was founded in downtown Minneapolis with a skyway location in 2004 by the Abdo family with a menu of burgers, fries and shakes — including a current pumpkin spice shake. A My Burger opened earlier this year in Edina; other locations are in Eden Prairie, St. Paul’s Mac Groveland, Stadium Village, Richfield, Uptown, Minnetonka and Wayzata.
Speaking of My Burger, it’s worth noting that the burger of the month is a collaboration with Rise Bagel Co. The Rise & Shine burger is topped with Rise honey-rosemary cream cheese, arugula, havarti, everything bagel seasoning and a fried egg ($12.95).
All the screens are being installed at the area’s new subterranean sports bar. The Rabbit Hole (411 Washington Av. N., Mpls.) will sport 40 TVs and a menu built for enjoying game day. The bar and restaurant (no affiliation with the one by the same name that used to be inside Midtown Global Market) will take over the space formerly occupied by AxeBridge Wine Co.
Minneapolis, MN
City of Lakes Half Marathon death leaves running community in mourning
![City of Lakes Half Marathon death leaves running community in mourning City of Lakes Half Marathon death leaves running community in mourning](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox9.com/www.fox9.com/content/uploads/2021/06/1280/720/calhounBdemakaska.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A man is dead after collapsing during a run during the City of Lakes Half Marathon on Sept. 8, leaving the larger running community in shock and mourning.
What we know
Minneapolis park officials confirmed a 27-year-old man collapsed along the Bde Maka Ska Parkway during the City of Lakes Half Marathon on Sunday.
After being treated by first responders, he was transported to Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
In a post to social media, Run Minnesota confirmed the runner had died: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of a participant following the 2024 City of Lakes Half Marathon… On a day meant to be a celebration, a family lost a loved one. Our hearts go out to the runner’s family and all those who were close to them.”
The organization also expressed its gratitude to participants who came to aid during the emergency.
What we don’t know
Officials have not yet confirmed the name of the runner who died or the official cause of death. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner will make those determinations.
Minneapolis, MN
The case for the Minneapolis school levy request
![The case for the Minneapolis school levy request The case for the Minneapolis school levy request](https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/startribunemedia/MJDZ5W2KENCFDMBC3BBBAE5ON4.jpg)
Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.
School started last week for students in the Minneapolis Public Schools. I live a block from my alma mater South High School, and a few years ago on the first day of school I joined community members outside the school to cheer on South students as they entered the building. Community members clapped, played music and shouted words of encouragement, and high school students looked at us embarrassed. This was a South tradition that I believe sadly ended with the COVID pandemic. But the spirit behind it still stands — our students, teachers and schools need our whole community rallying behind them, and they need us now more than ever before.
I’m a state representative from south Minneapolis; I sit on the Education Finance Committee in the Minnesota House. Day after day, my committee hears stories of schools and school districts across our state that are struggling. Coming out of the pandemic, teachers are asked to not only guide academics in the classroom but to support students with mental health needs. The district is also asked to provide social service support that is vital to keeping kids in school, such as access to health care or stable housing.
Given these deep needs, it’s a time for everyone and every level of government to step up. Supporting our public schools takes all of us working together on multiple fronts. Over the past few years, our DFL Legislature, Gov. Tim Walz, and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan provided historic funding to our schools, but digging out from decades of chronic underfunding takes time, so there’s more work ahead. We passed legislation that addresses literacy, feeds students and supports the school staff who educate and care for our students. Lifting up public education remains a top priority of ours. Cities, counties and the state can collaborate cross-jurisdictionally to support school districts through fiscal and operational challenges, and much of this work is underway.
And there’s something that all community members can do this election year to support the Minneapolis Public Schools and districts across the state. You may have started to see yellow lawn signs with “Vote YES for kids” popping up across your neighborhood. That’s because voters have an immediate opportunity to invest in our local schools by voting yes on school funding ballot questions. MPS is asking voters to approve an increase in the capital projects levy, often called a tech levy. The increase would provide the district with an additional $20 million to cover existing expenses related to technology (cybersecurity, student and staff technology needs, data systems, IT staff, etc.). The district is not proposing new technology spending but rather is attempting to cover current costs that would then free up $20 million in the general fund. While this may not fully address budget shortfalls, it would help significantly as the district continues to work on enrolling more students and ensuring fiscal and operational sustainability.
Unlike cities and counties, our local school districts cannot raise local property tax levies without going to voters. So MPS is asking the voters to pitch in for our kids and our schools, with the average home ($350,000) seeing an increase of $8 per month (less than a pork chop on a stick at the State Fair!).
Some have rightly asked why MPS would need to ask voters to increase property taxes when the Legislature just passed historic education funding. The reality is that the funding provided over the past two years is only a start on what is needed. MPS received $250 million in one-time pandemic aid from the federal government that has been used. During that same period, the district saw declining enrollment, which impacts funding, and while the district is excited to welcome many new English-learner students, the state only covers roughly half of the cost of EL teachers (although we passed laws in 2023 that will close this gap in the next few years).
-
World1 week ago
Locals survey damage after flooding in eastern Romania
-
Politics1 week ago
Gold Star families slam Kamala Harris for 'playing politics' over Trump's visit to Arlington National Cemetery
-
World1 week ago
Taiwan court orders release of ex-Taipei mayor arrested in corruption probe
-
Politics1 week ago
Michigan becomes a top GOP Senate target as Mike Rogers ties with Dem opponent among older voters
-
World1 week ago
Seven EU members hadn’t received any post-Covid funding by end-2023
-
World6 days ago
Meloni says 'we are making history' as Italy’s FDI reviews progress
-
Politics1 week ago
Margin of error race between Harris and Trump as 2024 election enters final stretch
-
World6 days ago
Israeli forces using ‘war-like’ tactics in occupied West Bank: OCHA