Art Hounds: New SWANA plays, 5-minute films and art meets healthcare

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here . Six new plays from Arab American Theaterworks Deborah Copperud of Minneapolis hosts the podcast “ Read Minnesota Books .” She’s looking forward to a new event, the Festival of New SWANA Plays , this weekend. SWANA stands for Southwest Asian and North African, and it's a culmination of the New Arab American Theater Works Playwright Incubator Program. Open Book in Minneapolis will host staged readings of six new plays by Midwestern SWANA playwrights. Three play readings happen each day at 1, 4 and 7 p.m. with a moderated audience talkback following each show. Tickets are $15 per day. Deborah says the plays are all different: There's a psychological thriller, a fairy tale adaptation, a domestic drama and a travel quest. Sana Wazwaz is a playwright from Minneapolis, and she is presenting “Birthright Palestine” [Saturday at 7 p.m.]. The play was inspired by her experience organizing for Palestinian liberation as a college student. — Deborah Copperud 5-Minute Film Festival in Duluth Denise Voie de Vie is a working artist in Duluth specializing in mixed media and acrylics. She’s expecting to be part of a good crowd at Prøve Collective this Saturday for their 5-Minute Film Festival. The free event will screen 17 or 18 very short films by local artists, ranging in style from animation to documentary to abstract and beyond. Doors open at 7 p.m. Denise admires the work coming out of Prøve : There is a really lively art scene here in Duluth, and Prøve has carved out that niche for new and upcoming talent. There are a lot of really young and talented people on the board, and they are willing to take chances on art. It's a place where some of the most exciting things happen. — Denise Voie de Vie Art meets healthcare in Med City Lauren Hutchinson lives in Rochester, having previously worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She recently enjoyed seeing the exhibition “Forms of Care: The Art of Representing the Body” at Rochester Center for the Arts. It’s a thought-provoking multi-artist exhibition that explores the field of medicine and its interaction with human bodies as well as the ethics of representing human bodies in medical texts. The show includes 2D work, sculptures and an opportunity for visitors to sit for portraits. It runs through January 2027. Lauren says: It really makes you question: Can one body be used to represent an entire population of diverse individuals? I hope lots of doctors and medical staff will get to experience the exhibition and see the creativity and artistry that's hidden behind a lot of their work. — Lauren Hutchinson

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Art Hounds: New SWANA plays, 5-minute films and art meets healthcare is an episode from Art Hounds® - MPR News by Minnesota Public Radio.

This episode is 00:04:08 long.

This episode was published on Jun 4, 2026.

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