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State of the Arts Blog
Marianne Combs

A weekend in London, or in the Twin Cities? You choose.

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This installation piece at the Barbican Centre is just one of the many lovely things you could be seeing or doing in London this weekend. But then you'd miss out on all the lovely stuff going on in Minnesota.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to bop on over to London for the weekend? Then we could check out the Henry Moore exhibition at Tate Britain or the Arshile Gorky retrospective at the Tate Modern. We could wander amongst the West African carvings and Mexican prints on display at the British Museum.

Of course we'd have to see what's up at the Barbican Centre. Oh look, Macbeth is playing! And so is 4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane (so much for getting a good laugh). Of course for a good ghost story we could always go see "The Woman in Black" at the Fortune Theatre. And we'd dine on fish and chips and beer. Sigh...

I have to admit I started off this post in a wistful, "if only" kind of mood. But the more I looked at what was on offer this weekend in London, the more proud I became of what I knew I could see any weekend in the Twin Cities. London may have its Tate Britain and Tate Modern, but we have the MIA and the Walker. And frankly a look at what's currently on display in our museums and theaters gets me much more interested in taking a little "staycation."

What would I do on my "staycation?"

I'd check out the Modernism exhibition or the "Drama in the Old Testament" exhibiiton. And I'd go to the openings of "1964" and "Recollection: Lorna Simpson" at the Walker Art Center. With the weather warming up, I'd definitely take a stroll through the sculpture garden. And after the Walker, I'd walk over to Groveland Gallery to check out Jean Gumpper and Michael Karaken's work.

For theater, I'd check out "Welcome to Dystopia" at Bedlam Theatre. And for dance, I'd go see Diavolo at the Ordway. For music I'd head over to the Dakota to catch Nachito Herrera at his monthly gig.

So a weekend in London or a weekend in the Twin Cities? I choose the Twin Cities. I'll miss shopping the food halls at Harrods, but I can always pick up an Old Speckled Hen at Bryant Lake Bowl.