Art
Death of a Piano
The 2026 documentary Death of a Piano follows four years of Duluth’s SubSuperior Underwater Music and Art Festival. It features Troy Rogers and numerous other artists as they construct and experiment with Hexas — a modular, reconfigurable platform constructed from five-foot hexagonal floating docks for the purpose of serving as a rogue stage on Duluth’s waterfront. A discarded piano emerges as a central character as festival participants decide how to conduct a proper sendoff.
Directed and edited by Tomas Soderberg.
To Be Determined Ballroom launches monthly tea service
The Duchess of Duluth on the Teebeedeebee dance floor accompanied by DJ Jesscribe. (Photo By Julia Guttenfelder)
As the sun shaded the clouds to pink on a Duluth Tuesday evening, Daniel Benoit’s Central Hillside garage space was transformed into a discotheque. People trickled into the dimly lit room filling it with movement, conversation, steady beats and sobriety.
Dancers and non-dancers, DJs and non-DJs all gathered to celebrate each others company over alcohol-free tea elixirs. The To Be Determined Ballroom — at times referred to as TBDB, TBD Ballroom, Teebeedeebee or Teebeedee Ballroom — held its first tea service on Sept. 15, featuring “groove session” sets from DJs Porb, Jesscribe and MalMe. (more…)
Jonathan Thunder’s Dream Lake Vibes
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
Duluth’s Jonathan Thunder presents an hour’s worth of ambient wave sounds blended with a mix of piano jazz playing under a surreal full moon illuminating Uncle Harvey’s Mausoleum on the Shores of Lake Superior.
More about the poetic lives of Sheila Packa and Tracy Gilsvik
Sheila Packa is a poet laureate of Duluth and a friend. Her poem in the fall/winter 1996 edition of North Coast Review is paired with a poem by Tracy Gilsvik. I think they work in health, now, but I want to know more about their poetic lives. (more…)
Who were Mary Dragich and Heidi Ash as poets?
I’m seeking information about poets who appear in an old issue of North Coast Review, a Poetry Harbor publication.
Today, two poems, one by Heidi Ash. Is this possibly the chocolatier? Can anyone help me fill in some details here? The other is by Mary Dragich, who has a few articles about her in the Duluth News Tribune (and appeared to have been married to my former colleague, John Pastor). But what about their literary lives? Were these their only or best poems? (more…)
Excavating Literary History in Duluth: John R. Donahue
I’m reading an issue of North Coast Review from 1996 and seeking information about poets whose works appear in the magazine.
Today, John R. Donahue. Is this possibly the Jesuit who has written 28 books? Can anyone help me fill in some details here? (more…)
Excavating Literary History in Duluth: Astrid Rose Francel
After every library book sale (the next one is in Superior in a few weeks), I post on Perfect Duluth Day about the poets whose works are being deaccessioned. Over the next few days, I will ask about poets appearing in North Coast Review, a Poetry Harbor publication.
First up, Astrid Rose Francel. There is a popular novelist named Astrid Rose, and there is an actress named Rose Francel. But I can’t find Astrid Rose Francel. Can anyone help? (more…)
Excavating Literary History in Duluth: Sally Ockwig Larson
I’m reading books secured at the most recent Duluth Public Library book sale. Over the next few days, I will ask about poets appearing in North Coast Review, a Poetry Harbor publication.
Today, Sally Ockwig Larson. (more…)
Duluth-area Theater Primer 2026-2027
As the air gets colder and the wind howls louder, Duluth’s theatrical arts organizations launch into a new season of storytelling, blending thought-provoking dramas, glittery musicals, boundary-pushing independent productions, topical local comedies and touring Broadway spectacles. Perfect Duluth Day’s annual primer offers a glimpse into the variety of upcoming shows hitting local stages. (more…)
After the Book Sale: Excavating the Poetry Community
After the Duluth Public Library’s book sale, it’s time to discover and uncover Duluth poets from the books the library has de-accessioned, weeded. (more…)
Selective Focus: Madeline Island’s Fairy Gnome Village
Not to be confused with the old mysterious miniature village on private land, Madeline Island has a very-easy-to-find fairy gnome village in an area where the public is welcome. It’s located on paths connected to the Capser Trail in a natural area managed by the Madeline Island Wilderness Preserve. (more…)
Ripped on the Art Gallery Stroll in 2006
[Editor’s note: For this week’s essay we’ve once again pulled out a relic from the drunken compendium of Slim Goodbuzz, who served as Duluth’s “booze connoisseur” from 1999 to 2009. Twenty years ago the Sultan of Sot took a tour of Downtown Duluth art galleries and composed this article for the June 5, 2001 edition of the Transistor.]
Let’s get one thing straight: I love art. I mean, there’s no greater art than getting drunk. So, with that in mind, I’m on my way to the Art Gallery Stroll — the first of five monthly, multi-gallery art receptions this summer in Duluth. Pop those corks, artsy-fartsies; I’m out to get completely, utterly and entirely fucking Brandenburged.
Art receptions, as any seasoned alcoholic knows, are the most abundant source of complimentary wine in the world. But this adventure is about more than saving money; it’s about improving my health. Instead of sitting on a stool in a smoky room and staring dumbly at myself in a Budweiser mirror behind a bar, tonight I’m going to air out my hemorrhoids by walking around and staring dumbly at, for example, a clay sculpture of a bear with a cup and saucer on his head. (more…)
A Literary Summer Begins
It’s been a very literary summer in Duluth and Superior.
First, the Duluth Failed Poets Society met at Wussow’s Concert Cafe to celebrate a new book. Laminated Wildflowers is a celebration both of craft and of community. (It’s also a sequel to Murder Your Darlings.) Photos and video of the event are available on Instagram. (more…)
Ish Meets a Mermaid
Written and directed by Duluth’s Jonathan Thunder, the short movie Ish Meets a Mermaid was produced in 2025 and premiered at the Historic State Theater in Ely during the Ely Film Festival in March 2026. It recently made its Duluth debut at the Zeitgeist Minnesota Film Festival. (more…)
Bug Ball fundraiser has Prøve Gallery buzzing
Dressed in gowns that look like they came straight out of a doll house, a few artists met at Prøve Gallery last week to shoot a promotional video for their upcoming gala. As soon as the bug garments and masks were placed on the models’ heads, the poses came out.
“A mask is transformative,” artist and Prøve Collective board member Cherry Koch said, watching the models move around the room in playful bug-like fashion. (more…)
Selective Focus: Chosen Family & Mutual Aid with Carolyn Olson
Centering on themes of mutual aid, chosen family, snapshots of the home and community spaces, Carolyn Olson works with gouache, pastel and oil to create narrative paintings. Her work has included scenes from laundromats, overnight parking areas, community gardens and food distribution locations. The subjects in her work are often presented with unrealistic body proportions to bring out different energies in the characters or accentuate the task at hand. (more…)
Writers Speak Out: Power to the People
Writers Speak Out: People Have the Power was held at Wussow’s Concert Cafe on April 21. (more…)
Making it Up North: Lenore Lampi
Ceramicist Lenore Lampi discusses the transition from being an art teacher to a full-time artist, the inspiration behind her “Scrolls Interrupted” series, and the unique techniques she uses to bring her sculptures to life — including the use of furniture gilding wax and birch-inspired motifs.
Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.
Former Duluthian Nik Nerburn exhibits at MIA
Still from Nik Nerburn’s “Going Out For Cigarettes.”
The Minneapolis Institute of Art has announced former Duluthian Nik Nerburn will have work on exhibit there March 21 to June 21. (more…)
Making it Up North: Alt Creative
Melissa Weisser and Tammy Underwood talk about how Alt Creative has grown into a vibrant arts collective of 50 creators.
Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.
Lisa Fitzpatrick recognized with environmental film award
Lisa Fitzpatrick creates a tiny tableau of the St. Louis River estuary in “River Creatures,” an artwork that is part of “The River Speaks” exhibit at Wussow’s Concert Cafe, organized by the St. Louis River Alliance. (Image via the St. Louis River Alliance’s Instagram page.
Duluth-based artist, animator and climate advocate Lisa Fitzpatrick was recognized with an Outstanding Environmental Film Award at the Short. Sweet. Film Fest., an event in Cleveland, Ohio that highlights short features. Her submission, Love Song for Earth, was part of the festival’s environmental program on March 4. (more…)
Meet the Moment: Writers Speak Out
Meet the Moment: Writers Speak Out was held at Wussow’s Concert Cafe on Feb. 26. (more…)
Making it Up North: Catherine Meier
Visual artist Catherine Meier shares her journey from hauling cattle across the Great Plains to creating deeply immersive animations and drawings on Minnesota’s North Shore.
Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.
Jonathan Thunder’s Digital Tampering Reel
This compilation shows various animation projects Duluth artist Jonathan Thunder has worked on in the past decade, including his own projects, collaborations and works for hire.
Exhibitions celebrate Indigenous art
Illustration by Carl Gawboy.
Two fine-art exhibitions and the music of a Minneapolis recording artist are featured at the Duluth Art Institute in shows running through April 3. A reception for the artists is on March 26 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. (more…)