In the Dark Times, There Will Be Singing: Bienvenidos Dystopia

 

“I think the thing that's important about the event is that it's also a party,” organizer Taylor Carik is quick to add when talking about Bienvenidos Dystopia. “It's not like, come to a lecture hall and hear six lectures. It's a salon with a party.”

The party takes place on August 15th at The Museum of Russian Art, and is the third in an annual series of salons showcasing a cross-section of Minneapolis artists. The title was inspired as a counterpoint to the Walker’s 2018 exhibit of post-revolutionary Cuban Art, Adiós Utopia, and is an acknowledgment of our broader social, political, and cultural times – maybe we are post-revolution, and not for the better right now.

 

Taylor Carik, musician, publisher, and event organizer.  

 

“It's really about taking the perspective of it's difficult to make work now, but these people are still doing it,” says Carik. “The programs that we make for the show have information about the artists, but also lots of material from the last year, like headlines and images, and if you were to see them in a dystopian movie, you would think, ‘This is a bit heavy-handed.’ But it's just kind of our everyday reality at this point.”

 

allison anne, mixed media collage

 

As with the title, you can expect some direct political work at Bienvenidos Dystopia. Filmmaker Rachel Lauren Mueller is on the bill, whose most recent work, co-directed with Laura Poitras, is a short titled They’re Here. The film documents the ICE occupation in Minneapolis as a horror film, and showed out of competition at the Venice Biennale. Poet Michael Kleber-Diggs, whose work masterfully blends the human and political, will have a video poem as part of the event.

The evening is thoughtfully curated by Carik, a musician, publisher, and event organizer, along with dance and performance artist Megan Mayer, and artist and designer Kelsey Johnston. One of the most important aspects of the event, and political in and of itself, is that gatherings are multi- and inter-disciplinary.

 

Kari Tweiten and Annie Enneking performing as Glass

Carik and Mayer are on the bill, talking politics and performance respectively, and many of the performers and participants are presenting works in different disciplines than the one they may be most known for. 

Over the course of the night, expect to see Laura Larson, punk cheerleader from Scrunchies, Kitten Forever, and Baby Guts, who will be displaying paintings. Zak Sally will be playing music, and of course he is known for his time with Low, but is also an acclaimed illustrator. GLASS will also be playing, a minimalist pop outfit from actress Annie Enneking and her Annie and the Bang Bang bandmate Kari Tweiten. Organizer, artist, and author Jamie Kalakaru-Mava will do a set of stand-up comedy.

 

Jaime Kalakaru-Mava, organizer, artist, comedian, and author

 

The mixing expansiveness is intentional. In an algorithmic world where experiences can be increasingly atomized and impersonal, finding ways to build relationships across disciplines can create a stronger overall creative ecosystem, and that community exchange is a hallmark of Minneapolis, one that needs attention and care. Carik hopes that the salon and party format helps bring people with different experiences or from different scenes together. “At least we can cross pollinate them a little bit. So if you're a musician and you need an album cover, like don't use AI, find a new person at an event like this.”

 

Michael Kleber-Diggs, poetry

 

The backdrop of The Museum of Russian Art should elevate the whole experience of the salon as well, as the show will be held in the Poster Art of the Soviet Era exhibition. Gathering for connection and solidarity at this moment in America, surrounded by the bold aesthetics and unapologetic ideological propaganda for a past empire, the resonances of decline, of resistance, of opposition, and community should ring loud. The empire grinds itself down and we keep making art. As the German theatermaker and playwright Bertolt Brecht put it in his poem, Motto: 

In the dark times, will there also be singing?
Yes, there will be singing.
About the dark times.

 

The Museum of Russian Art

Event Details
Bienvenidos Dystopia
August 15, 2026 from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
(Doors open at 7:00 PM, Performances begin at 7:30 PM)
The Museum of Russian Art
5500 Stevens Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55419
TICKETS: $14 advance | $20 at the door Purchase Tickets here

 

Complete Lineup

• allison anne (Art)
• Taylor Carik (Politics)
• Michael Kleber-Diggs (Poetry)
• Glass (Music)
• Megan Mayer (Performance)
• Zak Sally (Music)
• Rachel Lauren Mueller (Film)
• Laura Larson (Art)
• Jaime Kalakaru-Mava (Comedy)

Editor's Note:  MPLSART.COM is a proud in-kind media sponsor of Bienvenidos Dystopia. To quote Blaine, "We need to do what we can to help support others doing cool stuff to bring people together through art"