Wing over China For the past two years, Twin Cities photographer Wing Young Huie has been Minnesota's unofficial ambassador to China, where 60 of his photos have been exhibited at 12 sites in three provinces. He also has made two trips to China to do photography workshops and sessions on "identity, American diversity and public art." Like his earlier pictures of St. Paul's Frogtown and Minneapolis' Lake Street, "Identity and the American Landscape" documents the contemporary American scene with all the awkward promise and discomfort it holds, especially for immigrants and foreigners. Huie, who grew up in Duluth, is the first American-born member of his family -- including five siblings -- who emigrated from Guangdong, China, decades ago. The project, now on view in Minneapolis' sister city Harbin, has been seen by more than 500,000 people and received "massive media coverage in China," reports David Fraher, executive director of Arts Midwest, which organized the tour with support from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
MARY ABBE
Desperate husband One "Desperate Housewives" star is moving from Wisteria Lane to a Minnesota neighborhood. James Denton, who played hunky plumber Mike Delfino on the ABC hit series, has announced that he's moving this month to the Midwest to be closer to his wife's family. He told the ABC affiliate in Los Angeles that if he never came back to Hollywood "it's because it's worked so well for the family up there that we decided to stay." Denton's wife, fitness instructor Erin O'Brien, would make three or four trips a year to Minnesota during the show's long run. In a 2007 interview with the Star Tribune, O'Brien hinted that she and her husband feel a lot more comfortable away from the show-biz crowd. "The last time I was home visiting, my mom told me I seemed very cautious and serious -- two words that have never described me," said O'Brien, a native of Shakopee. "I'm not as friendly in strange situations and that's weird because I'm from Minnesota. I guess I've just handled it by circling the wagons and not letting many folks in."
NEAL JUSTIN
12 for 12 for '12 Everybody puts in 12-hour days, right? Why not, especially if it's for a great cause like the Minnesota State Fair. For this "12 Artists 12 hours 12 days 2012" gig, a dozen Minnesota artists will each spend a 12-hour workday in a studio set up in the fair's Fine Arts Building. They will be demonstrating "art-making in action," so expect periods of deliberate -- or frenzied -- activity punctuated by patches of quiet rumination, head scratching and maybe even naps. All are prepared to answer questions. The artists, in order beginning Friday, are Sean Smuda (photography and writing), Dani Roach (watercolor), Michelle Westmark (photography) Abigail Wood Anderson (printmaking and painting), Loretta Bebeau (drawing), Fred Cogelow (woodcarving), Ron Merchant (oil painting), Fawzia Khan (bronze sculpture), Kimber Olson (fiber art), Cheng-Khee Chee (watercolor) and Scott Stulen (painting, sculpture). Gregory Euclide (drawing) was on hand for opening day.
MARY ABBE
Double duty Zach Curtis has a busy September lined up. He's acting in Ten Thousand Things' "Measure for Measure" and directing "A Few Good Men" for Bloomington Civic Theatre. Full schedules are nothing new for Twin Cities theater folks who try to juggle as much work as possible. But Curtis opens both shows on the same day. "Measure for Measure" has its first performance at a correctional facility during the day, and "A Few Good Men" bows at the Bloomington black box that night. I.W. hopes there's no afternoon lockdown.
GRAYDON ROYCE
