Minnesota artist Ashley Hanson has been named an inaugural Obama Foundation fellow — one of only 20 chosen, among 20,000-plus applicants from 191 countries, for "creating transformational change on many of the world's most pressing problems." Based in Granite Falls, Hanson works to revitalize and connect rural communities using art, conversation and, last year, a little yellow school bus as she traveled through 20 states to better understand the disconnect between folks in urban and rural America. Hanson, 34, got word at a tough moment. She was working on her taxes and realized her adjusted gross income last year came to less than $10,000. "I give everything to this work, and why?" she remembers thinking. That's when the phone rang. "I dropped to my knees," she said. "We're out here, scrappy artists making it happen with very limited resources." While the two-year fellowship doesn't provide funding, Hanson will receive regular meetups and mentoring. And she's getting validation — something hard to come by in the world of "creative place-making," which uses the arts to build better communities. "I hope I can amplify more voices," she said, "and draw more attention to the work happening out on the prairie and across the country."JENNA ROSS
Comedy is not pretty
The most striking takeaway from T.J. Miller's performance last week at Rick Bronson's House of Comedy at the Mall of America was that he even showed up. The comedian had been arrested a few days before on charges that he phoned in a fake bomb threat from an Amtrak train bound for New York. He also was accused last winter of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend and his former bosses at the HBO series "Silicon Valley" have dished on their difficulties with the actor. Miller briefly mentioned his arrest during an hour-plus set, expressing disbelief that it took 15 federal agents to confront him. "Did they think I had killed their relatives?" he said before launching into a bit that consisted primarily of him blowing a train whistle. That sort of random shtick dominated his act, which also featured a mime interpretation of Dan Fogelberg's "Auld Lang Syne" and some juggling. "Why would I cancel?" he said in response to a question after the show. "This is my job."
NEAL JUSTIN
Wait for it
The Soap Factory isn't quite cleaned up yet. Closed for renovations since December, the experimental art space has postponed the May 5 opening of "Art(ists) on the Verge" and pushed back its reopening to fall, to coincide with the organization's 30th anniversary. "It makes more sense to be a little bit more patient," said executive director Bill Mague, blaming tax-credit complications with its financial partners. "It's a very complicated project [to organize financing], but it's in the interest of long-term sustainability," he said.
ALICIA ELER
A date at the Proms
The Minnesota Orchestra will make an impressive stopover on its way to South Africa this summer. It will take the stage Aug. 6 at London's Royal Albert Hall for the prestigious BBC Proms with an all-American program identical to an Aug. 1 "send-off" concert at Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall: Leonard Bernstein's "Candide Overture" followed by George Gershwin's Piano Concerto (with pianist Inon Barnatan) and Charles Ives' Second, a piece of Americana heard only once before by Proms audiences. Musicians will pack up their instruments the very next day and head to South Africa for a five-city tour. Minnesota Public Radio will broadcast the concert at 1 p.m. Aug. 6.
TERRY BLAIN
Kinda Kinky
A handful of Twin Cities musicians can brag about getting to open for the Kinks, but surely none can go as far back as Joey Molland can. Opening Saturday for Kinks guitarist Dave Davies at Medina Entertainment Center, the Badfinger guitarist recalled sharing a festival stage in Liverpool with the Kinks in 1968 when he played with Gary Walker & the Rain. "I have a poster from the show I'm hoping to get him to sign," Molland rightfully bragged. During a disheveled but spirited set that included "Strangers," "Death of a Clown" and, of course, "You Really Got Me," Davies recalled it'd been a long time (16 years) since he last played Minnesota. "Thanks for inviting me back," he said. It's been even longer since he's shared a stage with his brother and bandmate Ray, to whom he dedicated the 1969 acoustic number "Young & Innocent Days." Said Dave, "After 70 years, we're finally starting to talk to each other."
![From left, Guthrie actor Stacia Rice and Associate Artistic Director, John Miller-Stephany. ] (SPECIAL TO THE STAR TRIBUNE/BRE McGEE) **Stacia Rice (left, Guthrie actor), John Miller-Stephany (right, Associate Artistic Director)](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/MHXVRSFDWGMGAY2RLDBHB5VI6Q.jpg?&w=1080)
