Arts Experiences

Jason Allen: Allen is a musical renaissance man who's written music for orchestras, produced chart topping tracks, and taught electronic music to over a million students globally. This Michigan born, Minneapolis based creator founded Slam Academy and several other education-disrupting companies. With a PhD in music composition and multiple awards, Allen's work spans continents and genres. He's equally at home writing orchestral scores or crafting Netflix jingles. When not pushing musical boundaries, you might find Allen sailing the Arctic or composing under the midnight sun?because regular adventures aren't enough for this musical polymath.; Gita Ghei: Ghei is a multiethnic metal sculptor specializing in public art and teaching. Her education is in art history and archeology, and she learned her trade in a bronze foundry in California. Ghei owns and operates Gita Patina and does patina work for artists and conservators. She teaches bronze casting in her studio. As a community collaborator, she works in mixed media and provides opportunities for social engagement with art. Her sculpture is both whimsical and resilient, and her public work is tied closely to site landscape, showcasing diversity in nature. ; Robert Kohlmeyer: Kohlmeyer is a retired finance manager, now working as a ceramic artist at Northern Clay Center. He also works as a youth sports official. In his finance career, he worked with small business nonprofits, developing business plans and funding sources. He has a BA in finance and economics and has received awards for his ceramic art.; Michael Matuszak: Matuszak is a Turkish-German writer based in Minneapolis. After twenty years as a journalist reporting from Europe, the United States, and Asia, he shifted his focus to fiction storytelling. His work has appeared in Guernica, Roads and Kingdoms, VICE, The Economist, South China Morning Post, and others. Matuszak has a MFA in creative writing from Hamline University and he is working on a novel based in Sichuan, China, where he lived for more than a decade.; Taliesin Nyala: Nyala is an artist, writer, and woodworker who designs and builds furniture and home decor out of sustainably harvested Minnesota hardwoods. She has worked with various master woodworkers in the southeastern region of the state. Nyala owns and operates Hungry Woodworker LLC, selling small items and building furniture on commission.