Area Attractions: Guthrie and Viva City Fine Arts Festival

The Guthrie Theater (Joseph Haj, Artistic Director), in partnership with Minneapolis Arts, is proud to host The Viva City Fine Arts Festival, a free, building-wide celebration of arts education in Minneapolis Public Schools, including more than 30 performances by over 1,000 students representing grades K-12 from schools throughout the city. Performances will take place on all three Guthrie stages and will include vocal music, orchestras, bands, theater, dance, spoken word and step team, as well as a display of visual artwork in the lobbies. This free event will take place Monday, March 27 at 6 p.m. For more information about Viva City and the MPS Arts partnership, visit mpsarts.org/education/viva.

Guthrie Director of Education Jason Brown said, “Viva City brings so much opportunity to students throughout Minneapolis, and it is our privilege to host it at the Guthrie this year. The Guthrie was always intended to be a resource for our community, so to welcome more than 1,000 students to perform for their families and the public will be an intersection of art and education that is truly thrilling. We hope Viva City sparks a passion in young people to continue making art in their communities.”

For the first time in Viva City’s 23-year history, the event is being hosted by a single arts organization. The Guthrie’s three unique performance spaces and public lobbies allow for all student performances and visual art pieces to be celebrated under one roof, while opening up the event to even more attendees. This year’s event includes 24 schools (up from 11), 1,000 students (up from 400), and is expected to triple guest attendance.

This district-wide event highlights the high-quality arts programming of MPS and extraordinary work of MPS students and visual and performing arts educators. Viva City provides MPS students with an equitable opportunity to showcase their artistic ability regardless of background; it exposes students to professional artists, organizations and venues, expanding their understanding of personal, college and career opportunities; and it is a showcase for MPS programs and partnerships with artists, arts organizations and the greater community.       

THE GUTHRIE THEATER (Joseph Haj, Artistic Director) was founded by Sir Tyrone Guthrie in 1963 and is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training, dedicated to producing the great works of dramatic literature and to cultivating the next generation of theater artists. Under the leadership of Haj, the Guthrie produces a mix of classic and contemporary plays on three stages, and continues to set a national standard for excellence in theatrical production and performance. In 2006, the Guthrie opened its new home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, the Guthrie Theater houses three state-of-the-art stages, production facilities, classrooms, full-service restaurants and dramatic public lobbies. www.guthrietheater.org