Sandy Spieler named 2014 McKnight Distinguished Artist
The McKnight Foundation has named Minnesota visual artist, performer, designer, director, and teacher Sandy Spieler as the 2014 McKnight Distinguished Artist, in recognition of artistic excellence spanning four decades. Now in its 17th year, the annual honor includes a $50,000 cash award and recognizes individual Minnesota artists who have made significant contributions to the quality of the state’s cultural life.
Spieler is well known for her leadership of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater (HOBT), a Minneapolis company she has directed since 1976. Originally named the Powderhorn Puppet Theater for its neighborhood home in Minneapolis, the theater was renamed in 1979. In 1988 the company relocated to the old Avalon Theater, a building that started in the 1930s as a family-oriented movie house but later became an X-rated theater. (At the time, HOBT noted the transition on its new marquee with “Bye Bye Porn, Hello Puppets.”) Embracing its rich, culturally diverse surroundings in south Minneapolis, HOBT continues to draw on local and regional perspectives to inform its work. The theater performs locally, but also travels nationally and internationally, playing to audiences that include schools, community groups, and churches.