By Nigel Parry, Downtown St. Paul Voice—Tom Dunn is one of many artists affected by the cancellation of the Spring Art Crawl. A photographer and former St. Paul Art Collective president, Dunn know firsthand how important events like this are to local artists. He has participated in the Crawl for the past two decades and has many stories to tell.
On March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, Lowertown photographer Tom Dunn went on a walkabout around Lowertown and Downtown to capture signs of the Coronavirus Crisis’ impact on the neighborhood.
The last 10 days have been a whirlwind, in which many of us have been trying to get a handle on the Coronavirus Crisis, how it’s likely to impact our lives, and what we should be doing—as individuals, families, groups of friends, and local businesses. In the process of trying to understand the bigger picture, the personal stories of our neighbors have been back-burnered. We all need to hear from each other to understand how those around us are thinking, acting and planning during this very personal, community threat. On March 16, Lowertown.info asked members of the community to answer several questions to get a ‘community temperature check’. Please note that several of the responses came before Gov. Walz announced the closures of all restaurants, bars, and cafes in Minnesota. This Lowertown Community Temperature Check features interviews with Chris Beckstrom, Desdamona, Holly Green, Julie Kelly, Tara Weatherly, and Tom Dunn.
Lowertown SantaCon—On Saturday, December 14th, the twelfth annual Lowertown SantaCon took place, a festival of surrealness and comedy…with some drinking. Sponsored by SantaLawyer.com, the Dark Horse Bar & Eatery, Just/Us Eatery & Events, Lowertown Wine & Spirits, and nigelparry.net, the event included members of the Macalester College Pipe Band and the Minnesota Krampus society. Talented Lowertown photographer Tom Dunn kindly documented the event.
Following an involuntary exodus from the JAX building, after it was purchased for market rate rentals as part of the ongoing gentrification of Lowertown, artists from the community poster-tagged the building in the dead of night. Tom Dunn sent these photos to lowertown.info. Tom Dunn Photography specializes in commercial, business and fine art photography. The readers of Woodbury Magazine voted TDP Best Photographer. Located at 308 Prince St., Studio 242 in the Northern Warehouse, Tom Dunn Photography is part of the vibrant Lowertown Arts District of Saint Paul, Minnesota.
