By Brian Woods, The Schubert Club—a member of The Arts Partnership

On a quiet Sunday morning at the Macy’s store at Mall of America in Bloomington, MN, soon after the store had opened, customers and employees were surprised by Random Acts of Culture® as they went about their morning shopping!

The Arts Partnership presented a string quartet from the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra playing quartets by Mozart, waltzes by Schubert, and a jaunty rag by Joplin. Shoppers were taken back in the men’s and women’s departments, cosmetics, and housewares. Associates from cosmetics counters at the periphery of the department even left their posts for a few moments to listen and express their appreciation for the music!

Many shoppers, definitely not expecting a string quartet, were dressed in their Minnesota Vikings or Green Bay Packers jerseys, in town for the afternoon NFL game at the MetroDome (Green Bay won) or to catch it at one of the restaurants at Mall of America. Many watched from behind merchandise racks, out of curiosity, but the children always come to the front!

Why Does Knight Foundation Fund Random Acts of Culture™? Knight Foundation, like its founders Jack and Jim Knight, focuses on promoting informed and engaged communities. To that end, we strongly believe in the potential of the arts to engage residents, and bring a community together. Hearing Handel, or seeing the tango in an unexpected place provides a deeply felt reminder of how the classics can enrich our lives. As you’ll see in our videos, the performances make people smile, dance, grab their cameras – even cry with joy. For those brief moments, people going along in their everyday lives are part of a shared, communal experience that makes their community a more vibrant place to live. In these days of shrinking audiences, we also hope that these random acts will encourage people to attend traditional performances. We can’t promise it. But it’s hard to watch what unfolds during a Random Act of Culture, and not be inspired to see and hear more