PANGEA WORLD THEATER NEW HOME PLANNED IN LONGFELLOW NEIGHBORHOOD

$2.5 MILLION CHALLENGE SETS STAGE TO COMPLETE $6 MILLION PROJECT

Pangea World Theater is set to become the first immigrant- and people of color-led theater in Minneapolis-Saint Paul to own our own space for performance and operations. This renovated space at 3020 Minnehaha is in the heart of the federal government’s 2026 “operation metro surge” and its accompanying ICE patrols targeting immigrant communities. The site is also located in what was the epicenter of the 2020 uprising following the murder of George Floyd, which left many BIPOC and immigrant-led businesses destroyed, along with the former Minneapolis Police Third Precinct. Pangea is joining with our neighbors to reclaim, reimagine and rebuild this diverse and historic area.

Pangea is creating a space dedicated to peace, justice, and belonging for all Minnesotans, including immigrants, and other marginalized and silenced communities. Pangea’s plans for 3020 Minnehaha Avenue extend the vital cultural corridor that surrounds East Lake Street and encompasses live music, independent books, local churches, and many immigrant-founded restaurants and businesses. Founders Meena Natarajan and Dipankar Mukherjee emigrated to Minnesota from India more than three decades ago. Minneapolis’ Longfellow Neighborhood welcomed them with open arms. In the midst of masked ICE agents’ presence, neighbors have embraced Meena, Dipankar, and Pangea’s crucial mission. “I only have to text my neighbor, or just walk outdoors with my dog, and my neighbors leave their homes to walk with me,” said Dipankar Mukherjee. “They aren’t making a big deal of it but they know I am safer with them beside me. This is embodied solidarity. Our friendships have grown as a result, as has our commitment to deepening diversity and equality,” Mukherjee added. 

Leadership Gifts Create $2.5 Million Challenge 

Pangea World Theater has led the charge to rebuild Longfellow since the 2020 upheavals, bringing people, businesses, and the community together through innovative community partnerships and programming. By nurturing seeds already present and planting new ones, Pangea envisioned a space for the Longfellow neighborhood to rise and reinvent itself on its own terms, with community leading the way. Leadership gifts totaling $2.5 million from The McKnight Foundation and Katherine Hayes are offered to inspire the community to make Pangea World Theater’s new home a reality.

In addition to leadership gifts, grants and gifts from the State of Minnesota, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Lake Street Council, and private individuals currently total more than $3.3 million toward the $6 million capital campaign. 

“The McKnight Foundation is honored to contribute a $1.4 million lead gift toward Pangea’s $6 million capital campaign. This investment reflects our deep belief that cultural leaders like Pangea strengthen the social, civic, and creative fabric of our state,” shared McKnight Foundation Arts & Culture Program Director DeAnna Cummings.

Katherine Hayes shared her motivation to help: “So much of our society is driven by a perceived scarcity mindset, whether it’s the false notion that there aren't enough jobs or resources for all of us, or the desire to stockpile wealth for some unknown future. I believe community and belonging are the antidote to this false perception and the vision for Pangea World Theater and Center for Justice is exactly what our community needs to heal our souls from the harms we are experiencing today. Sharing my inherited financial capital with Meena and Dipankar to support their vision makes me feel useful, connected, and less afraid.” 

“We are so grateful for these generous contributions. Together, we are creating a space of belonging, a space which we will together steward, a liberatory space dedicated to plurality, where all are welcome regardless of nationality, accent, sexual and gender orientation, faith, and race,” said Artistic Director Dipankar Mukherjee. 

The $6 million building campaign will establish the following at 3020 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis:

• A community gathering space

• A 100-seat rehearsal/performance space

• Offices and scene, prop, and costume shops

• A reserve fund for operations and long-term building maintenance

With more than $3.3 million raised toward this effort, Pangea will begin renovations this year and open in 2027.

Successful Campaign Sets Stage For Phase Two Theater Expansion 

Pangea has deep roots in and a broad vision for the neighborhood. When we raise the $6 million needed for our home at 3020 Minnehaha Avenue, we will start on the Phase Two theater expansion attached to our new home on adjacent property. It will use a biophilic design that gives back to the community through solar, geothermal, and water reclamation systems. The expanded space will house a 200-seat theater, public space, and support functions for theater operations.

Neighborhood Revitalization Through Art

Pangea’s investment in the Longfellow Neighborhood has deep roots. Pangea has woven a tapestry of renewal and resilience through Lake Street Arts!, an interdisciplinary arts and leadership initiative started in 2015 to build connections along Lake Street.

• Supported 100+ artists to create visual art in the windows of Lake Street

• Hosted story circles and site-specific performances anchoring the neighborhood

• Featured poems by noted MN artists including Minneapolis Poet Laureates Heidi E. Erdrich (2024) and Junauda Petrus (2025-2026) in the 2025 Poetry in the Windows project 

• Hosted “We All, Every One of Us” for mutual aid to benefit COPAL (Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina) and Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (March 2026).

Each project makes space for what is missing, stolen and unimagined to transform and heal our streets. Each initiative encourages local shopping and enlivens the streetscape. 

Through this work, Pangea became a founding member of Longfellow Rising, a coalition of businesses, organizations, and community leaders in the Downtown Longfellow area immediately surrounding the former Third Precinct. This cross-sector coalition:

• uses a values-driven framework to guide rebuilding of and reinvesting in Lake Street

• focuses on BIPOC ownership to strengthen the social fabric infrastructure, and re-design buildings that facilitate community gathering and belonging for all

• is committed to racial equity, creation care, affordable housing, worker justice, cultural vitality, economic prosperity, and belonging

Pangea’s new home at 3020 Minnehaha Avenue represents the success of this collaboration.

About Pangea World Theater

Co-founded by Meena Natarajan and Dipankar Mukherjee, Pangea is celebrating its 30^th anniversary. The theater has received multiple awards within Minnesota and nationally for its theater productions, collaborations with community organizations, and its leadership development among communities of color. Examples include the Special Recognition Award from the Advocates for Human Rights for its work in using arts to promote human rights, the International Gardens of Peace Award, the 3M Innovation of the Arts Award, and the Joyce Foundation award for the collaboration between Pangea World Theater and Teatro in developing the Latino Asian Fusion series. Artistic Co-Director and Executive Director Meena Natarajan is a playwright and community organizer recognized locally and nationally. Artistic Director Dipankar Mukherjee has received a Bush Leadership Fellowship and was honored with the McKnight Distinguished Artist Award in 2023. Learn more at www.pangeaworldtheater.org.

To help make Pangea’s new home a reality, please contact Meena Natarajan at 612-203-3388, meena@pangeaworldtheater.org, or visit https://www.pangeaworldtheater.org/capitalcampaign.