Congrats Grant Recipients October 2023
Artist Access Grant
Courtney Cochran
Funds will be used to produce and print 1-3 herbalism zines that center on LGBTQIA2S+ wellness, health, and liberation.
Aliya Marxen
Funds will be used to produce a seasonal food publication that takes the reader on a deep dive into different ingredients, their history, their modern place in our society, and how to properly prepare them.
Charvis Harrell
Funds will be used to purchase materials to create a new body of work that explores black history in the Duluth region.
Sam Weston
Funds will be used to write the screenplay for a fantasy film.
Bethany Jackson
Funds will be used to frame a collection of ink and watercolor paintings.
Brianna Borka
Funds will be used for supplies to create art kits for a Free Little Art Gallery.
Duke Nguyen
Funds will be used to create a new collection of oil paintings.
Individual Artist Project Grant
Robin Penner
Funds will be used to complete a series of 1/4 size historically dressed figures, with accurately created full costume ensembles.
Carolyn Olson
Funds will be used to complete a series of eight gouache paintings (limited color pallet) which will be used to create a series of eight 3-color linoleum block prints.
Molly Wick
Funds will be used to complete major revisions of the first draft of my memoir to prepare it for publication.
Adrea Beres
Funds will be used to create a herbarium specific to the Cook County Region to use as a digital reference to create imagery that is then transferred onto my ceramic work.
Susanna Gaunt
Grant will be used to fund travel expenses and time for a solo exhibition in the Kaul Gallery at Watermark Art Center in Bemidji, MN.
Scott Stowell
Funds will be used to self-publish a book of approximately 40 essays and short fiction about the Northern lifestyle and the natural treasures in the Minnesota Arrowhead.
Jennifer Miller
Funds will be used to create choreographic works that tell the stories of veterans.
Bodhi Werner
Funds will be used to produce a 3D animated short film sequel.
Ashley Hise
Funds will be used to continue exploring multi-component pieces that incorporate porcelain with harvested clay pieces that will be shown in a juried group show in February 2024.
Serenity Crego
Funds will be used for the creation and framing of 7 new oil paintings varying in size and subject matter.
Chip Borkenhagen
Funds will be used to update their website, attend virtual educational opportunities, and for materials to continue to evolve their painting style.
Sarah Brokke
Funds will be used toward the completion of five paintings and documentation of a larger body of work.
Christopher Crego
Funds will be used to complete an instrumental album.
Samuel Miltich
Funds will be used to dedicate time and instructional materials to studying chord melody playing and composition.
Sue Rauschenfels
Funds will be used for art supplies and artist time to create a new body of work to be showcased at the Watermark Art Center.
Lauren Faherty
Funds will be used to purchase materials and for support in the creation of abstract textile portraits.
Kyle Heyesen
Funds will be used for the completion of new poems, a professional website, and an online brand presence.
Aaron Kloss
Funds will be used to purchase supplies and fund the artist’s time in the creation of a new painting series.
Serenity Schoonover
Funds will be used to support the artist’s time in the creation of 6 new clay works.
Rural & Community Art Project Grant
Great Expectations School
Funds will be used to support a Bottle Cap Mural. A collaborative mural project created by kindergarten through eighth-grade students with the guidance of teachers, artists, and volunteers.
Robin Penner (Hovland Arts Festival)
Funds will be used toward entertainment for the Hovland Arts Festival.
Embarrass Region Fair Association
Funds will be used for live music performances for adults and teens, and children’s entertainment at the Embarrass Region Fair.
Good Harbor Hill Players
Funds will support an outdoor pageant, featuring large- and small-scale puppets and live music, celebrating the summer solstice.
Boundary Waters Choral Festival
Funds will be used to support the production of the Ely Memorial High School’s performance of the “Frozen” musical.
Gunflint Trail Historical Society
Funds will be used to support three Artist in Residence programs.
Ely Area Television
Funds will be used to support expenses for a live Holiday concert at the Historical State Theater.
Arts & Cultural Heritage Grant
Alison Aune
Funds will be used to support the time and materials needed to continue to create cultural artworks for exhibitions, presentations, and workshops.
Sarah Agaton Howes
Funds will be used to support Auntie's Table- an open-ended community table to share, learn, and build community while building our competency in cultural arts.
Congrats Grant Recipients March 2023
Artist Access Grant
Robert Earl Wildwood, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of and sharing of new poetry.
Rachel Poynter, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support the writing of “I am the North,” a fantasy fiction novel inspired by northern Minnesota.
Paul Lawrence, Virginia, St. Louis, funding will support recording and production of an album of original folk music titled "Taiwan Winter."
Patrick DeGeest, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support a series of stand-up comedy shows, one in each county of the Arrowhead Region.
Elizabeth Chatelain, Hibbing, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of LØVSET’S MANOEUVRE, a feature-length fiction film that explores codependency through the lens of a middle-aged home healthcare nurse living in Minnesota.
Eleanor P Tillmans, Bigfork, Itasca, funding will support time to explore three mediums (clay, fiber, watercolor) to present a new perspective symbolic of our reliance on these resources.
Diane Levar, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support the preparation for the artist’s first solo exhibition at the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids.
Chuck Olsen, Tofte, Cook, funding will support the artist as they capture and share photographs from three specific locations in Superior National Forest over the course of four seasons, all informed by phenology.
Amanda McElray Hunter, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will allow the artist to develop and offer accessible arts instructional videos on their new website.
NEA-ARP Working Artist Project Grant
Patrick DeGeest, Duluth, St. Louis
Cassandra Quinn, Duluth, St. Louis
Darin Bergsven, Duluth, St. Louis
Jesse Switters, Duluth, St. Louis
Andy Frye, Duluth. St. Louis
Natalija Walbridge, Duluth, St. Louis
Mary Plaster, Duluth, St. Louis
Alexandra Blust, Grand Marais, Cook
Robert Hinkel, Duluth, St. Louis
Lindsay Swan, Cloquet, Carlton
Craig Blacklock, Moose Lake, Carlton
Robert Earl Wildwood, Duluth, St. Louis
Elizabeth Chatelain, Hibbing, St. Louis
Alison Aune, Duluth, St. Louis
Anna Marie Friesen, Duluth, St. Louis
Corey McCauley, Duluth, St. Louis
Candace LaCosse, Duluth, St. Louis
Nikki Shull, Mizpah, Koochiching
Ellen Sandbeck, Duluth, St. Louis
Mary Casanova, International Falls, Koochiching
Kristen Kaas, Duluth, St. Louis
Individual Artist Project Grant
Annmarie Geniusz, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of four separate chalk murals at four different Duluth parks. Murals topics will reflect each park using information gathered from local historians.
Blake Thomas, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will be used to support "Take It With You - Season 7: A Fairy Tale" an all original live radio theater production; performed as 4 separate 60-minute episodes in the Teatro Zuccone (Zeitgeist), and released as audio podcasts.
Darin Bergsven, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the 2023-2024 Coffee and Guitar series featuring 11 guest episodes of Coffee & Guitar. Each season features 11 featured guest guitar players from across the Minnesota Northwoods
Ellen Sandbeck, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support research and work time to develop “As Long As The Rivers Shall Flow," an exploration of major rivers, featuring some of their endemic species, including endangered and recently extinct ones through large, multi-layered, multicolor papercuts (27 x 39) about each of the following rivers: Yangtze, Mekong, Nile, Ganges, and Amazon.
Emily Koch, Orr, St. Louis, grant award will be used to create a series of portraits after starting with an open call asking folks to answer this prompt: “Have you ever felt unsafe in public space on account of visible queerness?” Anyone who has experienced this feeling will be considered as a portrait model.
Jordan Sundberg, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of cover illustration and nine, fully illustrated, two-page spreads, telling the story of how we can play outside no matter what the weather is for a new picture book.
Leah Yellowbird, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support interactive studio time in MacRostie Art Center’s new Giinawind Creative Space, which is a community gathering space, gallery, and venue that is highlighting Native art and artists. The artist will work on projects, show work, and interact with the daily visitors to the space.
Lucas Anderson, Duluth, St. Louis, grant funding will support the planning and execution of the “Craft Connections” event highlighting the artist’s recent works and those of other creators along the Craft Connector bike trail in Duluth.
Magali Johnston-Viens, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the non-traditional ballet Renters Insurance. Performed outdoors, the show expresses a day fraught with anticipation, which does not go as expected, and ends in disappointment. Then through dance, the disappointment is resolved.
Marc Gartman, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support “Eulogy” a musical tribute to Mimi Parker, ten original songs to be recorded, released, and then performed live at Sacred Heart Music Center November 7th, 2023.
Nan Onkka, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support “Above and Below the Horizon” a series of eight woodcut prints inspired by the sky and water of Lake Superior.
Natalija Walbridge, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support “Celebrating Nature through Fabric Collage,” the creation of a series of 5-6 fabric collages, inspired by the biodiversity of our local environment. Then the artist will develop 3 video demonstrations to teach people how to create fabric art journals.
Arts & Cultural Heritage Grant
Jesse Switters, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to develop a 24 page comic book about a hero that recovers stolen indigenous artifacts and cultural items. This comic will highlight some key issues surrounding cultural appropriation, preservation of language, and the importance of returning cultural items back to the communities that they were taken from. This will give me the opportunity to share the process of making a comic. I look forward to participating in events organized by AICHO in Duluth as well as organizing educational events for aspiring artists and illustrators.
Maija Stillday, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support regalia making classes with youth. The artist will take small classes of 3-4 youth at a time, provide their materials, and help them form a vision and create. If they don’t know how to dance, participants will have the opportunity to learn from the artist and teachers along the way, elders, singers, and especially dancers.
Nate Johnson, Northome, Itasca, funds will support classes teaching the art of traditionally brain tanning hides with a focus on educating local indigenous community members in the practice of tanning a buffalo and elk skin. We will use traditional tools, brains, and smoke to tan hides from beginning to end with a dedicated group of 12 learners over the course of two extended weekends (6 days). This class will be free for participants, and will focus on training selected, motivated individuals so that they can carry forward the tradition in the future. Participants will be selected through personal invitation, drawing on people who have requested this workshop, as well as recruitment through various indigenous organizations, including Indigenous Environmental Network, Leech Lake Education, and regional tribal colleges. Classes will be held at the Rail River Folk School in Bemidji, MN.
Thomas Woytko, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support activities for Jazz Appreciation Month every Tuesday at local venues. The Jazz Combo (Andy Peterson Quartet, Analise Levesque Trio, Randy Lee Quartet, Pink Marlena) will play a set and host an open jam session. The following Friday a Local Venue will host the Concert night. The concert night will consist of three bands which includes a local school big band.
Northwoods Young Writers (formally Camp Atsokan), Ely, St. Louis, funding will support writing retreat sessions for teen girls. There will be up to 12 campers at each session and two local authors will be hired to facilitate smaller group and individual meetings. The goal of this project is to create a future in which young women from rural Minnesota know how to express their thoughts in writing and support each other in the creative process and become articulate adults.
Congrats Grant Recipients Nov 2022
Congratulations to our most recent organizational grant recipients!
Arts Learning Grant Recipients (Organizations)
Lea Friesen, Grand Rapids, Itasca, applicant will lead design and painting sessions with youth at the Itasca County YMCA to create a mural on the building.
Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program, Grand Rapids, Itasca, grant will fund having the Third Coast Chamber Collective lead a music camp for the Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program students at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids August 14th-19th.
Lake Superior Youth Chorus, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the 2023 Honor Choir for students in grades fourth through sixth which will culminate in a performance.
Cindy Hale, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support a series of workshops and events on natural dyeing and wet felting in collaboration with the Duluth Fiber Guild (DFG). Field-based workshops will be held at the applicant’s farm north of Duluth and other workshops will be at the DFG studio. An additional public event will be held as part of the DFG 50th anniversary celebration featuring natural dyeing & wet felting on-farm event in July.
Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis, grant award will be used to hold educational workshops on various orchestra instruments and musical pieces with students at elementary schools in Hibbing and Chisholm.
North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support Orkestar Bez Ime, a band that performs Balkan and Romany music, as they perform an educational program/performance for Cook County ISD 166 and Great Expectations School students in grades 3-7 followed by an evening performance for the public that will include educational elements as well.
Amy Lucas-Peroceski, Chisholm, St. Louis, funding will support a series of workshops for youth with disabilities. Artist will offer four sets of sensory seeking and fuor sets of sensory avoiding art classes for students aged 5-10. Classes will
be held in Calumet, Nashwauk, Hibbing and Chisholm. Classes will be offered twice a month during June, July and August for each type of student in each location.
Susanna Gaunt, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to expand the Youth Photography Club at Duluth Art Institute to hold more offerings and reduce costs of materials for participants.
Art Project Grant Recipients (Organizations)
Duluth Children's Museum, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the Rob Hadaway Storytelling Festival which brings the art of stories to life through one-of-a-kind performances and activities for children and their adults. Events will be on February 18th from 8:30am-3:30pm with multiple storytelling sessions throughout the day, followed by hands-on arts programming that enhances each story.
Duluth Fiber Guild, Duluth, St. Louis, grant funds will support “DFG~ 50 Years and Beyond”, a public celebration of the Guild’s 50 years in existence. Monthly opportunities to visit fiber-related art exhibits or to participate in activities benefitting both the general public and Guild members will be offered throughout the state and region.
Grand Rapids Players, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support the production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Cinderella, Broadway," March 10th-19th, 2023, with 6 public performances on the Wilcox stage of the Reif Center.
Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funds will support bringing piano soloist Satoko Hayami to Grand Rapids Minnesota to perform in the Wilcox Theater with the Itasca Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, February 18th.
Lake Superior Modern Quilt Guild, Duluth, St. Louis, grant funding will support the Modern Quilt Walkabout Lincoln Park which will build public awareness of both the modern quilt movement and of local quilt artists by showcasing the artistic possibilities in non-traditional quilt design.
Lake Superior Youth Chorus, Duluth, St. Louis, funds will support LSYC’s annual Youth Choir Festival, a day of honoring high quality youth choir groups from our region and community by bringing them together for a day of music making, observation, training, and performance.
Noatun Community Wooden Boat Works, Duluth, St. Louis, funds will be used to host six community workshops in 2023. Public participants will be engaged in numerous activities including woodworking, fiber arts, metal craft and blacksmithing, rope making, and food-ways. Workshops will be day events lasting
between 3 and 6 hours.
North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook, grant funding will support celebrated Minnesota singer/songwriter/guitarist Ann Reed in concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in Grand Marais, MN. The concert will be open to the general public of all ages and held on Saturday, April 29, 2023.
Will be Offered Partial Funding:
Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton, grant funding will support the Honey Bee Festival 2023, a celebration of the creativity and community pollination preservation.
Rural & Community Art Project Grant Recipients (Organizations)
Robin Penner (Hovland Art Festival), Hovland, Cook, funding will be used to pay for musicians at the 2023 Hovland Art Festival.
Minnesota State Old Time Fiddle Championships, Virginia, St. Louis, grant award will support the 41st annual Minnesota State Old Time Fiddle Championships to be held July 22, 2023, at the Merritt School Auditorium in Mountain Iron, MN.
Goodman Farewell Concert Project, Mountain Iron, St. Louis, funding will support the Goodman Farewell Performance Phase II in which community groups will come together to perform a multi-movement tone poem to commemorate the closing of Goodman Auditorium.
Good Harbor Hill Players, Grand Marais, Cook, grant will support the Good Harbor Hill Players 2023 Summer Solstice Pageant with a series of public workshops culminating in a public performance, with live music and puppetry, of relevance and community significance.
Friends of Finland, Finland, Lake, funding will support a variety of arts events at the Clair Nelson Community Center in Finland, MN, to provide new arts experiences for local youth.
Ely Area Television, Ely, St. Louis, funds will support recording and presenting Celebrate the Season: Ely Holiday Concert on Ely Area Television and at the Ely’s Historic State Theater.
Cloquet Public Schools, ISD 94, Cloquet, Carlton, funding will be used to support the Consortium for Native American Composers commission of two pieces by Keith Secola of music for school bands. One piece of music will be tailored for middle school level musicians and the other for high school level musicians. Through these two pieces, Keith will bring his voice, experience and knowledge as an American Indian to high school and middle school band students across the region, state and nation.
Biwabik Area Civic Association, Biwabik, St. Louis, grant funding will support the "12 Things to See & Do in Biwabik" Plan with two murals painted one by
Ann Gumpper, of Duluth and one by Kari Townsdin, of Walker.
Barbara Hall (BottleCap Volunteer Productions), Ely, Lake, funding will support BottleCap Volunteer Productions production of 'Root Beer Lady the Musical', written by Barbara Cary Hall, Sept. 7-10, 2023, at Ely's Historic State Theater.
Congrats Grant Recipients June-August 2022
Below are ARAC grant recipients from June -August 2022. Congratulations to these wonderful creators!
Artist Access Grant Award Winners - August 2022
$1,000 - Henry Kneiszel, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support three regional poetry readings and gallery shows.
$1,000 - Jessica Morgan, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the writing and publishing of a poetry chapbook that focuses on the people, places and topography of the Duluth, MN area.
$1,000 - Kelly Florence, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support an interactive presentation at The Nordic Center in Duluth, MN, to teach the public about the legends and history of Nordic witches to celebrate the release of a new book, The Science of Witchcraft. A local filmmaker will film the evening and edit the footage so that it can be available online for those who were not able to attend in person.
$497 - Laila Davis, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support participating in video editing classes at the North by North Film School.
$1,000 - Lin Elkins, Grand Marais, Cook, funds will support the creation of a series of hybridized wood and fiber containers intended to stimulate your senses.
$1,000 - Lynn Evenson, Ely, St. Louis, funding would support the participation in the Woodland Chamber Music Workshop.
$1,000 - Maggie Royce, Duluth, St. Louis, funding would assist with costs associated with preparing for a sculptural and projection installation.
Individual Artist Project Grant Award Winners - August 2022
$4,000 - Wendy Durrwachter, Duluth, St. Louis, funds will support the composing of a set of songs for soprano, Jennifer Lien, and pianist, Durrwachter, based on the latest collection of poems soon to be released by Sheila Packa, yielding two performances, one of which will be recorded.
$4,000 - Samsoche Sampson, Grand Rapids, Itasca, award will fund the creation of a touring exhibit of paintings and prints inspired by traditional Native American dance styles.
$4,000 - Sam Zimmerman, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation ofGiiwedino-Manidoog / Spirits of the Northanew collection of work that will celebrate and provide resources for larger community to learn about the Ojibwe star constellations and teachings. Works will be shown at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery, Grand Marais, MN for the 2023 Dark Skies Festival, November 2023-December 2023
$3,375 - Marybeth Garmoe, Grand Marais, Cook, grant will provide resources to explore unique artistic broom handles through the use of various textures and materials. The brooms will be presented in a show titled “Tactile” to be featured at Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery in Grand Marais, MN.
$4,000 - Maryam Khaleghiyazdi, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will cover the expenses of creating two interactive textile illustration projects that will narrate the stories of immigrants in the United States.
$4,000 - Mary Plaster, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the filming of the artist’s first marionette show, The Forgotten Forest, for online viewing. A public performance is scheduled in Duluth at Zeitgeist Arts during DASN on the afternoon of Nov. 5th, 2022.
$4,000 - Deborah Marcero, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the writing and illustrating of a new children’s book featuring a modern fairy tale style story.
$4,000 - Christine Marcotte, Deer River, Itasca, grant award will support the Everyone Has a Story project in which the artist will work closely with eight older adults in the rural community of Deer River who want to share their stories and/or personal history but are unable to document it themselves. These stories will be collected into individual manuscripts to be shared.
$4,000 - Augustin Ganley, Cloquet, Carlton, grant award will support an evening of walking cinema: seven original short films, each about walking as survival in Cloquet. The audience will walk from story to story, screen to screen, indoors and outdoors, down Avenue C in Cloquet's old West End. The screenings will be followed by a live Q&A with the subjects of the stories in Common Ground Coffee. Afterward, the films will be gifted to the Fond du Lac and Carleton County Historical Societies.
$4,000 - Ashley Hise, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a body of work that explores the combination of stoneware/porcelain sculptural vessels with ones made of wild clay. Since these clay bodies require different firing styles, these pieces would be made of multiple, separate components that would be assembled as one to create several installation pieces. This work will be shown in a solo exhibition at the Edge Center for the Arts in Bigfork, MN in June 2023.
$4,000 - Ann Klefstad, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a sculptural bench made of concrete and bronze components featuring life-sized animal. This will find a public home somewhere in Duluth.
$4,000 - Alexa Carson, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation ofworksthat will expand a collection of paintings that exhibit a journey of reclaiming the power and beauty of life in a female body from the grip of the patriarchal, dominant culture. This project will culminate in a show, “Reclaiming” at the DAI.
Established Regional Artist Grant Award Winners - July 2022
The Established Regional Artist Grant Review Panel recommends that $8,000 in
McKnight funding be awarded to the following artists:
Adam Swanson, Cloquet, Carlton, funding will support Importance Of Pollinators, ten research informed paintings about pollinators, audio descriptions for the visually impaired, and an exhibit at the Duluth Art Institute.
Diona Johnson, Duluth, St. Louis, award will be used to coordinate and put on a night of performances and entertainment that celebrate the LGBTQIA2S+ population in a safe and supportive space.
Greg Mueller, Lutsen, Cook, funds will support the creation of a large scale public sculpture integrating re-claimed bike elements along the Gitchi Gami State Bike Trail.
Leah Yellowbird, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support the creation of a collection of pieces that incorporate beadwork, painting, and quilling with the introduction of leather work and combines these materials and mediums in new ways. This collection will be on display in the Giinawind Creative Space at MacRostie Art Center and the artist will host an 8-week class on decorating a hat using the artist’s techniques making the art more accessible to a diverse audience.
Matthew Baxley, Grand Marais, Cook, award will be used to support the creation of a short documentary film documenting how members of the LGBTQ2+ community are creating safe spaces in the outdoors and to inspire others to do the same.
Samuel Miltich, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support transforming “TheImprovised Life,” a journey of mental illness and recovery for a 4-piece band, into a solo presentation which will be premiered at a free community concert at Kiesler Wellness Center, which hosted the original "The Improvised Life" program in 2016.
NEA-ARP Operating Support Grant Award Winners - June 2022
$7,500 - Aitkin County Friends of the Arts, Aitkin, Aitkin
$7,500 - Armory Arts and Music Center,Duluth, St. Louis
$7,500 - Citizens for Backus/AB, International Falls, Koochiching
$7,500 - County Seat Theater Company, Cloquet, Carlton
$7,500 - Ely Folk School, Ely, St. Louis
$7,500 - Ely's Historic State Theater, Ely, St. Louis
$7,500 - Grand Rapids Players, Grand Rapids, Itasca
$7,500 - Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program, Grand Rapids, Itasca
$7,500 - Lyric Center for the Arts, Virginia, St. Louis
$7,500 - Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis
$7,500 - Nordic Center, Duluth, St. Louis
$7,500 - Northern Lakes Arts Association, Ely, St. Louis
$7,500 - Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton
$7,500 - PrøveCollective, Duluth, St. Louis
$7,500 - Tofte Lake Center, Ely, St. Louis
$7,500 - Twin Ports Choral Project, Duluth, St. Louis
NEA-ARP Working Artist Grant Award Winners - June 2022
$2,500 - Serenity Crego, Hibbing, St. Louis
$2,500 - Sarah Krueger, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,500 - SamuelMiltich, Grand Rapids, Itasca
$2,500 - Rachel Klesser, Grand Marais, Cook
$2,500 - Nelia Harper, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,500 - Leah Yellowbird, Grand Rapids, Itasca
$2,500 - Keith Hopkins, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,500 - Jordan Sundberg, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,500 - Jayne Richards, Grand Marais, Cook
$2,500 - Donovan Dahmen, GrandPortage, Cook
$2,500 - Dawn LaPointe, Hermantown, St. Louis
$2,500 - Cory Coffman, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,500 - Christopher Crego, Hibbing, St. Louis
$2,500 - Charles Wagner, Hibbing, St. Louis
$2,500 - Brooke Anderson, Barnum, Carlton
$2,500 - Bodhi Werner, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 - Barbara Hall, Ely, St. Louis
$2,500 - Adam McCauley, Duluth, St. Louis
Congratulations Grant Recipients!
May 2022
Arts Learning Grant
$5,000 - Alyssa Swanson, Cloquet, Carlton, grant funding will support a series of art classes for all ages to be held at the Great Lakes Aquarium. The classes will uniquely pair art and science, artistically challenging the concepts of abstraction and realism and scientifically revealing the mysteries found within water. The participants will leave with artwork inspired by their observations at the Aquarium.
$5,000 - Angela Hoffman, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to host an Art Camp with a focus on ceramics for youth who utilize the Neighborhood Youth Services Program through Lifehouse. A variety of art mediums, including, but not limited to, ceramics, painting, drawing, and multi-media will be taught, including giving each medium historical context.
$5,000 - Camp Atsokan for Young Writers, International Falls, Koochiching, funding will support the third annual Camp Atsokan retreat for teen girl writers. This summer we plan to include International Falls students and surrounding areas for a total of up to 40 girls. Two five-day sessions will be hosted keeping student/leader ratios under 8 for small group activities.
$5,000 - Denfeld Drama, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support a weeklong summer stagecraft intensive in collaboration with the Lyric Opera of the North technical team and other local professional organizations. Students will participate in a week full of hands-on learning in each of the five areas of stagecraft. Students will learn about the tools of the trade from community experts and then use those skills in our upcoming Denfeld Productions.
$5,000 - Duluth Community School Collaborative. Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support "Amplifying Youth Voice” this year’s Duluth Community School Collaborative summer program. The program will be offered for 6 weeks at Myers- Wilkins Elementary School. 30-40 youth will participate in daily rotations led by teaching artists, exploring self-expression using a variety of visual arts mediums, and theatrical games and practices building to create a unique performance, written and performed by the students themselves. The students will also participate in making sets and costumes for the performances, and get hands-on tours behind the scenes at two local performing arts venues to learn about theater tech & production.
$3,125 - Ely Folk School, Ely, St. Louis, grant funding will support weekly Kids Makers Mornings during the summer months of 2022 at the Ely Folk School. These sessions will be held weekly on Fridays starting the first week of June and running through the end of August for a total of 13 classes. Each week we will offer a unique creative project. These will be accessible to a wide range of youth attendees and will range from gelli plate printing, poetry, quilted bookmarks, foraging, making corn husk dolls, creating model canoes out of birchbark, and birchbark weaving.
$5,000 - Grand Rapids Players, Grand Rapids, Itasca, award will support Grand Rapids Players Summer Theatre Camp. This year the camp will be presenting Beauty and the Beast, JR. and Aliens VS. Cheerleaders with invitation going out to all kids finishing 1st grade and up. This three-week summer theatre intensive presents many elements of theatre, including performing. The team of directors coaches the participants from script-to-stage in approximately 40 hours culminating with 2 public performances on the mainstage of the Reif Performing Arts Center.
$5,000 - Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program, Grand Rapids, Itasca, grant funding will support an inclusive music camp for the Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program led by Third Coast Chamber Collective in partnership with MacRostie Art Center and the Reif Arts Center. The camp will take place at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids August 7-13th.
$5,000 - Sara Pajunen, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support a workshop series titled The Nordic Music Workshop Series which will share the history, tunes, and cultural traditions of Nordic Europe with the Northland. The Series is open to both musicians and listeners with a curiosity about Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Sapmi. Consisting of six 3-hour sessions, each workshop will focus on a different tune and history every installment. All events are held at the Nordic Center. In addition to the workshops, a tune book will be created with the Nordic Center, which will be available to all participants present and future - as well as community members.
Applications Recommended for Funding With Additional Funds
$5,000 - Darin Bergsven, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support Northwoods Blues Licks, a series of ten 2-3 minute long guitar instructional videos made freely and publicly available online. Each video will feature a blues lick (melodic phrase used in blues improvisation) played by a past guest on Coffee & Guitar, a weekly livestream which hosts a guest guitar player from across the region each month. The video series and associated resources (printable downloads of notation and tablature, a blues in F play-along track/video for viewers to practice with) will be made freely and publicly available online.
$2,282 - Derek Bromme, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to purchase materials and a new composition for the Lake Superior Low Brass Ensemble, a group of local students.
Art Project Grant
$3,500 - The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support Joyann Parker’s musical tribute to Patsy Cline. In addition to performing a tribute, Joyann also speaks about Patsy’s life as one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. After the show, Joyann will provide a Q&A session with film, music, and theatre students in regards to the performing arts.
$5,000 - Northern Film Alliance, Duluth, St. Louis, grant funding will support the 12th annual Duluth Superior Film Festival. DSFF is to take place across the Arrowhead Region on Sept. 22-25 with a renewed focus on fostering regional filmmaking talent. The festival will present 60+ films focusing on subjects such as environmental issues, social justice, indigenous POV, family histories, and more. The festival will invite industry professionals (writers, producers, industry professionals) to travel to Duluth, participating as speakers and panelists on a variety of film and education topics.
$5,000 - Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis, funds will be used to offer two free concerts in a series titled "Voyage to Italy" These will take place on October 29 in Hibbing and October 30 in Virginia. Vocal soloists of professional stature, singing solos, duets and quartets, will perform opera excerpts with the MSO.
$5,000 - Matinee Musicale, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support part of Matinee Musicale’s 2022-23 season including Jack Swanson, live in concert at Mitchell Auditorium on the campus of the College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN, on January 31, 2023. Matinee Musicale will also present virtually an emerging artist, pianist Kate Liu, in her debut recital in the Duluth area. Ms. Liu’s recital performance will be available to the public via the Matinee Musicale website and YouTube channel at the beginning of the 2022-23 season in October.
$5,000 - Grand Rapids Players, Grand Rapids, Itasca, grant funding will be used for the fall 2022 production of “Clue, On Stage!” at The Reif Performing Arts Center from September 30 through October 9.
$5,000 - Grand Marais Playhouse, Grand Marais, Cook, grant funding will be used to produce Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer Jr. as a community youth production in the fall of 2022 with two school matinees and six public performances including one Pay-what -you can performance.
$5,000 - Freshwater Dance Collective, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support Dances on the Lakewalk 2022 which will feature local choreographers and dancers. The event will be held on July 8 and 9, 2022 at 7pm at Gichi-Ode'Akiing Park in Duluth.
$5,000 - Duluth Street Art Initiative, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the creation of a multi-faceted mural on the outside wall of Lifehouse's new Imaginarium building in Downtown Duluth. This project will take place during Duluth's annual Sidewalk Days, in order to increase community participation and harness the vibrant energy that surrounds this annual event. DSA will hire fou professional local artists to paint the building and lead workshops with Lifehouse youth and Harbor City School art students. Students will be involved in the painting process and will have the opportunity to work alongside professional artists. The project will culminate in a community celebration with live music and food to celebrate the unveiling of the new mural.
$5,000 - Duluth All Souls Night, Duluth, St. Louis, grant funds will support the annual Duluth All Souls Night event on Saturday, November 5 with a traditional 6:30 ceremony, 7:00 procession, and 7:30 fire. Activities gather in the Historic Arts and Theater (HART) district downtown and proceed west on Superior St. to the public library pavilion. We animate our unique, inspiring, 17' tall marionette mascot, Max Skeleton, with other imaginative creations in a mock "funeral march for rotten ideas." ALL citizens are invited to safely/respectfully accompany us with Sara Sha bagpipes and Boys Back Home brass, then marvel at fiery Spin Collective with closing symbolic burning ceremony of model Guatemalan kite by Renan Cruz.
$5,000 - Crescendo Youth Orchestra, Hibbing, St. Louis, grant award will support the String Camp for grades 4-12 (or just graduated seniors). The camp will be at Camp Chicagami in Eveleth this year with overnight accommodations. The finalé concert will be at the Minnesota Discovery Center on June 16th at 6:30 pm in the amphitheater and will be Free and Open to the public.
$5,000 - Citizens for Backus/AB, International Falls, Koochiching, grant funding will support the Borealis Junior Bards community theater group as they present a full-length theatrical performance of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan for the historic Backus stage during the last weekend of October 2022. There will be three performances in total, with one occurring each day from October 28-October 30. Rehearsals and preparation for Peter Pan will begin two months prior to our performance date and we expect rehearsals to begin in August 2022.
Rural and Community Art Project
$1,340 - Art 'Round Town, Grand Marais, Cook, grant funding will be used to repair and preserve murals created throughout Grand Marais by Lyle Saethre.
$5,000 - Good Harbor Hill Players, Grand Marais, Cook, award will support the Winter Solstice Shadow Puppet Show 2022. Members of the public will be invited to join the core artists in designing and creating the shadow puppets, as well as participating in rehearsals and performing the show. Workshops will take place nightly for 10 days before the show.
$5,000 - Itasca County Agricultural Association, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support arts programs at the 2022 Itasca County Fair.
$4,920 - Itasca County Windows into Watercolor, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support quarterly watercolor groups at the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids, MN. The project will include quarterly group sessions, professional critiques, and a group exhibition and is expected to primarily draw artists from the Itasca area.
$3,000 - Agate Encores Concert Series, Moose Lake, Carlton, funding will support the Agate Encores Community Concerts presentation of The Highland String Quartet in a public concert on Sunday, April 2, 2023, in the Moose Lake Community School auditorium.
$5,000 - Hibbing Farmers Market, Hibbing, St. Louis, grant award will support local musicians at the Hibbing Farmers Market on Saturdays through the summer and into September.
$5,000 - Friends of Gail, Ely, St. Louis, funding will support the production of the play, The Quiltmaker’s Gift, in Ely’s Historic State Theater on July 15-16-17, 2022. The play is based on the award-winning children’s book by the same title, which was written by Jeff Brumbeau and illustrated by Ely’s own Gail deMarcken.
$5,000 - Citizens for Backus/AB, International Falls, Koochiching, funding will support the 2022 Rainy Lake Community Orchestra Strings Camp for all ages and abilities beginning Sunday, August 14, and culminating in a concert on Friday evening, August 19, at the Community Hall in Ranier, Minnesota. There will be daily practices for the Sinfonia group, which is composed of musicians at the entry-level who are mentored by experienced musicians. A second practice session will be held daily for the experienced musicians. Youth and adult musicians are invited to participate.
$3,500 - Boys & Girls Clubs of Grand Rapids and Greenway, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support the Boys & Girls Clubs Day for Kids Free Community Event a free music and arts event for the whole family. Its intent is to provide a high-quality creative experience from professional musicians and local artists.
$5,000 - Aitkin County Friends of the Arts, Aitkin, Aitkin, funding will support a finale concert by Jennifer Grimm called “Jennifer Grimm Sings Judy Garland" a tribute concert taking place in the historic Butler Building in Aitkin, MN. This will be the culmination of the "Ruby Red 100" a celebration of the 100th birthday of singer/actress Judy Garland festival.
$5,000 - Tamarack Art & Practice, Hovland, Cook, funding will support Tamarack Art & Practice as they present Minneapolis’ Fox & Beggar Theater with a free, all ages, public performance of their new show, “The Lonesome Spectacular!” The evening will open with an hour of storytelling, puppetry, and tea leaf reading from local artist Shannon CrossBear. Performed out of her iconic vardo wagon, Shannon’s storytelling combines Ojibwe history with contemporary insight, bringing iconoclastic and irreverent characters to life.
$5,000 - Grand Rapids Arts, Grand Rapids, Itasca, grant will support Grand Rapids Arts as they present a summer concert series during the First Friday Art Walk in downtown Grand Rapids. Four concerts will be held from June - September 2022 on the grounds of Old Central School, which is in the heart of downtown. These events will be free and open to the public and will feature local musicians performing in genres from jazz to folk to classical.
$5,000 - Reflections Dance Company, Ely, St. Louis, funding will support "Math In Motion", August 11-14, 2022, a dance performance featuring live music and math concepts brought to life through the movement of the performers. The show will incorporate projected images of video and photos to enhance the experience.
$3,500 - Finland Minnesota Historical Society, Finland, Lake, funding will support the Tori Music Festival an open marketplace that includes local artists, merchants, and demonstrations such as blacksmithing, fiber arts, basket making, spoon carving, candle making, broom making, and many others. The event takes place at the Finland Historic Site in Finland, MN on August 14th.
$5,000 - Goodman Farewell Concert Project, Mountain Iron, St. Louis, grant funds will support the Goodman Farewell Concert Project. Organizers will commission a multi-movement symphonic tone poem with voices to commemorate the final performance in Virginia High School's Goodman Auditorium.
Applications Recommended for Funding With Additional Funds
$5,000 - Friends of the Silver Bay Public Library, Silver Bay, Lake, funding will support of series of arts events at the Silver Bay Public Library including Thursday arts happy hours and once a month artist showcase events focused on live demonstrations for skills sharing.
Congrats Grant Recipients!
March 2022
Artist Access
$953 - Cindy Bina, Ely, St. Louis, funding will support the purchase and tools, materials, and training in leatherwork to incorporate into current metal and stonework.
$1,000 - Grant Kaihoi, Moose Lake, Carlton, grant award will support time to explore new directions in woodworking.
$1,000 - Cindy Hale, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of large naturally dyed “pre-felts” in a full spectrum of colors using the wool the artist’s sheep produce and then making a variety of wet felted rugs, wall hangings and sculptural pieces from those pre-felts.
$1,000 - Jack Spaeth, Isle, Aitkin, funding will support a photographic series exploring geography and domicology through the landscapes of county ditches.
$1,000 - Maury Aaseng, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a children’s picture book called “Pollywog! Not a Frog.”
$1,000 - Britt Malec, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support the creation of an illustrated mini-memoir about the artist’s relocation to Grand Marais, and subsequent postpartum experience, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The project will use narrative non-fiction writing and illustrations in mixed media to reflect on experiences with amateur lichenology as a vehicle for introspection and metaphor.
$1,000 - Marie Zhuikov, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will fund the editing and design of the northern Minnesota memoir, “Meander North.”
$1,000 - Mary Warpula, Moose Lake, Carlton, funding will support the creation of a body of watercolor art works to be shown at regional galleries and events.
$1,000 - Jeffrey Hall, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the development of new wood works.
$1,000 - Zack Baltich, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the filming and recording of two new live performance videos: one, a solo percussion piece “Adjusting” and another for a new work with the duo ZAZ, including folk singer Abby Zak of Grand Marais.
Arts & Cultural Heritage Grant
$4,000 - Alison Aune, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of artworks and materials for community learning events held throughout the year at various locations.
$4,000 - Cloquet Middle School, Cloquet, Carlton, funding will support Pollinating Healthy Choices Through Art, a program to examine community knowledge of foods, pollinators and health. Cloquet Middle and High School students will learn in collaboration with community specialists from Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District, Fond du Lac Bimaaji’idiwin Ojibwe Garden Program, and the Northeast Minnesota Beekeepers Association. Students will use new knowledge and explore the artistic process in creating a public outdoor mural with Adam Swanson.
$4,000 - Erik Simula, Finland, Lake, funding will support birch-bark canoe building instruction events in Ely and regional tribal communities.
$4,000 - Justin Anderson, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support a community boat build of a 27-foot wooden rowing and sailing boat in the Scandinavian/Nordic tradition using hand tools.
$4,000 - Moira Villiard, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support a collaborative project to develop an animated film of Dakota artist Zitkála-Šá’s life as a part of an opera exploring the same.
Individual Artist Project Grant
$4,000 - Shaunna Heckman, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the mixing, mastering, and release of a new album of electronic music.
$4,000 - Sarah Krueger, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used for the studio time and engineering fees for the recording of the second full length Lanue album.
$4,000 - Margo Gray, Side Lake, Itasca, funding will support an interactive, audio-driven experience that gives users of the Mesabi Trail a deeper sense of the history and culture of the Iron Range. This experience, accessed via smartphone, spans a section of the Mesabi Trail between Hibbing and Virginia. Audio stories and guided activities deliver an interactive narrative. Inspiration for the narrative comes from interviews with community members and first-person accounts from community history records.
$2,500 - Lindsay Swan, Cloquet, Carlton, grant funds will support “Land of Stories” an outdoor documentary play about Ojibwe Chief Northwind, the 1918 fires and flu, and Anishinaabe legends that teach vital lessons about Cloquet, to be held in October 2022.
$3,920 - Evan Flom, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a series of six short narrative videos that will showcase a diverse group of farmers in northern Minnesota. The project will create a coherent narrative across each of the videos that demonstrates sustainable land stewardship and a diverse local food system that includes indigenous, black, and other young and emerging farmers.
$4,000 - Andy Frye, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support Dance TV (DTV), a 50-minute dance show, including 18 production numbers with all original music, 2 hosts, and 12 dancers. Inspired by old-school live dance shows such as American Bandstand, Solid Gold, and Club MTV, yet with a modern flair as the audience enters a live taping; they see both what’s presented on stage as well as behind the scenes. This live dance television program is joyful, silly, infectious, and campy.
$4,000 - Allen Killian-Moore, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will be used for “Neurodivergence” a series of photographic portraits highlighting neurodiversity (people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, down syndrome, Tourette’s, etc.). Portraits will be on metal, using wet plate collodion, a Victorian era chemical photo process.
$3,800 - Candace LaCosse, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to support a project involving foraging native and invasive species of the Arrowhead region of Minnesota and use them to steam dye cotton, linen, silk and wool which will be used make one full garment using the material dyed with plants native to the region, one full garment using the material dyed with plants that are considered to be invasive, and a quilt using the scraps of each combined. The finished items will be put on display at Hemlocks, in the Lincoln Park Craft District. A free natural dye workshop on April 15, 2023, and documented materials on the process will also be available.
$4,000 - Karl Bardon, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to create a series of paintings of bird portraits, a portion of which will be shown at the Jaques Art Center in Aitkin.
$4,000 - Kelly Schamberger, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the planning and preparation of painted works to be shown at the Great Lakes Aquarium
$4,000 - Leah Yellowbird, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support work time and materials for a large quill-work piece. The piece will then be on display at the AICHO gallery in Duluth and at the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids. A workshop will also be hosted.
$4,000 - Susanna Gaunt, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to create the “Great Lakes Almanac” a set of paper sculptures that record natural history data and the community’s personal anecdotes, both visually and textually. The finished art will show at the Great Lakes Aquarium in the summer of 2023.
Organization Grants Awarded
It all begins with an idea.
Organizational Grants Awarded FY 2022
ART PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ART PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON November 18, 2021:
$5,000 AP11021T - Animal Allies Humane Society, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support a production of "Go, Dog, Go!", the musical based on the book by P.D. Eastman with the help of Duluth artists.
$4,900 AP21021M - Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support an orchestra concert titled Highlights of 30 Years with Keith Swanson on Saturday, May 21st at the Reif Performing Arts Center in Grand Rapids, MN.
$5,000 AP31021M - Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis, funding will support A Musical Jubilee, which will conclude the 2021-2022 season with two performances in Virginia and Moose Lake.
$5,000 AP41021A - Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton, grant funding will support the Honey Bee Festival, a two day music, art, dance, poetry, food, gardening, and beekeeping festival which will be held in Carlton on the grounds of the Historic Oldenburg House on August 5-6, 2022.
ARTS LEARNING GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ARTS LEARNING FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON November 18, 2021:
$3,750 ALO11021A -The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to support a workshop and lecture series with digital media artist Daniel Benoit.
$4,700 ALI21021C - Serenity Schoonover, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support Kid’s Clay Camp for youth ages 10-13 years old, held at the Lincoln Park Duluth Art institute location.
$5,000 ALO31021C - Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton, funding will support a “Bee Friendly Arts Camp” wherein students will learn through arts creation.
$5,000 ALI51021C - Melissa Wickwire, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support a community afterschool clay club for youth to learn about ceramic arts.
$5,000 ALI61021M - Julian Kitto, Cloquet, Carlton, grant funding will support a youth drum circle group with teachings of music, tradition, and language.
$5,000 ALI71021C - Emily Derke, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support a traditional basketry mentorship program.
RURAL AND COMMUNITY ART PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED RURAL AND COMMUNITY ART PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON November 18, 2021:
$1,500 RC11021F - Ely Area Television, Ely, St. Louis, funding will support the production of, and showing, of a holiday variety show. This will be shown on both television and at Ely’s Historic State Theater.
$5,000 RC21021M - Faith United Church of Christ, International Falls, Koochiching, funding will support two acoustic folk music concerts organized by Open Range Concerts which will include national and local artists.
$5,000 RC31021T - Good Harbor Hill Players, Grand Marais, Cook, grant will support the 2022 Summer Solstice Pageant, a series of public workshops culminating in a public performance, with live music and puppetry, of relevance and significance to the Grand Marais community.
$2,460 RC51021T - Lake Superior Community Theatre, Silver Bay, Lake, funding will support the production of The Diary of Anne Frank, March 24-April 3, 2022, on the William M. Kelley High School stage in Silver Bay, Minnesota.
$5,000 RC61021M - Minnesota State Old Time Fiddle Championships, Virginia, St. Louis, funding will support the 40th annual Minnesota State Old Time Fiddle Championships held in early August, 2022, at the Merritt School Auditorium in Mountain Iron, MN.
OPERATING SUPPORT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED OPERATING SUPPORT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON October 21, 2021:
OS11021A - Downtown Duluth Arts Collective, Duluth, St. Louis
OS21021M - Homegrown Music Festival, Duluth, St. Louis
OS31021T - Icebox Radio Theater, International Falls, Koochiching
OS41021M - Itasca Orchestra and Strings, Grand Rapids, Itasca
OS51021F - Northern Film Alliance, Duluth, St. Louis
OS61021M - Rainy Lake Community Orchestra, International Falls, Koochiching
OSR61021A - Lyric Center for the Arts, Virginia, St. Louis
OSR71021M - Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis
OSR21021T - County Seat Theater, Cloquet, Carlton
OSR111021A - Tofte Lake Center, Ely, St. Louis
OSR31021A - Edge Center for the Arts, Bigfork, Itasca
OSR11021A - Armory Arts and Music, Center, Duluth, St. Louis
OSR91021A - Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton
OS101020T - Lyric Opera of the North, Duluth, St. Louis
OSR101021A - Prøve Collective, Duluth, St. Louis
OSR51021T - Grand Marais Playhouse, Grand Marais, Cook
OSR81021M - North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook
OSR121021M - Twin Ports Wind Ensemble, Duluth, St. Louis
OSR41021A - Ely Winter Festival, Ely, St. Louis
Organizational Grants Awarded FY 2021
RURAL AND COMMUNITY ART PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED RURAL AND COMMUNITY ART PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON May 20, 2021:
The Creativity Tank, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support the “I Can See Myself” mural project in collaboration with Creativity Tank artists and at-risk youth residents of North Homes.
Good Harbor Hill Players, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support the 2021 Winter Solstice shadow puppet performance with live music. Members of the public will be invited to join the core artists in designing and creating the shadow puppets, as well as participating in rehearsals and performing the show.
City of Grand Marais, Grand Marais, Cook, grant will support DETOURS which invites people to share stories of detours in their lives that brought unexpected gifts. Snippets from stories will be printed onto street signs and installed on city signposts.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Grand Rapids and Greenway, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support live musical performances as a part of the Day for Kids event.
ART PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ART PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON May 20, 2021:
AP1421F - Northern Film Alliance, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
AP2421A - Duluth All Souls Night, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
AP3421T - Wise Fool Shakespeare, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
AP4421V - Life House, Inc., Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
AP7421A - Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton, $5,000
AP8421T - Lyric Opera of the North, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
AP10421A - Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
AP11421T - Grand Rapids Players, Grand Rapids, Itasca, $5,000
ARTS LEARNING GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ARTS LEARNING FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON May 20, 2021:
Amy Lucas-Peroceski, Chisholm, St. Louis, funding will support an environmental awareness summer art camp to be hosted for 3-5 days each in Calumet, Marble, Biwabik, and Coleraine public parks.
Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support an inclusive music camp by Third Coast Chamber Collective (TCCC) for the Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program (IOSP) in partnership with the MacRostie Art Center, Reif Theater Ed and Reif Dance. The camp will take place at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids August 22nd-27th. A chamber music festival by TCCC and guest performers will be held concurrently to provide context and inspiration.
Kiesler Wellness Center, Grand Rapids, Itasca, grant funding will be used to expand art programming with a series of monthly classes with local artists.
Lyric Center for the Arts, Virginia, St. Louis, funding will support the Lyric Center Youth Arts program an ongoing after school arts education and outlet option for youth in grades K-12
Nelia Harper, Grand Rapids, Itasca, grant funds will support a summer art camp for youth and families residing at the Steve O'Neil Apartments in Duluth, with support from the Damiano Center. This summer camp will take place over nine weeks, starting mid-June and ending late August. One afternoon each week will be devoted to art, art education, and developing artistic skills with youth and families ages 5 to 17.
Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton, funding will support the Bringing Joy Poetry Project’s community poetry e-book created in collaboration with the Minnesota Author Project: Communities Create program.
Serenity Schoonover, Duluth, St. Louis, grant funding will support the Clay Kismet Workshop which will consist of 6 hand-built pottery and paint workshops for 12 youth, age 10-13, at the Duluth Art Institute (DAI), in Lincoln Park.
ARTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ARTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON March 18, 2021:
Briand Morrison, Grand Portage, Cook, grant will find the telling of the Anishinaabe story of the Seven Grandfathers and the Little Boy visually through imagery presented on the web in a new digital art medium that the artist has developed. This way it will be readily accessible to the community at large.
Jeremy Gardner, Cloquet, Carlton, grant funding will support the creation of fourteen musical tracks each with seven local BIPOC artists. At a community level this project will elevate the voices of the participating BIPOC artists in the region, building a professional body of work that will be available on individual streaming platforms, and promoted by DanSan Creatives LLC. This is an opportunity to expand the professional body of work by BIPOC musicians and poets in our region using the region’s main network of explicitly BIPOC creatives.
American Indian Community Housing Organization, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support moving the third year of the American Indian Community Housing Organizations Indigenous Film Series to a virtual platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The series will showcase five feature films and two film shorts created by Anishinaabe artists. These films will be shown one per month beginning in April via the Zeitgeist virtual platform with the help of the Duluth Superior Film Festival. In addition to the films, applicants will host Q & A sessions with some of the filmmakers with a focus on local Anishinaabe filmmakers Khayman Goodsky and Jonathan Thunder. Khayman Goodsky will host the entire series.
Northern Lights Music Festival, Aurora, St. Louis, grant award will support a multipronged project that will include a music camp for musically gifted children from nearby Bois Forte, Fond du lac, Red Lake and Leech Lake Reserviations; a 3-lecture series at B'nai Abraham Cultural Center about Iron Range history beginning with Dr. Anton Treuer discussing Ojibwe settlement in northern Minnesota; a lecture by Dr. Marilyn Chiat to discuss the Jewish Community on the Iron Range; and Pamela Brunfelt discussing how the various immigrant ethnicities shaped the Range; and two art exhibits with Ojibwe themes.
OPERATING SUPPORT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED OPERATING SUPPORT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON October 15, 2020:
OS11020A - Lyric Center for the Arts, Virginia, St. Louis
OS21020M - Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis
OS31020T - County Seat Theater, Cloquet, Carlton
OS41020A - Tofte Lake Center, Ely, St. Louis
OS51020A - Edge Center for the Arts, Bigfork, Itasca
OS61020M - Armory Arts and Music, Center, Duluth, St. Louis
OS81020A - Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton
OS101020T - Lyric Opera of the North, Duluth, St. Louis
OS121020A - Prøve Collective, Duluth, St. Louis
OS131020T - Grand Marais Playhouse, Grand Marais, Cook
OS141020M - North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook
OS151020M - Twin Ports Wind Ensemble, Duluth, St. Louis
OS161020A - Ely Winter Festival, Ely, St. Louis
OSR11020M - Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program, Grand Rapids, Itasca
OSR21020A - Duluth Downtown Arts Collaborative, Duluth, St. Louis
Organizational Grants Awarded FY 2020
ORGANIZATIONAL STABILITY GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ORGANIZATIONAL STABILITY FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON May 21, 2020:
Armory Arts and Music Center, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to assist in paying for upgrades to out-of-date computer systems by purchasing new Digital Audio Workstations.
County Seat Theater Company, Cloquet, Carlton, funding will be used to explore new revenue streams such as virtual performances, outdoor performances, and any other format seen as viable during this time. These funds will also pay general operating expenses during this time.
Downtown Duluth Arts Collective, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support virtual programming such as Virtual Happy Hours hosted by local artists/gallerists about how artists/arts groups can survive and thrive in this challenging economy; Virtual Arts Walk with live-streamed artist interviews/Q&A, demonstrations, and local musician’s accompaniments; and “live” events during the June 26 Arts Walk that will be stored online and through social media platforms. Funds will cover staff hours to facilitate programmatic changes.
Ely Folk School, Ely, St. Louis, funding will be used to support free online demos and paid classes as well as technological upgrades for these and for staff time.
Ely Winter Festival, Ely, St. Louis, funding will support operating expenses.
Grand Marais Playhouse, Grand Marais, Cook, grant funds would assist with the transition to a virtual method of fundraising, educational classes, and possible live stream events for immediate income producing activities. Purchases would include a camera with stand, lighting and sound equipment for video performance, software for recording and editing, and iPad for editing and educational use and the remaining for rent, royalties and scripts.
Lake Superior Community Theater, Silver Bay, Lake, funds will be used to pay for four artist stipends in play direction, music direction and choreography plus out-of-pocket expenses for two leaders.
Lyric Opera of the North, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to support artistic staff during the shutdown, including efforts to develop online offerings.
Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis, funding will be used to retain the organization’s artistic director and conductor.
North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will be used to support staffing costs during the shutdown.
Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton, funding will be used to move programming to a virtual format and promote the new virtual offerings.
RURAL AND COMMUNITY ART PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED RURAL AND COMMUNITY ART PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON May 21, 2020:
Ely Winter Festival, Ely, St. Louis, funding will support the 2021 Ely Winter Festival which will take place February 4-14, 2021. Over the initial three days of the Festival, teams of 2-3 artists will work together to carve each of these blocks into a giant work of art to delight and inspire residents and visitors of all ages.
Schroeder Area Historical Society, Schroeder, Cook, funding will support the 2021 exhibit for the Cross River Heritage Center (CRHC) museum art gallery, which will be on display beginning May 21, 2021, through October 23, 2021. The exhibit will showcase the Canadian Mountie paintings created by artist Arnold Friberg, available from the University of Minnesota-Duluth's Tweed Museum of Art (Tweed), and a complementary exhibit on Ojibwe-Anishinaabe art and culture that is to be developed in collaboration with the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and others.
Icebox Radio Theater, International Falls, Koochiching, funding will support the Fall 2020 Icebox Radio Theater Series. This series will be, for the first time, be in a serial format.
Chisholm Downtown Revitalization Project, Chisholm, St. Louis, the Chisholm Downtown Revitalization Group in partnership with the Chisholm Public Library, will lead a community driven art process to develop artistic wraps for 2 streetlight utility boxes along Lake Street. The designs will be submitted by local artists with direct ties to the local community via a call for artists. Final designs will be chosen by a committee of downtown stakeholders. The chosen designs will be transformed into artistic utility wraps (similar to car wraps) to encase the utilities.
USDA Forest Service, Bovey, Itasca, funding will support an effort by the Marcell Research Center (MRC) to invite three artists to spend a residency in the onsite dorms during the fall 2020 – summer of 2021.
Rainy Lake Community Orchestra, International Falls, Koochiching, grant award will support a string camp for all ages and abilities beginning Sunday, August 16 and culminating in a double concert on Friday evening, August 21 at the Ranier Hall. The camp will take place at Camp Idlewood located on beautiful Rainy Lake, with most rehearsals held at the Municipal Hall in Ranier, and also the Dungeon in Backus Community Center and Zion Lutheran Church.
Lyric Center for the Arts, Virginia, St. Louis, funding will support Northern Stage Works, working with U of M theater professor Luverne Seifert to expand the script of 'The Last Train to Winnipeg' into a full length play to be performed at the Lyric in the spring of 2021. Northern Stage Works, the community theatre company at the Lyric Center for the Arts, owns the rights to this play, which has an original running time of about 30 to 45 minutes in length.
ART PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ART PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON May 21, 2020:
Matinee Musicale, Duluth, St. Louis,
Lyric Opera of the North, Duluth, St. Louis,
Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe, Duluth, St. Louis,
AICHO, Duluth, St. Louis,
Itasca Orchestra and Strings, Grand Rapids, Itasca,
Edge Center for the Arts, Bigfork, Itasca,
North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook,
Citizens for Backus/AB, International Falls, Koochiching,
ARTS LEARNING GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ARTS LEARNING FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON May 21, 2020:
Ely Folk School, Ely, St. Louis, funding will support a series of stained glass classes with scholarships made available to participants 12 to 22 years of age, lower income individuals, and members of the Northern Lights Clubhouse, which serves individuals with chronic mental illness.
Emily Derke, Northome, Itasca, funds will support a series of two basketry workshops using locally harvested birch bark. The workshops will be open to the public, advertised widely across the northland and will take place at Rail River Folk School in Bemidji, MN. Each workshop will use different techniques and traditions, and will emphasize the process and material preparation side of working with bark. These will be open to the general public at the cost of $30 per workshop. Sliding scale or full “scholarship” options will also be made available.
Nelia Harper, Duluth,St. Louis, grant award will support a Summer Art Program in collaboration with Damiano Center in Duluth, MN. The core of the program is to provide art education and art activities in conjunction with and in addition to the “Kids' Kitchen” program at Damiano Center.
North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support The North Shore Music Association's 30th Annual Bluegrass Masters Weekend, featuring workshops and a concert by master mandolinist Joe K. Walsh and friends. The weekend will take place at Lutsen Resort in Lutsen, MN, from November 6-8, 2020.
Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton, funding will support the collaboration creation of a Bee Friendly Arts curriculum by Reach Mentoring, County Seat Theater, and the Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, to be piloted during a summer arts camp.
Prove Collective, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the development of a new series of community life drawing classes that will be offered monthly to area artists. Life Drawing/Drawing for Life will celebrate body diversity and inclusivity through its employment of body-diverse models, while offering artists the opportunity to improve their skills in a series of free and accessible life drawing open sessions starting in September of 2020.A public lecture on the representation of bodies and the nude in Western art and popular culture will also be held, highlighting contemporary artists who are focusing on diversity, inclusion, acceptance and empathy in their works as well.
The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support St. Scholastica bringing Wing Young Huie to campus in the fall to teach a masterclass for art/photography students from local colleges, titled “Chalk Talk,” which is supported in part by the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. They will also host an exhibit/reception on campus, which will be free and open to the public. The exhibit will feature Huie’s works alongside the student-produced “Chalk Talk” portraits, in which the students will compose a personal statement that addresses the divide between individual reality and public perception.
ARTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ARTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON March 26, 2020:
AICHO, Duluth, St. Louis, organization will use funding to plan and host the Beadwork Art Exhibition that will feature the work of up to 30 American Indian beadwork artists in the region, Canada and nation-wide in an exhibition entitled, “Manidoomenins: Still Beading After 10,000 Years." The majority of the beaders will be Anishinaabe and this exhibition will be curated by Fond du Lac Ojibwe artist Wendy Savage.
Daniel Oyinloye, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the Mixtape Vol. 6.0 project, which aims to engage and connect creatives exploring storytelling, reading, literacy discussions, music and music production. All of which will be done at the Lincoln Park Resource Center. This series was created to foster safe spaces using music as a technique for self reflection, cultural practice and education. The project will take place October through November for seven weeks with creatives. On November 28th the creatives will be featured in a live event at Zeitgeist Center for The Arts.
Moira Villiard, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the collaborative design of an immersive series of murals that will outline the contemporary and past history of Indigenous people in Duluth, MN. The murals will exist in a large maze of walls near the Lakewalk that connect the newly renamed Gitchi Ode Akiing Park and Downtown Duluth with the lower Canal Park tourism peninsula through a series of ramps and staircases. The lead artist will recruit other emerging Indigenous artists to assist in designing the various walls and then host public events where everyone is welcome to help fill in the designs.
Nina Holz, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support a series of six to eight workshops held at a local community center where the applicant will demonstrate and teach participants how to create Native American Art. Some of the activities of the workshop are: dream catchers, medicine bags, shields, and rattles/music makers.
ARTS ECOSYSTEM GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ARTS ECOSYSTEM FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON November 21, 2019:
Downtown Duluth Arts Collaborative, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to support collaborative efforts to host four downtown Duluth art walks with combined planning, marketing, and promotion by artists and organizations involved.
Keiko Williams (Donald G. Gardner Humanities Trust), Ely, St. Louis, grant award will support meetings of the collaborative group ARTS in Ely to meet, brainstorm ideas, build bridges and reconnect with common goals that better support each other.
RURAL AND COMMUNITY ART PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED RURAL AND COMMUNITY ART PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON November 21, 2019:
Minnesota State Old Time Fiddle Championships, Virginia, St. Louis, funding will support the 39th Minnesota State Old Time Fiddle Championships Saturday, August 1, 2020 at the Merritt School in Mountain Iron.
Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support a public concert of the Itasca Symphony Orchestra featuring piano soloist Alexander Sandor performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 2. in the Wilcox Theater of the Reif Performing Art Center in Grand Rapids on Saturday May 16th, 2020. The concert will also include Georg Enesco’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 and The Rob Roy Overture by Hector Berlioz.
Icebox Radio Theater, International Falls, Koochiching, funding will support the 2020 season of Icebox Radio Theater, which will produce six original audio plays. Each play will be an original story and script, and will be recorded and released monthly through the medium of podcasting, and added to the playlist of the IBRT’s streaming radio station.
Grand Rapids and Itasca Mountain Bicycling Association, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will a community-driven effort to install a key piece of public art at the Tioga Recreation Area. The sculpture will be a dynamic piece that pays tribute to outdoor recreation and will be inspired by the site. Students from the Itasca Community College Engineering Program will work with artist Aaron Squadroni to design and create the piece.
Good Harbor Hill Players, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support the Good Harbor Hill Players 2019 Winter Solstice Shadow Puppet Show an original shadow puppet performance with live music for the occasion of the winter solstice, December 21st, 2019. Members of the public will be invited to join the core artists in designing and creating the shadow puppets, as well as participating in rehearsals and performing the show. Workshops will take place nightly for 10 days before the show.
Friends of Gail, Ely, St. Louis, grant award will support the performance of the play, The Quiltmaker’s Gift, in Ely’s Historic State Theater on January 24-26, 2020. The play is based on the award-winning children’s book by the same title, which was written by Jeff Brumbeau and illustrated by Ely’s own Gail deMarcken.
Ely Winter Festival, Ely, St. Louis, grant funding will support the Snow Sculpture Symposium as a part of the 2020 Ely Winter Festival.
ART PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ART PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON November 21, 2019:
Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial Inc., Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support centennial year events of Duluth lynching tragedy. Events will open with a concert presenting rare performances of works by William Grant Still and the world premiere of a trio CJMM has commissioned from composer/conductor Jean Perrault. The concert takes place on Sunday, March 8, 2020 in Mitchell Auditorium as part of the College of St. Scholastica’s Cambiata Concert Series.
Grand Marais Playhouse, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support the opening of the Grand Marais Playhouse’s 49th season with Cinderella Stories, a community youth production of featuring students grades 3-8 who live in Cook County.
Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra’s concert on July 18, 2020, which will spotlight the talents of four present or former Duluthians: composer Bradley Bombardier, poet Marion Thompson Van Steenwyk, composer Mina Kaiser, and mezzo Sarah Knot.
Matinee Musicale, Duluth, St. Louis, grant funding will support events with the highly acclaimed ensemble The Dallas Brass in a concert performance at Weber Music Hall and three free outreach events for students and the community throughout the region on March 2-3, 2020.
Mesabi Community Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis, grant funding will support the 2020 concert season, “A Season of Masterworks” with performances around the Iron Range in February and April.
North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will be used to host the Lake Wobegon Brass Band, a 30-member brass ensemble, that will hold a concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in Grand Marais, MN.
Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton, grant funding will support the 2020 Cookin’ at the O jazz events.
Spirit Lake Poetry Series, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the 23rd Spirit Lake Poetry Series, high quality poetry readings in Duluth featuring both nationally known and regional poets with new books on the market.
ARTS LEARNING GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ARTS LEARNING FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON November 21, 2019:
The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, St. Louis, grant will provide funding for Proctor High School (PHS) and The College of St. Scholastica (CSS) to work together to create a community mural at PHS under the tutelage of nationally known Indigenous Artist Gregg Deal and CSS Art Professor Paul LaJeunesse.
Tamarack Dance Association, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of additional activities by the Tamarack Dance Association. Hosted at the Duluth Folk School, new activities will include: monthly folk dance workshops; quarterly Saturday afternoon family dances; monthly slow jams; and monthly old-time jam after the slow jam.
Duluth Children’s Museum, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support hosting an artist in residence as part of the Arts in STEAM Program. This year’s artist is graphic design artist and UMD professor, David Short. The residency will take place for the entire month of February, providing several opportunities for children to interact with him. He will be in residency most weekends as well as some weekdays. David will also be featured during workshops and camps hosted by the museum.
Lake Superior Youth Chorus, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the 2019 Lake Superior Youth Chorus Honor Choir. The honor choir brings together approximately 120 students in grades four through six from around the region along with LSYC singers and directors for a memorable day of choral music-making. After an intensive day of combined rehearsal and music learning activities, the day concludes with a concert.
-Mesabi Community Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis, funding will support a string quartet of musicians from Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by the conductor and an experienced teacher, to visit fourth grade classrooms on the Iron Range to present a lesson plan titled “Beethoven’s Musical Miracles.” Visits will take place shortly before MSO’s April concert, which students will receive free tickets to.
North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook, award will support three days in February with musician and theater artist Dylan Fresco who will present performances and youth workshops in Grand Marais, MN. His two-day residency at Great Expectations School will begin on Feb. 20, with a morning performance of his one-person musical play “Welcoming the Stranger,” a tapestry of true stories about refugees, family, and identity. On the third day Dylan will perform for the public, at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts, his one-man musical play “The Holocaust and Me,” the story of how he came to realize the impact of the Holocaust on his family and his own life, despite his being born decades after it happened.
OPERATING SUPPORT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED OPERATING SUPPORT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON October 17, 2019:
OS11019M - Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Duluth, St. Louis
OS21019M - Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program, Grand Rapids, Itasca
OS31019M - Lake Superior Youth Chorus, Duluth, St. Louis
OS41019A - Duluth Downtown Arts Collaborative, Duluth, St. Louis
Organizational Grants Awarded FY 2019
Art Project Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED ART PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON MARCH 21, 2019:
Citizens for Backus, International Falls, Koochiching, $4,230:
Funding will support the production of “The Little Prince” by the Borealis Bards, the community theatre troupe of Backus Community Center located in International Falls, Minnesota.
Duluth Superior Film Festival, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000:
Award will support the 2019 Duluth Superior Film Festival, the 10th annual festival of music, film and art. DSFF is to take place across the Arrowhead Region on May 29-June 2, 2019. The festival presents upwards of 70 films that will include international feature films, American independents, documentaries, and premieres from regional filmmakers.
Edge Center for the Arts, Bigfork, Itasca, $2,780:
Funding will support an exhibit and demonstration call Horizons: Glass by Jon Offutt. The project will include an exhibit of Offutt’s glasswork and two days of exterior glassblowing demonstrations open to the public.
Grand Rapids Players, Grand Rapids, Itasca, $5,000
Award will support the 13th annual Summer Kids Camp hosted by the Grand Rapids Players. This camp offers youth opportunities to become skillful in theatrical performance as well as taking on roles backstage, behind-the-scenes, and in the tech booth along with set construction and costume organizing. Camp ends with public performances of Mary Poppins, Jr. and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow on July 12th and 13th.
Lyric Opera of the North, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Funding will support the Lyric Opera of the North presentation of Donizetti’s comic opera, L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love), June 14 and 16., at the Marshall Performing Arts Center. Sung in Italian with English supertitles the performance will have a full chorus and orchestra, conducted by Dirk Meyer.
Matinee Musicale, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Award will support the presentation of cellist Lynn Harrell along with the pianist Zlata Chochieva in a concert at Mitchell Auditorium on October 8, 2019. The artists will also present separate masterclasses for area music students. Prior to the concert, on October 6, 2019, Matinee Musicale will present a free public outreach event at the Burns Wellness Center Auditorium at the College of St. Scholastica. This event will feature a screening of the film “Cello” starring Mr. Harrell and will be followed by a Q&A session with Mr. Harrell.
North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook, $5,000
Funding will support a series of events featuring Samite, a world-renowned flutist, singer, and kalimba, marimba, and litungu player. He will perform his one-man play “Resilience,” which combines Samite’s music, storytelling, film, and photo images on October 10th. On October 11th, Samite will talk and perform for middle school students studying global geography and history at Great Expectations School in Grand Marais. That evening, he will offer a talk on the theme of healing through music at the Cook County Community Center or Sawtooth Mountain Clinic.
Prøve Collective, Duluth, St. Louis, $4,490
Funding will support an exhibition (tentatively entitled X Factors) centered on the visual, linguistic, and cultural currency of the “X” as a potent symbol of intersectionality and social change. It will consist of work by local/regional artists as well as artists from throughout the United States. Curated by Prøve board member Jamie Ratliff, this exhibition will take place from Oct. 4-Nov. 8, 2019, with an opening reception on Friday, Oct. 4. During the month that the exhibition is on view, Prøve will hold a roundtable discussion and an artist-led workshop related to the exhibit’s topic.
Wise Fool Shakespeare, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Award will support the performance of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” at Lincoln Park Middle School in October of 2019. This production will be set in the traditional Renaissance time period.
Duluth All Souls Night, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,500
Funding will support the 2019 Duluth All Souls Night event. This is an annual, intergenerational, multicultural, fall arts festival at the Historic Depot: lamenting death, celebrating life, and nurturing creativity from all.
Arts Learning Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED ARTS LEARNING FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS ON MARCH 21, 2019:
Amy Lucas-Peroceski, Chisholm, St. Louis, $2,500:
Funding will support a series of twelve high-quality arts education workshops for students in the Chisholm, Hibbing, and Buhl area as a part of the summer recreation program supported by the City of Chisholm, Chisholm Community Education and Balkan Township.
Minnesota Museum of Mining, Chisholm, St. Louis, $5,000:
Funding will support the 2019 Iron Pour at the MN Museum of Mining. The project will take place outdoors Chisholm on Friday – Saturday, June 7-8, 2019. Igneous Metal Arts, a group dedicated to demonstrating and teaching the art of metal casting, will lead youth and adult participants through the experience of designing and carving a sand mold, observe the pouring process and the cooling and cleaning that takes place before they can take their finished piece home.
Emily Derke, Dora Lake, Itasca, $5,000:
Award will support a series of five basketry workshop. The series will include cedar bark, willow, black ash, and two different birch bark workshops. Students will learn to fully prepare their material and will learn a variety of weaving techniques while working in each medium. The weaving portion of the classes will be held at Rail River Folk School in Bemidji Minnesota, a great space that has a large room and outdoor space available to rent. The harvest portions of the classes will take place throughout Itasca County.
Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton, $5,000
Funding will support the planning and presentation a series of educational workshops that explore the weaving of Native and African American musical traditions in the evolution of jazz to high school and post-secondary music educators and students in the region.
Greg Mueller, Lutsen, Cook, $2,440
Grant funding will support the North Shore Community Pour, an interactive, learning experience in cast metal sculpture for 2019 Grand Marais Arts Festival attendees. Participants will create sand molds and watch as they are filled with molten aluminum which, when cooled will create a piece that they can take home.
Prove Collective, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,640
Funding will support artist-led workshops with youth in local mentoring programs. We provide our gallery space, art materials, instruction, and dinner for mentors and mentees to come and create individual paintings, drawings, collages, etc. that will be gathered and published in a Zine at the end of the year. Artwork will be displayed in an art exhibition in the gallery in January 2019.
Karen McTavish, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Funding will support weekly quilting workshops and open sewing sessions at the artist’s studio April 4, 2019 through December 19, 2019. Sessions will cover basic sewing, design, piecing, quilting and binding.
Duluth Community School Collaborative, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Funding will support the 2019 Hillside Youth Theatre program “The Oddest Sea.” The 6-week program will take place at Myers-Wilkins Elementary School and Lincoln Park Middle School and youth will have the opportunity to experience high-quality arts instruction in acting, singing, dance, set and costume construction, and performance. The program will be led by a team of experienced artistic directors and technicians.
Reflections Dance Company, Ely, St. Louis, $5,000
Award will support the Reflections Dance Company as they host three workshops bringing guest instructors to Ely to work with dancers along with community members who are interested. The workshops will be held at the Vermilion Fine Arts Theater and Tofte Lake Center in the spring and early summer. The evening showcase will be recorded for later use by the Reflections Dance Company as part of their summer production.
Citizens for Backus, International Falls, Koochiching, $5,000
Funding will support Summer Arts Week, a collection of 10 multi-disciplinary art classes taught by artists and school district teachers from the local community and Minneapolis. The project offers opportunity to area youth aged 5 and older to experience affordable, high-quality art-centered learning experiences not otherwise offered in this remote location. The week of classes will conclude with an art exhibition to allow students to display their creations and demonstrate their newly acquired artistic skills.
Rural and Community Art Project
ARAC GRANTED ARTS LEARNING FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON MARCH 21, 2019:
VFW Post 1720, Grand Rapids, Itasca, $5,000:
Funding will support Jazz at the VFW, a 2019-2020 series of high-quality jazz music at Grand Rapids VFW Post 1720 hosted by Sam Miltich and Friends and featuring special guest artists.
Reflections Dance Company, Ely, St. Louis, $5,000:
Grant will support “Looking Skyward,” a dance production from the Reflections Dance Company centered around the theme of “sky” it will feature live music, original dances, video, photography, and poetry along with an art exhibit during the week of the show.
Overburden/Overlook Project, Virginia, St. Louis, $4,850:
Funding will support six Felt Here workshops at existing cultural venues, farmer’s markets, and public events across the Iron Range from spring to fall of 2019, roughly one per month. The core impact of the proposed project is the creation of a storytelling space and art-making experience where people can have conversations about complex social and economic issues, without pressure to choose sides or take a political position.
MN State Old Time Fiddle Championships, Virginia, St. Louis, $5,000
Award will support the 2019 Minnesota State Old Time Fiddle Championships, August 3, 2019 in Mt. Iron, MN. The event will be open to fiddlers, their accompanists and other stringed instruments from all US states and all Canadian provinces. There are 5 age-specific categories and a non-age specific category for non-fiddle string instrumentalists.
Itasca County Television/Two Rivers Video, Grand Rapids, Itasca, $4,410
Funding will support the production of 47 North, a video series of original songwriters and performers for local public access television, on YouTube and as a video resumes for performers.
Icebox Radio Theater, International Falls, Koochiching, $1,900
Funding will support Icebox Radio Theater’s travel to Minneapolis in April of 2019 to perform ‘The Fall of the House of Usher & Other Stories’ before a live audience at the Bryant Lake Bowl.
Good Harbor Hill Players, Grand Marais, Cook, $5,000
Grant award will support the community development, planning, creation, and staging of the Summer Solstice Pageant in Grand Marias.
Cloquet Middle School, Cloquet, Carlton, $5,000
Funding will support a program for 6th graders at Cloquet Middle School that will explore traditional and contemporary Ojibwe design with local artist, Sarah Agaton Howes. Students will develop digital floral designs to be integrated into collaborative, laser engraved birch bilingual signage for the school.
Rainy Lake Community Orchestra, International Falls, Koochiching, $5,000
Grant funding will support a week-long string orchestra workshop, August 11-16 2019 at the Community Hall in Ranier, MN. The Rainy Lake Orchestra will perform in concert with the workshop attendees. Approximately 40 musicians, including 10 children and 15 mentors and guest artists will attend. The camp has been running over 35 years
Rural and Community Art Project Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED $23,930 IN RURAL AND COMMUNITY ART PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2018:
Ely ArtWalk, Ely, St. Louis, $5,000
Support to fund the 2019 Ely ArtWalk, to be held February 7-17, 2019. The EAW is designed to reach out to an underserved group, the artists who make their homes in the Ely area, by bringing their work to a wide audience and giving them an opportunity to sell their work.
Good Harbor Hill Players, Grand Marais, Cook, $5,000
Support to fund the Good Harbor Hills Players 2018 Winter Solstice Shadow Puppet performance, an original shadow puppet performance with live music for the occasion of the winter solstice, December 21st, 2018.
Itasca Choral Society/Itasca Community Chorus, Grand Rapids, Itasca, $3,930
Support to fund The Wonder of Christmas, a concert of Choral music, performed by the Itasca Community Chorus along with a local handbell choir and a choir consisting of youth from the Grand Rapids Boys and Girls Club.
VFW Post 1720, Grand Rapids, Itasca, $5,000
Support to fund Barnabas 22, a project to raise awareness about veteran suicide and the role of canine companions in supporting veteran well-being. VFW Post 1720 will work with Grand Rapids artist Mary Corwin to create an exhibit of paintings that are portraits of canine companions to Minnesota veterans.
Steger Wilderness Center, Ely, St. Louis,$5,000
Support to fund “Preserving the Artistic Legacy of the Steger Wilderness Center,” an effort to produce a website that will publicly host more than 50 years of archival media documenting and empowering the folk-trade community of the Iron Range.
Arts Learning Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED ARTS LEARNING FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2018:
Duluth Children’s Museum, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Support to fund hosting an artist in residence for the fourth year in a row. This year’s artist Dr. Paula Gudmundson a professional flutist. She will both demonstrate her musicianship and teach children different musical techniques alongside an interactive exhibit for children.
Justin Anderson, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Support to fund a series of workshops that will explore artistic expression and understanding through learning traditional craft skills with community participants.
Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,500
Support to fund the Quartet Project, an intensive summer chamber music program for approximately 20 to 24 middle and high school string students.
Lake Superior Youth Chorus, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Support to fund the Lake Superior Youth Chorus’ Outreach program, Prelude, which invites students in grades 2-5 for a once per week after-school music program for 8 weeks each semester
Melissa Wickwire, Grand Marais, Cook, $5,000
Support to fund Clay Club, a free after-school opportunity for youth to learn, grow, express themselves, and connect with others through the complex and creative process of ceramic arts.
Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis, $3,370
Funds will be used to send an ensemble of MSO musicians accompanied by retired teacher and MSO board president, Lynn Evenson, and MSO executive director, Rena Hartman, to schools in northern Saint Louis County. During these visits, Lynn and Rena will act out a story derived from Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, while MSO musicians provide sounds from Edvard Greig’s accompanying music to enhance the performance. They will work through the story showing how music can enhance the spoken word
North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook, $5,000
Support to fund the 28th Annual Bluegrass Masters Weekend at Lutsen Resort. Three days of small-group jamming around the lodge, one full day of vocal workshops with vocalist Valerie Smith, and a concert from Valerie Smith and her band Liberty Pike.
Prøve Collective, Duluth, St. Louis, $4,230
Support to fund an on-going series of educational workshops, led by Duluth-based artists and art instructors in order to better fulfill the organization’s primary mission
The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Support to fund an artistic and educational collaboration between The College of St.Scholastica and North Shore Community School. Teaching artists, Sarah Brokke Erickson and Adam Swanson will guide NSCS and CSS Art students through the process of creating a collaborative mural.
Art Project Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED $38,330 IN ART PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2018:
Damiano Center, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,900
Support to fund the restoration, framing, and display of a painting by Joe Geshick, titled “The Old People,” as well as the framing and display of numerous photos by Quinn Holte in the Damiano Center Community Kitchen.
Duluth All Souls Night, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Support to fund the tenth annual Duluth All Souls Night, Saturday, November 10, beginning at 5:00 p.m. All Souls Night is an annual Twin Ports fall arts festival held in and around the west side Duluth Depot and Public Library since 2008.
Matinee Musicale, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Funding will be used to invite the Harlem Quartet to participate in two community outreach events and perform a concert.
Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis, $5,000
Support to fund the Spring performance of Suite No. 1 from Edvard Grieg’s “Peer Gynt,” and an original story written and performed by the Twin Cities storytelling group Impossible Salt.
North Shore Music Association, Grand Marais, Cook, $4,990
Support to fund Kansas City Blues, R&B, and Boogie-Woogie singer and keyboardist Kelley Hunt as she performs in concert with her band at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in Grand Marais, MN on July 13, 2019.
Spirit Lake Poetry Series, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Support to fund the Spirit Lake Poetry Series as it sponsors five poetry readings during its 2018-19 season.
WDSE-WRPT, Duluth, St. Louis, $4,440
Funding will be used to commission a piece of artwork by Ojibwe artist Carl Gawboy centered around storytelling.
Wise Fool Shakespeare, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Support to fund the production of “Wiley and the Hairy Man,” a children’s play that will be performed March 1-10, 2019 at Lincoln Park Middle School.
Two-Year Operating Support Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED $67,910 IN TWO-YEAR OPERATING SUPPORT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ON JANUARY 18, 2018:
Duluth Art Institute, Duluth, St. Louis, $15,000
Support to help general operating support will be used to continue offering exhibits, classes, residencies, festivals and studio space, providing community connections, exhibition space, and opportunities for art making and art exploration, engagement and learning, nurturing all facets of the visual arts in the Twin Ports.
Grand Marais Playhouse, Grand Marais, Cook: $15,000
Support to fund the creation of a four-year transitional plan that will include clarified board and staff roles, evaluate programming, create a new staffing structure, and develop a succession plan.
Lyric Opera of the North, Duluth, St. Louis, $15,000
Support to be used for administrative capacity building and salary support for the General Artistic Director.
Matinee Musicale, Duluth, St. Louis, $9,320
Support to be utilized as part of a capacity-building effort including increasing visibility, adding on online ticketing option, and obtaining and reviewing real-time financial and marketing information.
Northwoods Friends of the Arts, Cook, St. Louis, $13,590
Support to be used in part to create a fundraising/marketing plan, upgrade computer systems, and subsidize the additional rental cost.
Quick Start Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED QUICK START FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS IN FY18:
Aitkin Community Education, Aitkin, Aitkin, $800
Support for summer theater camp for teens and young adults.
Borealis Art Guild, Hibbing, St. Louis, $1000
Support to purchase a dedicated computer for its recently acquired large format scanner and printer.
Gary-New Duluth Development Alliance, Duluth, St. Louis, $1000
Support to present “Music from the Alps to the Adriatic” at the new performance pavilion in the Gary-New Duluth Recreation Area.
Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, Virginia, St. Louis, $1000
To work with a web designer to update and upgrade the MSO’s website.
Minnesota Museum of Mining, Chisholm, St. Louis, $1000
Support for upcoming ‘Iron Pour on the Iron Range’ event.
Nordic Center, Duluth, St. Louis, $1000
Support for a concert with Frigg (from Finland) at Sacred Heart Music Center in Duluth.
Oldenburg Arts & Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton, $1000
Support to work with a web designer to create a website for the organization.
Spirit Lake Poetry Series, Duluth, St. Louis, $1000
Support to host a reading with former US Poet Laureate, Natasha Tretheway.
Individual Grants Awarded
It all begins with an idea.
Individual Grants Awarded FY 2022
ARTIST ACCESS GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ARTIST ACCESS FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON September 16, 2021:
$1,000 AA1821C - Alyssa Swanson, Cloquet, Carlton, grant award will support the creation of one abstract embroidery per week for one year.
$1,000 AA3821M - Cory Coffman, Duluth, St. Louis, grant funding will support the post-production of the new Wilting Point album.
$1,000 AA4821M - Jessica Korpi, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the professional recording of a first album under the name Jessie Dee.
$1,000 AA5821V - Linda Glisson, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the creation of a series of paintings to prepare for a future exhibition.
$1,000 AA6821L - Lynn Von Sien, Coleraine, Itasca, grant award will support the creation of Snow Emergency Route, a graphic memoir exploring life as an adoptee and caregiver
$1,000 AA7821C - Robin Penner, Hovland, Cook, grant award will support the study the of art of dress from the perspective of a colonial American woman in the 1730s and 1740s and the creation of an entire working class woman’s outfit appropriate to the period.
$1,000 AA8821V - Tiffany Fenner, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the "Spirit of She" project and creation of a ten-piece jewelry collection. This includes three pairs of earrings, two bracelets, two necklaces, and three rings.
$1,000 AA9821M - William Saaristo, Hermantown, St. Louis, grant award will support the creation of an Ojibwe themed guitar with birch bark covering and clan symbols and Ojibway beadwork designs.
INDIVIDUAL ARTIST PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED INDIVIDUAL ARTIST PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON September 16, 2021:
$4,000 IAP3821C - Alyssa Swanson, Cloquet, Carlton, grant funding will support the artist to take a certification course with McTavish Quilt Studio and create quilts inspired by the text "The Yellow Wallpaper" and her personal experiences with mental illness.
$4,000 IAP7821L - Brian Matuszak, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support travel and research for the book "Oh Fer Art's Sake!", an entertaining and historical book examining both the artists and the art funded by the WPA Federal Arts Project in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region.
$4,000 IAP8821M - Brianna Hall-Nelson, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a song, dance, and accompanying music video that addresses sexual assault and predatory behavior.
$4,000 IAP9821C - Christine Novotny, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support the weaving of four rugs with naturally dyed yarn and exposed to sunlight over extended periods of time to fade, recolor, and create new designs.
$4,000 IAP10821M - Cory Coffman, Duluth, St. Louis, grant funding will support the post-production of the new Wilting Point album.
$4,000 IAP12821M - Gaelynn Lea Tressler, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to support real-time captioning for the artist’s weekly online performances.
$4,000 IAP14821L - Jolene Brink, Two Harbors, Lake, grant funding will support the writing of a nonfiction book about the impacts of climate change based on personal family stories and conducted interviews.
$4,000 IAP15821C - Karen McTavish, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to support studio time to create a large, wholecloth quilt and instructional video. The instructional video course will be fully captioned and made available through the artist’s website.
$4,000 IAP19821L - Lynn Von Sien, Coleraine, Itasca, grant award will support the creation of Snow Emergency Route, a graphic memoir exploring life as an adoptee and caregiver.
$4,000 IAP22821C - Mary Plaster, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a small transportable performance space, enabling public enjoyment of new, small marionette woodcarvings.
$4,000 IAP23821M - Mitchell Bercier, Cloquet, Carlton, grant award will support Cantus Firmus, a musical creation that fuses algorithmic dance music and traditional Native American song
$4,000 IAP31821L - Sheila Packa, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the creation of a new book titled "Love on the Iron Range: Short Stories.”
ESTABLISHED REGIONAL ARTIST GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ESTABLISHED REGIONAL ARTIST FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON JULY 15, 2021:
ER22621M - Briand Morrison, Grand Portage, award will support the writing, recording, and production of ten new songs along with a digital release. There will also be three performances of the new songs at the end of the period.
ER18621V - Darrell S Chosa, Ely, award will allow the artist to produce a new touring art show of large format acrylic painting titled INDIGENOUS.
ER14621A - Julia Cheng, Duluth, award will support a group exhibition of art, including the grantee’s photographs, focused on, and largely created by local artists from the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American community.
ER13621V - Karlyn Berg, Bovey, award will support Reminiscence, Resiliency and Renewal, a series of works considering the optimistic emerging from the pandemic year and examining the creative spirit of the human experience of this period.
ER6621V - Moira Villiard, Duluth, award will support “Waiting for Beds,” a series of paintings and digital illustrations exploring gaps in mental health and addiction care in our region
ER3621M - Sara Alexander, Virginia, award will support the completion of a collection of fiddle songs called "Iron and Emeralds" and turn the songs into a fiddle book with a play along recording.
EMERGENCY WORKING ARTIST GRANT
ARAC GRANTED EMERGENCY WORKING ARTIST FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON July 15, 2021:
EW1621V - Clare Cooley, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will support “Rooted in Nature” a series of 34 botanical drawings with accompanying prints and notecards.
EW2621C - Frank Palmer, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, grant award will support the creation of upcycled fabric rugs on self-made looms.
EW3621M - Jesse Dermody, Kelsey, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will support the work of band The Brothers Burn Mountain as they create two new songs and one accompanying music video.
EW4621C - Emily Derke, Grand Marais, Cook, $2,000, support will fund the creation of instructional booklets as a resource for basketry workshops.
EW5621V - Serenity Kenan, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will support the Story Sculpture Project and the creation of a new body of porcelain work for the organization, First Ladies of Hillside.
EW6621V - Mary Plaster, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will be used to support working with local projection artist Daniel Benoit to learn about and create projections of marionette performances in public spaces.
EW7621V - Nelia Harper, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will support participation in Plein Air Grand Marais.
EW8621V - Adam McCauley, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, grant award will be used to fund the creation of a large landscape paintings.
EW10621M - Marc Gartman, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will be used to record 6 new songs with Ryan Young at his Minneapolis recording studio for the band Glitteratti’s "Side B" of an upcoming 2022 Album.
EW11621M - Sarah Krueger, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, grant funding will be used to design and press physical copies of the latest LP release "Lanue" to vinyl.
EW12621M - Diona Johnson, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will support the “First Womxn of Afro Punk/Funk” project to pay homage the the "First Womxn" of the Funk and Punk music genre and most specifically, those who are Black and Mixed with Black Heritage.
EW13621V - Alexa Carson, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will support the expansion of the artist’s Motherhood Series, depicting powerful birthing and breastfeeding mothers, by creating paintings that acknowledge other aspects of the feminine body's power, replacing shame with joy.
EW14621A - Amy Lucas-Perceski, Chisholm, St. Louis, $1,797, funding will provide support for after-school arts activities for the students of Cherry and Chisholm.
EW15621M - Keven Swanberg, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will support the band Diegetic with the recording and release of a new album, as well as the production of original video content to accompany the album.
EW16621F - Moira Villiard, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, grant funding will support the creation of a short Indigenous art film, "Extraction" in collaboration with poet and musician Tanaya Winder.
EW17621V - Stephanie Mirocha, Aitkin, Aitkin, $1,875, funding will support completion of a new body of work to be exhibited in 2022.
EW19621A - Shannon Crossbear, Hovland, Cook, $2,000, funding will support Born in Cloud of Smoke, a series of puppet storytelling presentations on healing the sacred hoop of humanity.
EW20621A - Amir Najam, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, grant award will support the creation of a series of accessible instructional videos and written documents covering the basics of technical sewing, patterning and design, and tutorials on production.
EW21621L - Keith Hopkins, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will support the creation of Anyone Can Be a Writer, a short story anthology that features creative works by local writers.
EW22621V - Karl Bardon, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will support A Life with Birds, a series of paintings based on boyhood memories of growing up as a bird-watcher.
EW23621M - Nat Harvie, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will support the production of a series of six videos, showcasing performances of new ambient/experimental compositions. These videos will be filmed in various outdoor locations across the Arrowhead Region and incorporate audio field-recordings of surroundings in an effort to place the music in dialogue with the landscape.
EW24621F - Bodhi Werner, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000, funding will support the recording, editing, and publishing of the artist’s novel as an audiobook.
Individual Grants Awarded FY 2021
INDIVIDUAL ARTIST PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED INDIVIDUAL ARTIST PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON March 18, 2021:
Sarah Krueger, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the recording, mixing, mastering and release of a new collection of songs under the artist name Lanue.
Sam Zimmerman, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will be used to complete phase two of a book project that incorporates paintings by the applicant and Ojibwe language, stories, and history.
Laura Sellner, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to purchase equipment and livestream performances by the band Superior Siren in a series called “The Superior Siren Sessions.”
Marc Gartman, Duluth, St. Louis, award will be used to produce a new album of music for the band Fever dream. The material tells the true story of the applicant’s Great Grandmother Kate who came from Russia to New York City as a child and was one of the few survivors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911.
Donovan Dahmen, Grand Portage, Cook, funding will support the creation of a large scale mixed wood installation titled Biidabin, first spirit of the light.
Nicholas Gosen, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the creation of audio plays working with Wise Fool Theater, to be distributed as podcasts.
Toby Churchill, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation fo a new, as of yet untitled, album of original works.
Elise Kyllo, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support the Felted Mural Project, which evolved into a desire to bring people together to process the challenges of 2020 and perhaps allow healing by creating three large felted murals made up of community felted symbols that expresses a personal or communal form of healing, dreaming or building.
Khayman Goodsky, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of "The Crow Dreams" a short film made using local artists and musicians to bring to life a modern perspective of certain Ojibwe teachings and values.
Teague Alexy, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a new album and digital distribution of four singles from the album.
Christine Marcotte, Deer River, Itasca, grant funding will support facilitating a writing group for senior citizens in documenting their family history. Additional research time will allow for the creation of a viable outline and six polished chapters of applicant’s historical fiction trilogy.
Gaelynn Lea Tressler, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support time to finish a memoir.
John Zasada, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support “Every Tree Tells a Story”, an exhibit exploring the art and ecology of our northern forests.
Andrew Ness, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support the creation of prints that pay homage to the ships of Lake Superior through a combination of etchings and monoprints.
Michael Monroe, Grand Marais, Cook, grant award will support the composing, arranging, learning, recording and presenting five new songs for a livestreamed Log Cabin Concert next spring.
Emma Rustan, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a full-length holiday album produced by Ingeborg von Agassiz. The collection of both original and traditional songs will be available in digital and CD format.
Kelly Schamberger, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a complete collection of large representational oil paintings.
Alexander Gutterman, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the post-production work on The Hunter, a locally based feature film exploring timeless themes in a contemporary idiom.
EMERGENCY WORKING ARTIST GRANT
ARAC GRANTED EMERGENCY WORKING ARTIST FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON December 17, 2020:
EW41120A - Amy Lucas-Peroceski, Chisholm, St. Louis, $2,000
EW61120C - Ashley Hise, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW101120C - Candace LaCosse, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW111120V - Carla Hamilton-Eisele, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW151120P - Craig Blacklock, Moose Lake, Carlton, $2,000
EW201120V - Greg Mueller, Lutsen, Cook, $2,000
EW241120V - Joseph Baltich, Ely, St. Louis, $2,000
EW291120C - Kristen Kaas, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW311120M - Marc Gartman, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW341120C - Melissa Wickwire, Grand Marais, Cook, $2,000
EW361120L - Michelle Matthees, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW371120M - Sara Alexander, Virginia, St. Louis, $2,000
EW451120C - Yarrow Mead, Duluth, St. Louis, $895
EW11120V - Adam Swanson, Cloquet, Carlton, $2,000
EW71120F - Bodhi Werner, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW81120V - Briand Morrison, Grand Portage, Cook, $2,000
EW91120F - Bryan Hansel, Grand Marais, Cook, $2,000
EW141120V - Clare Cooley, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW191120C - Graham Burnett, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW221120M - Joe Paulik, Grand Marais, Cook, $2,000
EW261120L - Keith Hopkins, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW271120V - Kelly Schamberger, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW301120M - Lyla Abukhodair, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW351120M - Michael Monroe, Grand Marais, Cook, $2,000
EW391120C - Serenity Schoonover, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW421120L - Tina Higgins Wussow, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000
EW431120P - Torina Stark, Wrenshall, Carlton, $350
EW441120T - Valerie Conner, Talmoon, Itasca, $2,000
EMERGENCY WORKING ARTIST GRANT
ARAC GRANTED EMERGENCY WORKING ARTIST FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON July 1, 2020:
$2,000 EW5520M - Teague Alexy, Duluth, St. Louis,
$2,000 EW8520M - Sarah Krueger, Duluth, St. Louis,
$2,000 EW11520V - Sam Zimmerman, Duluth, St. Louis,
$2,000 EW16520V - Nelia Harper, Grand Rapids, Itasca,
$2,000 EW25520F - Lance Karasti, Duluth, St. Louis,
$2,000 EW31520M - Jesse Dermody, Kelsey, St. Louis,
$2,000 EW41520C - Dan Neff, Duluth, St. Louis,
$2,000 EW43520L - Clare Cooley, Duluth, St. Louis,
Individual Grants Awarded FY 2020
EMERGENCY WORKING ARTIST GRANT
ARAC GRANTED EMERGENCY WORKING ARTIST FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON May 21, 2020:
$2,000 EW2520V - Tom Moriarty, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW4520V - Terresa Moses, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW7520C - Serenity Schoonover, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW10520M - Sara Alexander, Virginia, St. Louis
$2,000 EW14520V - Nina Holz, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW15520M - Nicholas Glass, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW17520V - Natalija Walbridge, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW18520V - Naomi Christenson, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW20520C - Mary Plaster, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW21520M - Marc Gartman, Duluth, St. Louis
$1,798 EW22520C - Lucas Anderson, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW27520M - Kevin Swanberg, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW30520V - John Ratzloff, Ely, St. Louis
$2,000 EW32520M - Jacob Mahon, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW33520C - Herb Fineday Jr., Cloquet, Carlton
$2,000 EW35520M - Gaelynn Lea Tressler, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW36520C - Frank Palmer, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW37520C - Emily Derke, Northome, Itasca
$2,000 EW38520V - Duane Barnhart, Aitkin, Aitkin
$2,000 EW44520V - Chris Monroe, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW45520V - Catherine Meier, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW46520V - Carolyn S. Olson, Duluth, St. Louis
$2,000 EW48520M - Briand Morrison, Grand Portage, Cook
$2,000 EW9520C - Sarah Agaton Howes, Cloquet, Carlton
$2,000 EW24520C - Leah Yellowbird, Grand Rapids, Itasca
$2,000 EW40520MA - Daniel Benoit, Duluth, St. Louis
ARTIST ACCESS GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ARTIST ACCESS FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON March 26, 2020:
AA3220C - Graham Burnett, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to purchase tools and materials for the restoration and modification of antique cameras.
Mary Meyers Corwin, Cohasset, Itasca, funding will support turning the Barnabas 22 exhibit into a traveling exhibit to be first show at Rick’s Place in Minneapolis with future locations to be determined.
Rita Morris, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a body of work consisting of two-dimensional hanging ceramic pieces in order to explore various surface techniques on clay and investigate the mark-making process.
Donna Miller, Grand Rapids, Itasca, funding will support online courses and experimentation with colored pencil to increase skill set and expand repertoire.
Angie Mason, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to hire acclaimed poet Jude Nutter to critique a poetry manuscript. The project would begin in August 2020 with the typical turnaround being 6-8 weeks.
Monica Ihrke, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of new relief prints and allow time for expanding outreach.
Kayla Schiltgen, Two Harbors, Lake, funding will support the re-examination and setting of the duet created in 2009 titled "My I's" set to music by Minnesota musicians Jelloslave/Purple Orange for performance and potential commissions. This will include a one hour and thirty-minute dance class focusing on partnering using phrase work and concepts from the duet and an in-progress showing of the duet that includes viewer feedback and a question and answer session.
Heather Brown, Finland, Lake, funding will support the continued practice of Cremonese violin making including critiques from luthier William Scott of Crystal, MN.
INDIVIDUAL ARTIST PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED INDIVIDUAL ARTIST PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON March 26, 2020:
Anthony Adams, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the purchase of tools, items, and time to complete ten musical instruments that will be used in a future public performance.
Cole Perry, Coleraine, Itasca, funding will support the time and effort to revise and complete a short story collection.
Greg Mueller, Lutsen, Cook, grant award will support the creation of four free standing, abstract assemblages of reclaimed metals that celebrate the visual nuance of being "under construction." This will be part of the July 2020 sculpture exhibit, "Flotsam and Jetsam; what changes, what remains - new works by John Books,Tom Christiansen, and Greg Mueller" at the Johnson Heritage Post Gallery in Grand Marais.
JT Haines, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the post-production of HOCKEYLAND, a feature length story of two Arrowhead high school hockey teams in the 2019/20 season.
Kathleen McTavish, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of large installation piece at Augsburg University's Gage Gallery in the fall of 2020.
Kristen Kaas, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to support the exploration of new textile weaving techniques including Multi Cloth. Employing traditional hand weaving techniques to further investigate how woven textiles take on multi dimensions.
Marybeth Garmoe, Grand Marais, Cook, funding will support the creation of unique artistic sapling broom handles through exploring the use of arborglyphs and methods for influencing the shape of saplings’ growth.
Nicholas Nerburn, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will be used to complete "Beneath The Craft District: Stories and Pictures From Duluth's West End" a new photobook.
Ryan Vine, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support work over the summer of 2020 on new poetry works. A public reading from the new manuscript at the Duluth Public Library will take place on October 8th, 2020.
Susanna Gaunt, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support a solo exhibit in the Duluth Art Institute’s Morrison Gallery of new three-dimensional paper forms.
ARTIST ACCESS GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ARTIST ACCESS FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON September 19, 2019:
Andrea Smith, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support a photo exhibit at the Duluth Folk School called “In The(ir) Element” incorporating dancers and nature.
Denise Kulig, International Falls, Koochiching, funding will support the exploration of techniques and creation of artistic rugs.
Donny Morris, Duluth, St. Louis, grant will support the creation of Suicidemindz Volume 1, a 20-page zine featuring poetry and graphic art
Helen Smith Stone, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support instruction in and creation of three 16″ x 20″ art quilts inspired by personal photographs.
Michelle Defoe, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a series of acrylic paintings based on dreams.
Mikayla Haynes, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to purchase supplies to self-make canvasses for future painting works.
Scott Hebert, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will be used to purchase equipment for improving the sound quality for local, self-produced podcasts.
Sydney Carlino Johnson, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the costs of new photography equipment and participation in two professional courses.
Tessa Unger, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will be used to purchase supplies to continue a painting series and to prepare it for a future show in Duluth.
INDIVIDUAL ARTIST PROJECT GRANT
ARAC GRANTED INDIVIDUAL ARTIST PROJECT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON September 19, 2019:
Bodhi Werner, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a ten-minute short film sample that showcases ten-plus cinematic Duluth locations to attract TV/movies to choose Duluth as location.
Nina Holz, Duluth, St. Louis, award funding will support a new series of ceramic pieces, using a new method to combined ceramics with canvas and enhanced with organic and inorganic mixed media additions with Native American cultural influence.
Briand Morrison, Grand Portage, Cook, funding will support the composition and recording of an original jazz guitar album which will be recorded, mixed and mastered in the artist’s home studio.
Moira Villiard, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a mural on the Seafarer’s Center building in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Duluth. The design itself is inspired by the history of the Anishinaabe and their relationship with wild rice. It depicts a world in which human industry and environment coexist, a pathway described in the Anishinaabe Seventh Fire prophecy.
John Books, Grand Marais, Cook, grant award will support the creation of sculptural works for the group show Flotsam and Jetsam at the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais, July 2020.
Laura Sellner, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation and production of the official music video for the song ‘Trying Too Hard’ by Superior Siren.
Alexander Gutterman, Duluth, St. Louis, grant award will support the final production of The Hunter a locally based feature narrative film exploring timeless themes in a contemporary idiom.
Ann Klefstad, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a new series of wood sculptures titled The Neighbors: Shou Sugi Ban. This project will pioneer a new way of creating permanent outdoor sculptures in wood by working with a traditional Japanese weatherproofing technique.
Terresa Moses, Duluth, St. Louis, grant funding will be used to create a series of illustrations titled Umbra, to be shown at the Zeitgeist Arts Atrium in November. Each piece is an illustration about a particular experience within the community of Black women. This exhibition will serve as a way to educate the broader community around the issues that Black women face and how each community is plays a role in these experiences.
Chip Borkenhagen, Aitkin, Aitkin, funding will support the creation of thirteen oil and digitally painted heritage-style floral designs (representing thirteen national origins of residents) printed on heavy banner material and secure to the boarded-up window panels of Aitkin’s most important historical building.
ESTABLISHED REGIONAL ARTIST GRANT
ARAC GRANTED ESTABLISHED REGIONAL ARTIST FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON JULY 24, 2019:
Adam Swanson, Cloquet, Carlton, award will allow the artist to spend time creating ten large paintings about endangered animals of Minnesota, to be shown at venues in Duluth and the Twin Cities.
Mike Scholtz, Wrenshall, Carlton, funding will support the production of a documentary detailing the story of a Joe Geshick painting at the Damiano Center of Duluth and its disappearance and reappearance on three separate occasions.
Nina Holz, Duluth, St. Louis, award will support the artist as they explore new techniques and the use of clay as a medium to create new sculptural works for their life casting project.
Wendy Savage, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support the creation of a new series of larger and more detailed paintings based on traditional historical Ojibway bead designs of the bandoliers bag from the early 1900s and allow time for community presentations on their significance.
SMALL GRANTS
ARAC GRANTED SMALL GRANT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS:
FEBRUARY
Christine Marcotte, Deer River, Itasca: Artist will use funding to attend the FOR THE LOVE OF IT! conference in Grand Marais, Minnesota March 6-8, 2020. (EO)
Singing Slovenes, Duluth, St. Louis: Funding will be used to purchase a replacement V3Sound Module to replace one which has lost its data and stopped working. (ENE)
Serenity Schoonover, Duluth, St. Louis: Artist will participate in a six week online writing course through The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis and then attend a Feminist Writers Panel event, facilitated by Glenda Reed, at The Loft. (EO)
Nelia Harper, Duluth, St. Louis: Artist will attend the workshop entitled, DRAWING THE FIGURE: A MODERN APPROACH TO CLASSICAL DRAWING with Robert Liberace from March 19-21, 2020 at the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art in Duluth. (EO)
Kristen Kaas, Duluth, St. Louis: Artist will attend Johanna Runback’s 5 day workshop “Traditional Swedish Folk Dress: Women’s Fitted Vest” hosted by the North House Folk School in Grand Marais. Guest Instructor, Johanna Runbäck is a professional seamstress and is the head hand sewing teacher at the renowned Sätergläntan Institute for Handicraft in Dalarna, Sweden. (EO)
Tiffany Quade, Saginaw, St. Louis: Artist will workshop with Shannon Downey, AKA Badass Cross Stitch, and is also known for her Tedx Talk, The Dichotomy of White Women. The workshop will be a community stitching event. (EO)
JANUARY
750 SG1120M – Elizabeth Jaakola, Cloquet, Carlton: Grant award will assist in the purchase of a new laptop and transfer of files from defunct laptop so the artist can continue creating music, video, and related works. (ENE)
Paula Gudmundson, Duluth, St. Louis: Artist will participate as a presenter at the 2020 College Music Society Great Lakes Regional Conference. (PD)
Judy Nelson, Cohasset, Itasca: Grantee will participate in an eight-week series of writing workshops at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. (EO)
DECEMBER
Yarrow Mead, Duluth, St. Louis: Funding will support the purchase of a new vacuum investment machine for lost wax casting.
Ely ArtWalk, Ely, St. Louis: Funding will assist organization after the theft of monies and materials necessary for the event.
NOVEMBER
Kelly Schamberger, Duluth, St. Louis: Grant funding will support attending a figure drawing workshop with world-renowned artist Robert Liberace.
Rachel Fuchs, Duluth, St. Louis, Dance: Grant award will allow for participation in a training course in Brooklyn by the Mark Morris Dance Group to teach dance to individuals with Parkinson’s Disease.
Betsy Hunt, Duluth, St. Louis, Visual Art: Support will assist in attending and presenting at the 2020 Collage Book Art Association Conference in New Orleans in January.
OCTOBER
Michelle Bennett, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will provide assistance in purchasing a new laptop for photo processing to replace one that unexpectedly died in September. (ENE)
SEPTEMBER
Chris LeBlanc, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will assist in replacement of laptop that has suffered damage during performances. (ENE)
Jenna Kowaleski, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support costs to participate in the Loft’s Wordsmith Conference. (EO)
Kip Praslowicz, Duluth, St. Louis, funds will pay for the production costs of large prints for a photo show. In addition, the artist will speak with college students to tell them how a show can be prepared on a small budget. (PD)
Jean Sramek, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support participation in events and workshops around the Catalyst Film Festival and allow for the live reading of an accepted script. (PD)
Mary Plaster, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support participation in Double Edge Theatre as a design and fabrication guest artist for the fall production of Leonora’s World. (PD)
Tim Kaiser, Duluth, St. Louis, funding will support travel to and lodging for a performance and speaking engagement at Minicine Gallery in Shreveport, Louisiana on October 29, 2019. Minicine Gallery seeks to highlight individual artists and performers who share their methodology and philosophy with like-minded artists and the general public. (PD)
Individual Grants Awarded FY 2019
Career Development Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED CAREER DEVELOPMENT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON MAY 16, 2019:
Bohdi Werner, Duluth, St. Louis – $3,000:
Funding will support the creation of a short film and proof of concept to be submitted to ITVFest happening in Duluth fall 2019.
Marc Gartman, Duluth, St. Louis – $3,000:
The grant award will assist with the costs of recording and releasing an album of new original compositions for the band Glitteratti.
Cary Plocher, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000:
Funding will support the time to complete a full second draft of a manuscript with time to refine based on feedback from beta-readers.
Jimi Cooper, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000:
Grant funding will support the mixing, mastering, production, and release of a new album for Dance Attic.
Nina Holz, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000:
Funding will support the creation of several equine sculptures that capture moments of emotion, beauty, and grace that horses are able to emit in real life.
Katherine Sandnas, Hibbing, St. Louis, $3,000:
Funding will support the exhibition of a new collaborative installation artwork titled: An American and Japanese Calendar of Days, at the Gallery KEI-FU, Kyoto, Japan, late fall 2019.
Natalija Walbridge, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000:
Funding will support time to research designs and create 4-6 detailed illustrations to be translated into screen prints on handcrafted canvas bags. The public will be invited to an open studio in November that will include a display of design process images.
Tashia Hart, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000:
Funding will support the editing and publishing of a young adult fiction book and two public events celebrating the book.
Christine Marcotte, Deer River, Itasca, $3,000:
The grant award will support working with a professional editor to prepare a historical fiction novel for future publishing.
Bryan Hansel, Grand Marais, Cook, $3,000:
Funding will support a solo photography exhibit at Cedar Coffee Company and Spokengear in Two Harbors, Minnesota. The exhibit will hang from September 1, 2019, to October 31, 2019.
Eric Edgin, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,960:
Funding will support the creation of a series of new woodworking tools created by the artist for the artist’s future use.
Mary Plaster, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000:
Funding will support a showing of new works at the Zeitgeist Arts Atrium in February 2020.
Kelly Schamberger, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,830:
Grant funding will support the development of a collection of landscape oil paintings created throughout the city of Duluth and along the north shore of Lake Superior over the summer of 2019.
Mary Erickson, Mountain Iron, St. Louis, $1,850:
Funding will support the artist to attend a digital weaving workshop to learn about digital designing and have the opportunity to weave on the TC2 loom at the Jacquard Center in North Carolina.
Anne-Marie Erickson, Grand Rapids, Itasca, $1,650:
Funding will support participation in the Loft’s Wordsmith Conference, a craft, career, and connection conference for writers of all levels, held in Minneapolis November 2019.
Serenity Schoonover, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,710:
Funding will support the writing of four creative nonfiction pieces as well as four free-of-charge community writing workshops to be held at the Duluth Public Library.
Technology and Equipment Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED TECHNOLOGY AND EQUIPMENT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON MAY 16, 2019:
Sara Alexander, Virginia, St. Louis, $2,000:
Funding will be used to purchase a portable sound system for musical performances at any venue.
Jacob White, Ely, St. Louis, $2,000:
The grant award will assist in the purchase of a mirrorless digital camera, including accessories, to use in documentary filmmaking.
Daniel Oyinloye, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,000:
Grant funding will be used to purchase a drone and accessories for high-quality video recording.
Carrie Schaefer, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,040:
Funding will be used to purchase a screen printing exposure unit and a washout booth to expand the artist’s screen printing capabilities.
Jennifer Murphy, Two Harbors, Lake, $1,490:
The grant award will be used to purchase a slab roller for ceramic sculptures and wall-hangings.
Arts Learning Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED ARTS LEARNING FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS ON MARCH 21, 2019:
Amy Lucas-Peroceski, Chisholm, St. Louis, $2,500:
Funding will support a series of twelve high-quality arts education workshops for students in the Chisholm, Hibbing, and Buhl area as a part of the summer recreation program supported by the City of Chisholm, Chisholm Community Education and Balkan Township.
Minnesota Museum of Mining, Chisholm, St. Louis, $5,000:
Funding will support the 2019 Iron Pour at the MN Museum of Mining. The project will take place outdoors Chisholm on Friday – Saturday, June 7-8, 2019. Igneous Metal Arts, a group dedicated to demonstrating and teaching the art of metal casting, will lead youth and adult participants through the experience of designing and carving a sand mold, observe the pouring process and the cooling and cleaning that takes place before they can take their finished piece home.
Emily Derke, Dora Lake, Itasca, $5,000:
Award will support a series of five basketry workshop. The series will include cedar bark, willow, black ash, and two different birch bark workshops. Students will learn to fully prepare their material and will learn a variety of weaving techniques while working in each medium. The weaving portion of the classes will be held at Rail River Folk School in Bemidji Minnesota, a great space that has a large room and outdoor space available to rent. The harvest portions of the classes will take place throughout Itasca County.
Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community, Carlton, Carlton, $5,000
Funding will support the planning and presentation a series of educational workshops that explore the weaving of Native and African American musical traditions in the evolution of jazz to high school and post-secondary music educators and students in the region.
Greg Mueller, Lutsen, Cook, $2,440
Grant funding will support the North Shore Community Pour, an interactive, learning experience in cast metal sculpture for 2019 Grand Marais Arts Festival attendees. Participants will create sand molds and watch as they are filled with molten aluminum which, when cooled will create a piece that they can take home.
Prove Collective, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,640
Funding will support artist-led workshops with youth in local mentoring programs. We provide our gallery space, art materials, instruction, and dinner for mentors and mentees to come and create individual paintings, drawings, collages, etc. that will be gathered and published in a Zine at the end of the year. Artwork will be displayed in an art exhibition in the gallery in January 2019.
Karen McTavish, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Funding will support weekly quilting workshops and open sewing sessions at the artist’s studio April 4, 2019, through December 19, 2019. Sessions will cover basic sewing, design, piecing, quilting and binding.
Duluth Community School Collaborative, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000
Funding will support the 2019 Hillside Youth Theatre program “The Oddest Sea.” The 6-week program will take place at Myers-Wilkins Elementary School and Lincoln Park Middle School and youth will have the opportunity to experience high-quality arts instruction in acting, singing, dance, set and costume construction, and performance. The program will be led by a team of experienced artistic directors and technicians.
Reflections Dance Company, Ely, St. Louis, $5,000
Award will support the Reflections Dance Company as they host three workshops bringing guest instructors to Ely to work with dancers along with community members who are interested. The workshops will be held at the Vermilion Fine Arts Theater and Tofte Lake Center in the spring and early summer. The evening showcase will be recorded for later use by the Reflections Dance Company as part of their summer production.
Citizens for Backus, International Falls, Koochiching, $5,000
Funding will support Summer Arts Week, a collection of 10 multi-disciplinary art classes taught by artists and school district teachers from the local community and Minneapolis. The project offers opportunity to area youth aged 5 and older to experience affordable, high-quality art-centered learning experiences not otherwise offered in this remote location. The week of classes will conclude with an art exhibition to allow students to display their creations and demonstrate their newly acquired artistic skills.
Artist Access Recipients
ARAC GRANTED ARTIST ACCESS FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON MARCH 21, 2019:
Allison Pagnac, Hermantown, St. Louis, $1,000
Funding will support the purchase of supplies and payment for a professional class to learn the Came Lead Method of stained glass.
Alyssa Johnson, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000
Award will be used to build an online portfolio and materials to promote the artist’s work and grow an audience.
Bodhi Werner, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000
Funding will support time to write the script for a pilot episode of a non-fiction television series to submit to ITVFest 2019.
Charlotte Montgomery, Duluth, St. Louis, $935
Funding will be used to purchase a new acoustic-electric guitar and a pickup for banjo.
Derek Rausch, Two Harbors, Lake, $1,000
Funding will support participation in a thirteen-day course on Norwegian log building with Trond Oalaan at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais.
Joe Paulik, Grand Marais, Cook, $1,000
Funding will support the recording of twelve songs with producer Al Oikari.
Lorna West, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000
Award will support the creation of a children’s book.
Michelle Bennett, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000
Award will support the production of twenty professionally printed and framed photographs of local musicians to be displayed in a solo show to be held at Duluth Coffee Company.
Nikki Shull, Mizpah, Koochiching, $1,000
Funding will support the creation of a paper quilling series on Minnesota wildlife and habitat.
Peter Knutson, Cloquet, Carlton, $890
Funding will support the release a three-song EP of live performances recorded at The Rex Bar in Duluth which will be published and distributed both online and with physical CDs.
Roxann Berglund, Grand Portage, Cook, $1,000
Funding will be used to create a three-song demo of original compositions that will be used to gain feedback from other musicians and to promote the artist.
Sarah Guy-Levar, Ely, St. Louis, $1,000
Funding will support the creation of four watercolor paintings inspired by Betty Bridgman’s book “This Is Minnesota.”
Scott Lamps, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000
Funding will be used to compose, record and perform a musical collection of melodic guitar pieces.
Career Development Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED CAREER DEVELOPMENT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON NOVEMBER 15, 2018:
Adam McCauley, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000
Funding will support the creation of new pieces for an exhibit at, and travel costs to, Great River Arts in Little Falls, MN.
Ann Klefstad, Duluth, St. Louis,$3,000
Funding will be used to conduct a residency with Patricia Canelake at her print studio at the Little Knife Sanctuary in Knife River, to produce experimental intaglio prints and monoprints for a future exhibition
Corrie Steckelberg, Hovland, Cook, $2,340
Funding will be used to support an artist-in-residence opportunity and creation of time-lapse videos of the artistic process.
Drew Anderson, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,660
Funding will be used to support the creation of a digital art show to be projected on public spaces in Duluth to raise awareness of homelessness.
Jenna Harting, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000
Funding will be used to create the first full-length album for The Latelys, consisting of Rachel Riefenberg, CJ Hanson, and Jenna Harting. It will be recorded The Terrarium recording studio in Minneapolis. Rob Oesterlin will be our recording engineer. Funding will also support the promotion and physical distribution of the album.
Justin Dallas, Knife River, Lake, $3,000
Funding will be used to acquire materials and support the time to create a series of 20 hand-carved wooden relief pieces that explore life beneath the surface of Lake Superior. These works will be displayed in a solo exhibition at the Great Lakes Aquarium for a 14-week period during the summer of 2019.
Karlyn Berg, Bovey, Itasca,$3,000
Funding will support the creation of a new body of work of three-dimensional collages to show at the Ripple River Gallery in Deerwood, MN.
LynnAnne Vesper, Ely, Lake, $3,000
Funding will support a mentorship with Gerald Henkel for building ten musical instruments which will be first displayed during the Ely Art Walk.
Marybeth Garmoe, Grand Marais, Cook, $3,000
Support will be used to develop, produce and market artistic broom accessories including handmade dustpans and hooks.
Megan Brant, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000
Funding will support a weaving apprenticeship with accomplished fiber artist and teacher Carol Rajala Johnson.
Mina Kaiser, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000
Funding will support the creation of a piece of music for voice, horn, marimba and guitar that will be performed and St. Thomas University in St. Paul in the Fall of 2019 and in the Spring of 2020 at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.
Nik Nerburn, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000
Funding will be used to conduct the post-production stage for the documentary film “The Great American Think Off”, about a rural philosophy debate that happens every year in New York Mills, Minnesota
Sara Alexander, Virginia, St. Louis, $3,000
Funding will support the recording of a new album titled Heart in the Moonlight at Sparta Sound in Sparta, MN.
Sara Pajunen, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000
Support will be used to fund the development portion of a personal long-term project called ‘Mine Songs.’ Mine Songs is a multimedia exploratory project about the Iron Range mine pits and all the history, complexity, beauty and inspiration that surround them. The project will include both a solo iteration for touring and performance and an ensemble iteration for occasional performances and the creation of a music album.
Wendy Durrwachter, Duluth, St. Louis, $3,000
Funding will be used to write a multi-movement divertimento for wind quintet to be performed and recorded by the U of MN Duluth Faculty Wind Quintet, comprising of Ted Schoen on clarinet, Jim Pospisil on horn, Paula Gudmundson on flute, Brett Linski on oboe, and Jefferson Campbell on bassoon.
Technology/Equipment Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED TECHNOLOGY/EQUIPMENT FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS ON NOVEMBER 15, 2018:
Greg Mueller, Lutsen, Cook, $1,560
Support to fund the purchase of an abrasive miter cut chop saw to use with creating large, outdoor sculptures.
Kerry Lambertson, Saginaw, St. Louis, $1,920
Funding will be used to purchase tools and equipment for creating violins and violin-family instruments.
Laura Sellner, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,960
Grant funding will support the purchase of vocal microphones, amplifiers, percussion equipment, and additional replacement items for instruments for the band Superior Siren so that they can continue playing with a high sound quality.
Peter Lande, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,400
Funding will support the purchase of camera equipment to allow for high quality macro photography.
Ruby Nightingale, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,680
Funds will support the purchase of a new spinning wheel and a table loom with a floor loom adjustable stand.
Wilson Johnson, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,480
Funding will be used to purchase supplies to produce cyanotype prints, other alternative process prints, and create digital negatives from a home studio.
Artist Access
ARAC GRANTED ARTIST ACCESS FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2018:
Ashley Hise, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000
Funding will be used to explore different clay bodies to produce three different sculptural lighting elements.
Donald Sundeen, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000
Grant funding will be used to prepare materials for and compile a book of original narratives and pictures documenting the experience of growing up at the Owatonna State School.
John Ulrich, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000
Support to fund the purchase of supplies and materials to make high-quality prints of the artist’s original paintings.
Michael Smieja, Grand Marais, Cook, $1,000
Funds will be used to build a reduction kiln for firing pottery.
Sara Pajunen, Gilbert, St. Louis, $1,000
Support to fund Mine Songs, a multimedia exploratory project about the Iron Range mine pits, at the Zeitgeist Center for Arts and the Community.
Stacey Achterhoff, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000
Grant funding will be used to hire an editor to assist in completing a nonfiction manuscript.
Stacie Renne, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000
Funding will be used to purchase supplies to continue creating letterpress graphic art visuals and to explore new ideas with the medium.
Toby Churchill, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000
Support to fund the creation of a documentary film about an artist as he explores his history and childhood at the Owatonna State School.
Fellowship Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED FELLOWSHIP FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON JUNE 21, 2018:
Anne-Marie Erickson, Grand Rapids, Itasca
Support to fund the completion of the memoir-in-essays “In the Evening, We’ll Dance” including work with editor Patricia Weaver-Francisco including assistance in preparing a query letter with Scott Edelstein for seeking potential publishers.
Daniel Oyinloye, Duluth, St. Louis
Support to fund the continued creation of “A Goody Night,” an artist storytelling experience to platform people from diverse backgrounds for enhanced community connections; seeks to establish meaningful connections among artists in Duluth by capturing a more holistic story via documentary process and organizing storytelling events that are coordinated at designated times and venues around the city.
Jeff Brown, Duluth, St. Louis
Support to fund the artist’s time to learn Vectorworks digital design software and to hire a mentor in the field to provide hands-on training and real-world experience with the software.
Karen Savage-Blue, Sawyer, Carlton
Support to fund the purchase of materials and pay for time to create twelve to twenty new works focusing on the animals that live in our area.
Marius Anderson, Duluth, St. Louis
Support will allow the artist to create a professional documentary film about the Arrowhead 135 Ultra Marathon in Northern Minnesota taking place January 28th to 30th, 2019. The documentary will follow and portrait 3-4 runners, interviewing them and showing their ups and downs in the days before the race, during the race and after the race. Post-production, it will be entered into a variety of outdoor/adventure film festivals.
Nate Johnson, Northome, Itasca
Support to fund the study of traditional Scandinavian birch bark weaving with master weaver John Zasada for six months. The artist will then take the next six months to complete artwork begun under his guidance and to continue with ongoing artistic projects.
Paula Gudmundson, Duluth, St. Louis
Support will allow the artist to create the first recordings of works by Scandinavian women composers. The artist has been able to identify twenty works written by Laura Netzel, who published under the Pseudonym N. Lago, Elfrida Andree and Amanda Maier- Rontgen which represent hidden treasures of significant Swedish music.
Robert Hinkel, Duluth, St. Louis
Support the creation of a series of twenty-eight illustrations for a self-written manuscript entitled, “For You, My Daughter.” The illustrations will be multicolor block prints on handmade paper, in an edition suitable for reproduction with the text as a Fine Press Book. There will be a public showing of the prints sometime after completion.
Serenity Schoonover, Duluth, St. Louis
Support and time to write and complete a young adult novel, and work with mentor, National Book Award nominee Sandra Scofield, to revise it for publication.
Community Arts Learning Grant Recipients
ARAC GRANTED ARTS LEARNING FUNDING TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS ON MARCH 15, 2018:
Daniel Oyinloye, Duluth, St. Louis, $5,000:
Support to fund The MixTape project, a program to engage teen boys in the residential juvenile justice program at Woodland Hills self-reflection through music. Not only will students analyze music as a vehicle for self-expression, they will be exposed to the recording and production process, using Logic software to record and mix their own track.
Kathryn Van Wert, Duluth, St. Louis, $2,480:
Support to fund a high-quality creative writing class to be held at Moose Lake State Prison. The class will be an introductory course in creative nonfiction, concentrating on the memoir and personal essay form, adapted from courses taught to undergraduates. Enrollment will consist of 12-15 incarcerated students, allowing for each student to receive an intensive, individualized learning experience.
Melissa Wickwire, Grand Marais, Cook, $5,000:
Support to be used for the Clay Club, which will meet for 16 weeks during April, May, September, October, November and December 2018 from 3:30-5:30. Clay Club will work with two groups of students, grades K-5 the other grades 6-12. Clay Club will be an after-school opportunity for youth to learn, grow, express themselves and connect with others through the complex and creative process of ceramic arts.
Quick Start Grant Recipients
ARAC granted Quick Start funding to the following individual artists in FY18:
Anna Bailey, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
Support to attend a songwriting retreat in Nashville, TN.
Niki Burger, Two Harbors, Lake, $1,000:
To participate in exhibition, “Filo of the Others” hosted by Lorenzo Pezzatini in Florence, Italy.
Elizabeth Belz, Grand Marais, Cook, $1,000:
Support to attend a fabrication workshop with Andrew Hayes at Penland School of Crafts in Spruce Pine, NC.
Kristina Estell, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
Travel cost for airfare to London, UK to participate in the London Art Fair 2018.
Julie Gard, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
With Heidi Mae Niska, support for Ekphrastic Collaboration: Poetry/Photography Exhibit at Lyric Center for the Arts in Virginia.
MaryBeth Garmoe, Grand Marais, Cook, $1,000:
Support to purchase a high-quality Tormek Sharpening System to replace an inexpensive grinder.
Paula Gudmundson, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
Support to present and perform at the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention in Reston, VA.
Alexander Gutterman, Duluth, St. Louis, $250:
Stipend to support proof of concept shoot for The Hunter feature film.
Tashia Hart, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
To purchase supplies and document work for upcoming “Ojibwe and Nordic Flowers, Vines, and Leaves” exhibition at the Nordic Center in Duluth.
Darren Hauser, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
With Ryuta Nakajima, support to print zines in conjunction with sturgeon-themed art exhibition at Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth.
Bill Isles, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
To help fund the manufacturing of a new music CD which is due out in late December.
Samuel Karns, Duluth, St. Louis, $430:
Support to attend a spoon carving workshop with Niklas Karlsson at North House Folk School in Grand Marais.
Allen Killian-Moore, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
Support to purchase a projector for an upcoming studio visit from a gallery owner.
Kathryn Lenz Peckham, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
To produce audio recordings to share in conjunction with her paintings based on John Milton’s Paradise Lost at the Karpeles Manuscript Museum in Duluth.
Sarah Malick-Wahls, Ely, St. Louis, $610:
Support to attend birch bark weaving workshop with Vladimir Yarish at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis.
Briand Morrison, Grand Portage, Cook, $1,000:
To purchase equipment for recording live performances.
Ned Netzel, Duluth, St. Louis, $940:
To replace keyboard for upcoming gigs.
Erin O’Daniel, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
Support to attend an artist residency at Salvage Vanguard Artist Guest House in Austin, TX.
Kyle Ollah, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
Support to record a folk music album with Tom Fabjance at Sacred Heart Recording Studios in Duluth.
Jason Pearson, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
Support to attend the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) annual conference in Montréal, Canada.
Mary Plaster, Duluth, St. Louis, $1,000:
Support to take advantage of an opportunity to do prop and set design for a Children of the Wild theater ensemble performance in Osceola, WI.
Wendy Rouse, Ely, St. Louis, $860:
Support to attend Joseph Paquet Plein Air Workshop in St Paul on June 8 to June 10, 2018.
Felicia Schneiderhan, Duluth, St. Louis, $870:
Support to bring a finished novel manuscript to “The Pitch” conference at The Loft Literary Center.
Neil Sherman, Grand Marais, Cook, $1,000:
Support to frame and ship paintings to Coors Western art exhibition in Denver, CO.
Timothy Stouffer, Ely, St. Louis, $1,000:
With Joey Kenig, support to create work for The Sebastian Project, a collaborative project between the artists.
Glenn Swanson, Carlton, Carlton, $1,000:
Support to upgrade his percussion equipment for the Oldenburg House’s upcoming “Cookin’ at the O” jazz concert series in Carlton.
Breanne Tepler, Duluth, St. Louis, $850:
Support to record tracks at 1979 Studio in Nashville, TN.
Melissa Wickwire, Grand Marais, Cook, $1,000:
Support to purchase a new computer.