Welcome Director of Grants Emma Deaner!
Join us in welcoming Emma Deaner, our newest team member as our Director of Grants!
Let's learn more about Emma:
Emma Deaner is a musician born in Duluth, Minnesota, and raised along the North Shore of Lake Superior. From a radio station to a record shop and unique venues across the upper midwest, Emma has 15 years of project management, event production, and fundraising experience within the arts & entertainment industry.
Some of her notable work includes direction of NorthFest, an independent regional music festival at the University of Minnesota Duluth, while Community Outreach Director at The North 103.3FM, formerly known as KUMD (2015); concert series curation and event production at Glensheen Mansion as Experience Designer featuring Concerts on the Pier and Glensheen Unplugged (2016 - 2021); and as Entertainment Curator at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (2022-2023). There she had the opportunity to collaborate with a variety of local, regional, and national touring artists, art organizations, non-profits, promoters, festivals and more including the Homegrown Music Festival, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra (DSSO), Minnesota Ballet, Art in Bayfront Park, Duluth Superior Pride Festival, Honor the Earth, First Avenue Productions, AEG Presents and more as she oversaw two seasons of Bayfront Festival Park programming as well as talent buying and project management for a variety of DECC presented events and creative initiatives. Most recently, she collaborated with Minnesota Public Radio’s The Current as their concert producer for their Emerging Artist Showcase at the Duluth Masonic Temple (2024).
In 2015, Emma joined forces with singer-songwriter Laura Sellner to become the percussionist of Superior Siren, an eerie folk project inspired by mythology and the waters of Lake Superior. Thanks to the support of the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, Superior Siren released their debut album in 2018 and has been touring the upper Midwest ever since. The all-female quartet has had the honor of performing at a variety of listening rooms, clubs, theaters, festivals, and other alternative performance opportunities to support artists such as Bon Iver, DeVotchKa, Low, Sierra Ferrell, Trampled by Turtles, Charlie Parr, and more. After a Bridge Session collaboration with the DSSO in 2023, the cinematic sounds created within the orchestral experience has influenced the evolution of the project as they craft the next album to create a new depth Superior Siren will soon evoke.
Emma is grateful for the opportunity to join the council as Director of Grants to ensure the arts continue to flourish within the Arrowhead Region of Minnesota. After experiencing the life-changing impact grant funding has had on her own creative career, she looks forward to sparking inspiration within fellow artists, art organizations, and the greater community to ensure access to the arts is available for all to enjoy. She believes now more than ever, the arts are essential to community health and social vitality as well as a significant economic driver that makes our region such a unique place to live and explore. Emma is honored to serve our region as an arts ambassador as it brings her great joy to connect the community through the power of art.
Contact
To contact Emma, please email grants@aracouncil.org.
You may recognize this email (grants@aracouncil.org) as our previous Director of Grants and Outreach, Holly’s email. Holly is transitioning into the role of Director of Outreach. Holly’s new email is outreach@aracouncil.org. Thank you for your patience during this transition period!
Emma - grants@aracouncil.org
Holly - outreach@aracouncil.org
