State: MN

Paul Summers is one of nine winners of the 2024 Midwest Culture Bearers Award. This award celebrates artisans and folk arts practitioners whose work is rooted in cultural preservation and...

Indigenous Roots Cultural Center’s ArtsHERE grant will support the continued growth of their grassroots efforts, helping to strategically restructure and revisit organizational procedures and policies. Indigenous Roots Cultural Center is a multidisciplinary, multigenerational, and multicultural space that cultivates opportunities for Native, Black, Brown, and Indigenous peoples through cultural arts and activism.

South Sudanese Foundation (SSF)’s ArtsHERE grant will support their initiative to expand culturally grounded arts programs and develop a strategic framework for sustainable fundraising, enhancing community engagement and long-term impact. The mission of SSF is to create a transformative community in Fargo-Moorhead where everyone thrives together. Since the pandemic, SSF has grown significantly, addressing the increasing needs of the refugee and New American immigrant population through high-quality programs and services.

eMartin Dance will bring three professional Cambodian dance artists to Minnesota to foster connections across cultures and international communities through dance. While in MN they will engage in community workshops and perform at the 2024 Minnesota International Dance Festival produced by Dance Projects by ME.

Disability artist and activist Gaelynn Lea will present public performances of her original songs, performing alongside Twin Cities storyteller and poet Kevin Kling, in a program that celebrates the wisdom and wit inherent in Disability Culture. Gaelynn also will conduct a professional development workshop session for the Disabled artists from the Interact Center for Performing Arts .

Mizna will bring the filmmaker and curator Saeed Taji Farouky to the Twin Cities, Minnesota, to mark the publication of Mizna: 24.2, the Cinema Issue, a special issue of our literary journal that he is guest editing. While Farouky is here, we will activate this boundary-pushing journal edition with screenings, readings, and a discussion, with Farouky as the central, curatorial facilitator.

Frozen River Film Festival will host a professional filmmaker to offer filmmaking residencies in underserved Winona area secondary schools to supplement arts programming, and to offer a public filmmaking workshop.

Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts will host visiting artist Cedric Mitchell. Mitchell will present on his work & artistic practice (free to the public), teach a workshop for underserved youth, and have a multi-day residency in our glass arts studio. This visit will kick off our 2025 visiting artist programming.

To complement The YES! House’s consistent work showcasing and supporting artists in the Southwest Minnesota region, The Exchange: Visiting Artist Series invites artists from across the Midwest to engage in a short-term residency at The YES! House, culminating in a public arts event showcasing their work. This series seeks to foster creativity, collaboration, and geographic cross-pollination.

Exposed Brick Theatre will engage playwright Ehkhudah Zar and will tour her play Muyehpen to Worthington, Minnesota.