21 Area Arts Organizations awarded a total of $84,456 in Southwest Minnesota Arts Council Grants

Twenty one arts organizations within the 18 county region of southwest Minnesota were awarded Art Project or Art Legacy Project grants on April 25, 2017 from Southwest Minnesota Arts Council (SMAC) for a total of $84,456. This was the third and final round of SMAC art project grants for fiscal year 2017. The next proposed* deadline for applying is July 28, 2017, with the earliest project start date of September 15, 2017.

An Art Project grant provides organizations in the SMAC region with up to $5,000 in matching funds to stimulate and encourage the creation, performance and appreciation of the arts (pre-packaged theatre residencies limited to $750).

Augustana Care’s Lakeside Campus in Dassel has been awarded $2,400 for helping to bring art into the lives of patients and residents, as well as their families and the community, in a way that is geared towards celebrating heritage. The project includes a series of three concerts by Finnish musicians and painting activities that celebrate the landscape of Minnesota. The concerts will be given by Kip Peltoniemi (song writer and accordion player), Daiane Jarvi (songwriter, musician, poet, guitar and Finnish harp player), and Sara Pajunen (violinist and composer). Visual artist Lynda Peterson will present two painting classes, in the fall and winter, for interested residents.  http://lakesidecampus.org/ 

The Calumet Players in Pipestone were awarded $750 for bringing a touring packaged theater, the Prairie Fire Children’s Theatre (PFCT). The PFCT is a professional touring company based in Barrett, MN. The PFCT will work with the Children’s Theater in Pipestone for their children’s summer camp, where rehearsals and workshops will take place from July 30-August 4. Together they will then perform their production of Pinocchio at the Pipestone Performing Art Center for two performances on August 4 & 5 at 6 pm both days. http://pipestoneminnesota.com/performingartscenter/calumetplayers/

Music at the Central Park Market in Cottonwood, MN.

The City of Cottonwood has been awarded $2,300 for providing musical talent at the Central Park Market, whose mission includes three main components to bring the community together and bring local flavor to area residents and visitors: local music, locally grown produce/homemade crafts, and a meal served by a local nonprofit. The market runs on 6 Wednesdays starting June 21 through July 26, from 5-7 pm at C.W. Reishus Park (Lake Park) in Cottonwood. http://www.cityofcottonwoodmn.com/

Traditional Somali weaving from the Somali Museum of Minnesota.

The City of Willmar was awarded $5,000 for a series of arts events that reflect the ethnic diversity of their community and foster a local interest and capacity in the arts. All the events will take place at the Willmar Community Center. For four Sundays in August there will be traditional Somali dance lessons taught by Mohamoud Mohamed, a choreographer from the Somali Museum of Minnesota. On Somali Independence Day (July 1), a Somali singer, Dalmer Yare, will perform multiple times throughout the day-long celebration. There will also be traditional Somali weaving taught by members of the Somali Museum of Minnesota, for four Saturdays starting October 21 through November 18 (excluding October 28). During Hispanic Heritage Month there will be a performance by the Mariachi band, Mariachi Jalisco de Minnesota. http://www.willmarmn.gov/

Crow River Singers

Crow River Singers,  based in Hutchinson, have been awarded $4,200 for two holiday concerts, one at the Litchfield Christian Church and the other in Hutchinson at the Peace Lutheran Church. The Crow River singers will perform with with the Litchfield Area Male Chorus; each choir will perform between four to five pieces separately and then join together in a mass choir performance for three or four pieces. http://www.hutchinsonarts.org/partners/crow-river-singers-2/

Artwork by Tom Nelson, who participates in the Discover Dassel tour.

The Dassel Area Historical Society was awarded $2,337 for the means to advertise and promote their Discover Dassel Art Tour. The public is invited to tour studios and homes of artists, as well as the Dassel History Center where up to 20 artists who do not have studios or homes in the area can exhibit and sell their work. The Discover Dassel Art Tour is scheduled for Oct. 28, 2017 from 10 am – 4pm. http://dassel.com/history-center/

Dawson-Boyd’s production of “Annie, Jr.”

Dawson Boyd Public Schools have been awarded $3,266 for their community education children’s summer musical, Peter Pan, Jr. The production is one act and about an hour long to perform. This production will be for grades K-11, with musical parts going to grades K-8 and 9-12 as stage crew. Auditions will take place May 30 from 3:30-5 pm at the Dawson-Boyd School Auditorium. Performances will be July 21 & 22 at 7 pm and July 23 at 2 pm. https://sites.google.com/a/dwby.k12.mn.us/dawson-boyd-schools/home-1

The Fair Association of Jackson County was awarded $3,144 for incorporating art appreciation at their county fair. Kip Davis will do a live mural sign painting from 12- 5 pm during the fair on July 26 & 27 to promote the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Jackson County Fair in 2018. Acoustic Smoke, who use a unique blend of Rock, Blues and Folk to relay songs with rich storytelling, will play at the open (and free of charge) stage in the Fair Village on July 26th. Performances will be at 3, 5, & 7 p.m. The fair will be working with Jackson Center for the Arts to promote the event and they hope to demonstrate that the performance and painting introduce involvement in the arts for all age groups. https://jacksoncountyfairmn.com/

Plans for Jackson County Fair live mural by Kip Davis.

Granite Falls Area Community Theater has been awarded $5,000 for their summer production of The Lion King, Jr. They will have a week long, intensive theater camp and two performances for the public on June 15 & 16, 7 pm, at the Yellow Medicine East High School’s “Little Theater”. Auditions were held on May 15 and the summer camp will start on June 12. Jeff Iverson will be the director and Tammy Isfeld will be set artist, both from Granite Falls. http://gfcommunitytheater.weebly.com/

Historic Hutchinson has been awarded $3,755 for their production of The Laramie Project, which will run June 13-22, 7 pm, at the Historic Episcopal Church in Hutchinson. The Laramie Project is a dramatic play about the people of Laramie, Wyoming and how the community dealt with the brutal murder of Mathew Sheppard, a hate crime based in sexual orientation. The show will be directed by Zack Thelen-Liebl, executive director for the Barn Theatre in Willmar. The production is brought to the stage through the combined efforts of Historic Hutchinson, Hutchinson Center for the Arts, and the Hutchinson Theatre Company. http://www.hutchinsonarts.org/partners/historic-hutch/

Lac qui Parle County Historical Society was awarded $3,723 to offer a two day photography class with Gene Stukel (of Granite Falls), taking place on June 26&27, and an art exhibit at the Lac qui Parle County museum featuring photographs of churches in Lac qui Parle County. The exhibit will feature 25 photos taken by photographer Kelly Lund (of Madison) and 36 photographs taken by students of the photography class (3 from each student). The opening for the exhibit is on May 6 of 2018 and will run through June 30. There will be a second reception on June 28, 2018 from 7-9 pm. http://lqphc.org/

Lakeview student production, “The Drowsy Professor.”

Lakeview School District in Cottonwood has been awarded $2,655 for their summer theater program for youth. Their production will be Cloaked, which is written and directed by Josie Laleman, who teaches at Lakeview Schools. Cloaked will be performed by elementary and high school students who took part in the week long summer theater program. An estimated 45 youth will be involved in the production, to be performed on August 4 at 6:30 pm. The play is meant for both young audiences and adults to enjoy and centers around a fairy tale land where young “cloaks” need to gain their actual cloaks by learning basic rules of humanity through the journeys they must complete. https://www.lakeview2167.com/

The Lyon County Agricultural Society was awarded $1,000 for bringing the band Escuadron Musical to the Lyon County fairgrounds, under the “hoop barn”, which will be free to the public. The performance will be on August 13 from 1:30-4 pm. Escuadron Musical is a fun and energetic Spanish band that started in 2006 under the name Musical Youth, as a way to get kids involved in music. http://www.lyoncountyfair.com/

Marshall Area Farmers Market has been awarded $3,250 for bringing musicians to the Saturday morning Farmers Market in Marshall. The performances are meant to help develop arts appreciation, promote diversity and meet the artistic needs of the community gathering place. The market starts on July 8 and goes through October 14, with a total of 14 performance dates.  Performances include a variety of singer/songwriters like Jerry Ostensoe and Charlie Roth,and vocalists like Emily Hoffman , Nona Faye, and the Salem Men’s Quartet. There will also be performances by jazz musicians Ross Anderson & Pete Lothringer, and Darwin Dyce on flute and trumpet. Other groups to perform include: PLACE (Preserve, Language, Adolescence, Culture and Education), a young Hmong group who perform traditional Hmong dance in original attire, and the Upper Sioux Youth Drummers and Dancers, a group of youth from the Upper Sioux who perform in traditional dress.

Emily Peterson of Slayton will exhibit her paintings at MAFAC.

Marshall Area Fine Arts Council (MAFAC) was awarded $1,662 for their exhibit program of nine six-week-long exhibits that showcase a mix of local, regional, and out-of-region artists. Each exhibit will have an accompanying artist reception, hosted by MAFAC. The exhibit schedule includes MAFAC’s Annual Photo Exhibit & Competition and the annual Lyon County High School Arts Exhibit. Other featured exhibits include: Lois Haak of Echo, Pat Hand’s sculpture, Brian Frink of Mankato, Tommy Nelson of Marshall, an exhibit featuring the work of High School Teachers, Kim Henspeter of Marshall, and Emily Peterson of Slayton. http://www.mafac.net/

Milan Village Arts School (MVAS) has been awarded $2,613 to put on its Spoon Gathering, which is a unique green woodworking event founded more than a decade ago by MVAS spoon carving instructor, Frank Foltz. The Gathering attracts artists, spoon carvers, enthusiasts of the wooden spoon, and greenwood workers from across Minnesota and the US for a 3-day festival of carving, friendship, and food. The gathering will be June 8-10 this year. Demonstrations and presentations will be done by a variety of skilled artists in the areas of: spoon carving, birch bark weaving, bowl carving, wood carving tools and sharpening, fan birds, and more. http://milanvillageartsschool.org/

Prairie Arts Chorale

Prairie Arts Chorale, a region-wide group, was awarded $4,125 for their 2017 fall concerts. The theme for the concerts will be “Made in America”, featuring outstanding choral works by American composers such as Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Leonard Bernstein, and George Gershwin. There will be five concerts: November 4, Bunde Christian Reformed Church at 7:30 pm; November 5, St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Marshall at 4 pm; November 10, Church of St. Anne in Wabasso at 7:30 pm; November 11, Granite Falls Lutheran Church at 7:30 pm; November 12, Faith Lutheran Church in Spicer at 4 pm. http://prairieartschorale.org/

Mural by Dona Larkin for the Restorative Justice program in Redwood Falls, 2011.

Redwood County has been awarded $3,276 for local artist Dona Larkin to create a wall mural in the Children’s Advocacy Center in Redwood Falls. The mural’s purpose is to enhance the welcoming feeling of advocacy for children and families who may be affected by traumatic experiences in our SW Region. The Children’s Advocacy Center strives to provide a comfortable and child friendly environment for abused children. This mural is to reflect those values, calming and child-like. The open house for the mural will be held on September 7, 2017. http://www.co.redwood.mn.us/

Rhythm of the River in Jackson was awarded $5,000 for their 11th annual “Rhythm of the River” music festival. This year it will be held on July 7&8, 2017 at the Ashley Park along the Des Moines River in Jackson. Two stages will allow for continuous activity and a diversity of musical and artistic styles. Local and regional artisans are invited to set up booths in the park grounds during the festival. This event is a free, multi-generational event that promotes songwriters and creativity in SW Minnesota. Rhythm of the Rivers mission is to “offer a free, professional quality event that is inclusive of all income levels and is not a financial burden to families who attend together.” In addition to more traditional music performances like country, blues, rock and roll, and jazz, there will also be timed planned for yoga, puppeteer and children’s musicians, 20’s and 30’s Vaudeville inspired music, kid friendly rock and roll, and more. http://www.rhythmoftheriver.org/

The Spicer Beautification Committee has been awarded $5,000 for their 2017 and 2018 Music in the Park series, which brings together talented musicians, an appreciative audience, and eager food vendors on six consecutive Sunday afternoons in July and August on the shores of beautiful Green Lake in the downtown Spicer park. The schedule for 2017 is as follows: July 9 (Big Al Trio), July 16 (1060 West Addison Blues: a Tribute to the Blues Brothers), July 23 (The New London/Spicer Community Band), July 30 (The Great Times Band), August 8 (Jeff James), and August 13 (The Mill Pond Jazz Quartet). All start at 4 pm.

An Art Legacy Project grant provides organizations in the SMAC region with up to $20,000 in matching funds to stimulate and encourage the creation, performance and appreciation of the arts through large-scale projects that will leave an arts legacy in southwest Minnesota. The next proposed* deadline for applying for this grant is July 28, 2017, with the earliest project start date of September 15, 2017.

Digital rendering of plans for the tractor sculpture.

The City of Montevideo was awarded $20,000 to create a public art piece that will be done on 1930’s era tractor which was donated to the city of Montevideo. The sculpture will be located on the corner of South First Street and County Road 42. Minnesota artist Karl Unnasch will design six stained glass panels on the tractor, after gathering stories from the community. An LED lighting system will be set up inside the tractor for illumination. The Montevideo Arts Project (MAP) committee, with assistance from Kristi Fernholz of the Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission, have worked together to plan and implement this project. The dedication that will be open to the public is planned to be in August of 2017. http://www.montevideomn.org/
If you are interested in attending events mentioned in this press release and want more details, please consult the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council’s calendar on our website, which can be found at https://swmnarts.org/news-events/, to the right of the page. Stay up to date with arts events and opportunities in our area!
*All grants deadlines described are contingent upon funding from the Minnesota State Legislature and the McKnight Foundation. Programs will be finalized by June 1st, unless the Legislature goes into special session.

All SMAC grants are reviewed by SMAC grant panelists and must then be approved by the SMAC board. All positions are volunteer. If you are interested in serving on the grant panel, please visit our website at swmnarts.org/about/become-a-grant-panelist/ to learn more!

If you would like to learn more about SMAC grants, please visit our website at: swmnarts.org/grants/. You can also call, email, or visit our office with any questions, use the information provided below.

Southwest Minnesota Arts Council
PO Box 55
114 N 3rd St
Marshall, MN 56258

800-622-5284
info@swmnarts.org
www.swmnarts.org

Keep up to date with SMAC news on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/swmnarts/