Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2021 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$15,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Turtle Theater Collective
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
January 2021
End Date
April 2022
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Hennepin
Ramsey
Hennepin
Ramsey
Project Overview

Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details

Turtle Theater Collective presents a series of online play readings by three Native playwrights that speak to the Native experience performed by a Native ensemble.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Ardell Brede: former mayor of Rochester; Peggy Burnet: entrepreneur, art collector, and community volunteer; Uri Camarena: business consultant, Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA); Michael Charron: executive director of grants and sponsored programs for Saint Mary's University of Minnesota., Saint Mary's University of Minnesota; Sean Dowse: former mayor of Red Wing; former executive director, Sheldon Theatre; Anthony Gardner, vice president, marketing and communications at CentraCare; Philip McKenzie: team lead with Boutique Air, founder and owner of Bluedoor 74, adjunct college faculty; Mary McReynolds-Pellinen: executive director, Lyric Center for the Arts; Thomas Moss: consultant to nonprofits and government agencies; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Widdess: nonprofit consultant; former managing director, Penumbra Theatre

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Kimble Bromley: Bromley is a professor of art at North Dakota State University serving in his twenty-fifth year. He has served on numerous university committees and has also served as chairman of the board for the Spirit Room (Fargo, ND). Bromley has won the NDSU College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Creativity Award and Best in Show Painting Award from the 2018 North Dakota Human Rights Festival. Bromley holds a BA in both psychology and sociology from Buena Vista College, an MA from the University of Northern Iowa, and an MFA from Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, IL). He also received his hypnotherapy certification from the National Guild of Hypnotists.; Rachael Givens: Givens graduated from the University of North Carolina Charlotte with a bachelor of arts in visual art. She is the volunteer social media assistant for The Links, Incorporated. She previously was a curatorial research intern at the Weisman Art Museum. She has experience as a communication engagement specialist at Pillsbury United Communities, where she designed marketing collateral on various enrichment programs for children that focused on visual arts, music production, STEM education, and career mapping. She received an Eli Segal AmeriCorps Education Award for completing over 1,700 combined hours of community service.; Nancy Leasman: Leasman is a visual artist, primarily creating small pieces with social commentary using a cast of characters engendered in watercolor. She has created large-scale murals, book illustrations, and over 400 scenes/designs reproduced on note cards. Leasman served as the grants coordinator for the Five Wings Arts Council and has received three arts grants. She has served on community revitalization, tourism, public health, and theater boards. She has studied in workshops with Don Folsom, Charles Kapsner, Bela Petheo, Karen Knutson, and others, in addition to much independent study.; Yan Pang: Pang is a composer, performer, and scholar. She received her PhD in music with a minor in theater arts and dance at the University of Minnesota. Her work focuses on intercultural music composition and performance. As part of this interest, she has been commissioned to compose and invited to perform in music festivals throughout the world. She considers both her music composition as a means to build multicultural understanding and tolerance. A selection of her varied works includes the album Glory Times (as songwriter and music director) by the China Science & Culture Audio & Video Publishing House; the score "Solis Ortus? (winner of the SunRiver International Composition Competition) by China's People's Cultural Publishing Company; the paper "Scene of Sichuan Opera? (coauthored with Mingzhu Song); and the books Cool Math for Hot Music, All About Music, Basic Music Technology, and The Future of Music (coauthored with Guerino Mazzola et al.) by Springer.; Katie Pease: Pease is serving in the capacity building and recruitment VISTA position at Mentor North. Pease originally came to Minnesota from Oregon for college and is a proud graduate of St. Catherine University with a BA in studio art and English. After working in a variety of fields, including extensive time spent supporting persons living with physical and developmental disabilities, Pease's passion for social justice led her to making the decision to serve with the AmeriCorps.; Christopher Selleck: Christopher Selleck has spent more than twenty-five years working in the arts community of Minnesota. He received his BFA in photography from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in 2013 and his MFA in photography from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2016. Using sports and masculinity as a lens to view identity, his various projects of the last few years focused on this area of identity construction. He maintains an active studio space while teaching as an adjunct or visiting artist. He has worked for nonprofit and commercial galleries, done arts writing, and professional art documentation.; Lisa Truax: Lisa Truax is an associate professor of art and design at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and holds an MFA in ceramics from Michigan State University. Truax is also a professional artist. She has volunteered for the Arts Board reviewing individual visual artist grants in the past and has also received grants in the past.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2019 First Special Session, chapter 2, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Cultural Heritage

2021 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$15,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$15,000
Administration costs
$2,719
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

TTC will host a series of three play readings by Native American playwrights, performed by Native American actors and directors to connect communities. This will be evaluated by having a recorded viewing of the final performance to showcase our Native ensemble and have a post-play discussion with the virtual/zoom audience to increase the connection between Native and Non-native communities.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Turtle Theater showcased Indigenous writers works while hiring indigenous artists. During the pandemic Turtle Theater was able to showcase two indigenous writers and hire ten indigenous actors/actresses and three indigenous directors.

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
achieved most of the proposed outcomes
Recipient Board Members
The Turtle Theater Collective Advisory Committee members are Heid E. Erdrich Carra Martinez Sarah Rasmussen James A. Williams.
Project Manager
First Name
Ernest
Last Name
Briggs
Organization Name
Turtle Theater Collective
Street Address
5412 43rd Ave S
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Zip Code
55417
Phone
(612) 481-9053
Email
ernest.briggs@gmail.com
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency