Creative Support for Individuals-Round 2

Cheryl Caponi: Caponi is the executive director and cofounder of the Caponi Art Park. Caponi has dedicated her career to developing the programs, physical space, and organization of the park; and to building community through the arts. Caponi is a former member of the Dakota County Public Arts Commission, and served on the City of Eagan public art selection panel. Caponi has a BFA from the University of Minnesota and has participated in the ArtSage Arts and Aging Minnesota professional development program. She was a lead member of the Eagan cohort in the Arts Midwest ArtsLab training on community building through the arts.; Benjamin Gateno: Gateno is a performer and educator with advanced degrees from the Eastman School of Music. He toured and recorded as a member of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet from 2009 to 2014. Gateno recently released a CD of solo guitar music of the 1920s featuring classical, blues, and jazz. Gateno is a 2020 recipient of a Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council grant to film performances of 1920s guitar music at 1920s architectural sites in southeast Minnesota. Gateno currently resides in Rochester where he teaches privately and serves on the board of the Rochester Music Guild.; Sally Koski: Koski is a retired graduate nursing professor from the College of St. Scholastica. She served as a volunteer executive director of the Ely Community Health Center and a public health nursing consultant for the Minnesota Oral Health Project. She has been active with local Ely area nonprofits such as the Ely Area Food Shelf and Community Care Team. She graduated from the College of St. Scholastica with a bachelor's and master's in nursing and holds a PhD in nursing from Barry University (Miami Shores, FL). She is a flutist, watercolor painter, photographer, and nunofelter. Koski has extensive experience as a grant reviewer for local nonprofits and with the Minnesota Department of Health. She recently has been selected as a contributing photographer with the Foundation for Healing Photo Arts.; Simone Needles: Needles is a visual arts instructor with Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, where they challenge perceptions of disability and provide the training and resources needed for individuals with disabilities to seek careers in the arts. Needles is a board member of the Minnesota Access Alliance working to advocate for and provide training to make the arts and culture more accessible to all Minnesotans. Needles has worked with the Walker Art Center, Minnesota Orchestra, and Highland Friendship Club as a teaching artist for classes focused on individuals with disabilities. She has worked in the disability field for six years and is a self-taught artist focusing on handmade mediums and process based work.; Judy Nelson: Nelson has a PhD in adult education and has taught full-time in the Minnesota state system and at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She lives near Grand Rapids where she pursues interests in photography, writing, landscaping, and music. Nelson is currently a member of the MacRostie Art Center and KAXE Northern Community Radio, where she contributes essays to the program Stay Human. She has been the recipient of a photography award and has had numerous presentations of her photos and her writing. Most recently, she received an Arrowhead Regional Arts award to begin writing a memoir of World War II.; Margaret Ojala: Ojala taught photography at St. Olaf College for 35 years. She is a professor emerita of art and art history. Ojala has been awarded several Arts Board grants for individual artists and received McKnight fellowships. Most recently, Ojala received an award at the 2020 McKnight visual artist fellowship. Ojala is represented by Groveland Gallery. She has a BA from the University of Minnesota and MFA from The Art Institute of Chicago.; Anna Ostendorf: Ostendorf is the executive director of ArtReach in Red Wing. At ArtReach, she handles administrative tasks including supporting teaching artists to deliver visual arts programming and teaches classes in visual arts. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in religious studies and cultural anthropology. She has served on the board of the Friends of the Sheldon Theatre and is a member of the advisory panel for Red Wing Community Education and Recreation.; Carlisa Rivamonte: Rivamonte is currently the development manager at Mixed Blood Theatre. She served for thirteen years as executive director for Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts and has worked as a grants consultant for a number of nonprofit organizations in the Twin Cities. She has served on the board of the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and as a panelist for several arts organizations including Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, Minnesota State Arts Board, and the Kentucky Foundation for Women, among others. She holds a BA in art from UC Berkeley and an MFA in painting from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.