Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2022 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$24,999
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Native Skywatchers
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
May 2022
End Date
April 2023
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Aitkin
Anoka
Beltrami
Benton
Blue Earth
Carlton
Carver
Chisago
Cook
Dakota
Faribault
Hennepin
Isanti
Itasca
Kanabec
Koochiching
Lake
Lake of the Woods
Le Sueur
Mille Lacs
Nicollet
Rice
Sherburne
Stearns
St. Louis
Wright
Aitkin
Anoka
Beltrami
Benton
Blue Earth
Carlton
Carver
Chisago
Cook
Dakota
Faribault
Hennepin
Isanti
Itasca
Kanabec
Koochiching
Lake
Lake of the Woods
Le Sueur
Mille Lacs
Nicollet
Rice
Sherburne
Stearns
St. Louis
Wright
Project Overview

Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details

Native Skywatchers will present Turtle Island Skywatchers-Stories of Us, which supports Minnesota Indigenous artists to produce and present culture based, art infused stories of relationship to earth and sky, presented in four seasonal livestream events including one live dance performance.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Peggy Burnet: entrepreneur, art collector, and community volunteer; Uri Camarena: director of business consulting with Metroplitan Economic Development Association (MEDA); Michael Charron: arts educator and an arts and civic leader; Richard Cohen: attorney in private practice and a former state legislator; Sean Dowse: arts advocate, arts practitioner, and civic leader; Emily Galusha, arts and civic leader, former arts administrator; 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; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Widdess: nonprofit consultant; former managing director, Penumbra Theatre

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Diane Anastos: Anastos is program coordinator for Saint Paul Public Housing Agency. She has been in this position for more than five years. She has served as a development, communications, and marketing director for House of Charity and Vietnamese Social Services of Minnesota, where she researched, applied for, and administered grant application awards. She has written grant applications throughout her professional career and also as a volunteer. She received awards from government agencies, private foundations, charities, civic groups, and faith based nonprofits. She served on board of Uniting Distant Stars, a nonprofit focused on building the leadership of Liberian youth. Anastos holds a BS in political science from American University and an MA in public administration from Hamline University. ; Jennifer Gorman: Gorman is the founder of Give Back Studio, and a freelance media program manager. She was previously the program coordinator for an art program that supported artists with disabilities. She has a background and education in art therapy and counseling and has worked with children in a psychiatric residential setting as an art therapist. She graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School with a MS in art therapy and counseling, has a BA in studio art from the University of Mary Washington (Fredericksburg, VA), serves on the board of Northern Community Radio and CoHaus, and is a commissioner on the Grand Rapids Arts and Culture Commission.; Juan Jackson: Jackson is a program evaluation consultant at Calabash: Learning, Evaluation & Assessment Research, LLC. He has 30 years of public health experience linking youth risk behaviors and community social norms to healthy outcomes. In health equity, as a teacher, writer, and activist, he has coached two generations of Twin Cities? youth leaders. Since 2015, he?s been the board chair of NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center.; Cecilia Johnson: Johnson is a writer and audio producer at Minnesota Public Radio's The Current. She produced both seasons of The Current Rewind, a Minnesota music history podcast, and has written more than 500 articles about Minnesota music. She graduated from Hamline University with a BA in English and Spanish, and she has volunteered at Mixed Blood Theatre and the Franklin Learning Center.; Gregory Lecker: Lecker is an oil painter who lives and works in Minneapolis. He has operated a cooperative art gallery at Northrup King Building since 2014. He regularly photographs and writes for the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Nature Notes blog. In 2020, he received an Artist Initiative grant for his watersheds project. Lecker's BA in architectural engineering education from Pennsylvania State University in 1987 prepared him to design architectural lighting systems for building interiors and exteriors.; Evelyn May: May is a writer and editor based out of Minneapolis. She has been published in Swimming with Elephants, Wingless Dreamer, Brew Your Own, Rain Taxi, and The Metropolitan. Her writing can be spotted across the Internet and on television. May is the founder and head editor at Other Worldly Women Press. She received her MFA in creative writing at Augsburg University.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2021, First Special Session, chapter 1, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2022 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$24,999
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$24,999
Administration costs
$1,975
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Create art-based storytelling and unique digital content that communicates our authentic Indigenous perspectives premiered at four seasonal events Registration numbers and brief pre/post surveys, Website analytics: number ofvisits, pages, hits, downloads, etc., Polls during livestream webinar; Photos, videos, etc. documentation of production; Headcount at one live event; follow up surveys.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Design and deliver four interdisciplinary seasonal digital art story/animation virtual presentations woven w. Indigenous-Ojibwe and D/Lakota star knowledge. Native Skywatchers Turtle Island Skywatchers - Stories of Us' successfully designed and delivered FOUR interdisciplinary seasonal digital art story/animation virtual presentations and TWO in-person events that occurred in person.

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
Achieved proposed outcomes.
Recipient Board Members
Annette S. Lee, Travis Zimmerman, Herbert Medina
Project Manager
First Name
Annette
Last Name
Lee
Organization Name
Native Skywatchers
Street Address
17101 76th Pl N
City
Maple Grove
State
MN
Zip Code
55311
Phone
(612) 314-9717
Email
aslee17@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