Creative Support for Organizations-Round 1
Creative Support for Organizations-Round 1
The City of Mahnomen's Manoomin Arts Initiative will support local artists and invigorate the town's revitalization efforts through community engaged public art residencies and the fall Wild Rice Arts Festival.
Uri Camarena: business consultant; Michael Charron: arts educator and an arts and civic leader; Richard Cohen: attorney in private practice and a former state legislator; Emily Galusha: arts and civic leader, former arts administrator; Anthony Gardner: vice president, marketing and communications at CentraCare; Ken Martin, political strategist and campaign manager; Philip McKenzie: team lead with Denver Air, adjunct college faculty; Nichole Melton-Mitchell: healthcare administrator; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Widdess: nonprofit consultant; former arts administrator; Christina Woods: executive director, Duluth Art Institute
Rachel Carlson: Rachel Coyne is a writer and painter from Lindstrom, MN. Her books include Daughter, Have I Told You?, Whiskey Heart, The Patron Saint of Lost Comfort Lake and the YA Antigone Ravynn Chronicles. Her painting have been featured in journals such as Fatal flaw, the Emerson Review, Hole in the Head and many others.; Joshua Gillespie: Gillespie is a local Black Storyteller and a Leadership Scholarship Program Director. He is passionate about the local art community as a Minnesota native and actively participates in the creative sphere. He has volunteered as a grant reviewer in the past, and he hopes to continue learning about the process and improve his own grant writing abilities. He is dedicated to the work and committed to the process.; Jane Nelson: Jane Becker Nelson is Director and Curator of Flaten Art Museum at St. Olaf College, where she oversees the museum?s collections and exhibitions and serves as a specialist in and advocate for visual teaching and learning. Becker Nelson has worked in museums and galleries across the U.S. and Canada, serving as curator, educator, gallery manager, and fundraiser at institutions including the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center, Groveland Gallery, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Seattle Art Museum, and Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Ontario. Her major fields of interest include contemporary art in northern North America, museum studies, and curatorial practice. Exhibitions such as The Making Known (2022), Meg Ojala: I Want to Show You Something (2018), She Gone Rogue (2014), and Re-framing Terrorism (2011) exemplify Becker Nelson?s interest in art and contemporary culture, and a drive to connect exhibitions with curricular interests in higher education. Becker Nelson holds a BA in studio art and art history from St. Olaf College and an MA in art history from Queen?s University in Kingston, Ontario. She is a Minnesota state representative to the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG) and presents regularly at their annual conferences.
ACHF Arts Access
Participants will gain deeper arts access and understanding through a series of culturally relevant public art, art events, and workshops. The City of Mahnomen has established the Manoomin Arts Initiative (MAI). MAI will support local artists and invigorate our towns' arts access by building our capacity to cultivate an inclusive and sustainable arts and culture ecosystem.
620 adults and youth gained arts access through multiple culturally relevant programming of Wild Rice Day, mural projects and artist residencies. MAI evaluation included committee debrief sessions, individual partner interviews and art outcome presentations as well as ongoing feedback gathering from engaged community members.