Arts Tour Minnesota

A1 and 2: Minnesota professional artists and arts organizations have more opportunities to tour their work throughout the state. The Minnesota Music Coalition Caravan du Nord served nearly twice as many artists as we anticipated, with 92 individuals participating as solo artists and band members throughout the eight city tour. In 2012, we were approached by numerous artists who were interested in being part of our organization and project after the success of the 2011 Caravan du Nord. We selected artists for this tour based on quality, diversity of musical genres, and fit" with each host community. 2: B1 and 2. Three of the eight stops on the 2nd Caravan du Nord were new partnerships for the Minnesota Music Coalition, and all of the artists on this tour (with one exception, Rogue Valley) were first time participants in this project. Many artists were performing for the first time in a fine arts venue. As one of our artists responded on her post tour survey: "Being given the opportunity to perform in a theatre where people actually listen to the songs and the stories behind the songs is something I really appreciate." Survey results from a post project artist survey revealed that 64% of the 2012 Caravan du Nord artists had never performed in the communities or venues in which they appeared as part of this project. We used a Survey Monkey online tool to verify participation and our ability to achieve this goal. As one artist stated: "I enjoyed playing in a large historic theater. Our band made some interesting connections and had the best time on our last night of tour."