Minnesota Festival Support

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2013 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$38,487
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Northern Lightsmn, Inc. AKA Northern Lights.mn
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
January 2013
End Date
July 2013
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Hennepin
Ramsey
Hennepin
Ramsey
Project Overview
Northern Spark
Project Details
Northern Spark will be a free, all-night, multidisciplinary, multi-partner, indoor and outdoor festival that will take place at multiple venues around the Twin Cities in the summer of 2013.
Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications
Judson Bemis Jr.: Actor, arts administrator, founder and principal of Clere Consulting. Secretary, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Ardell Brede: Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002.; Peggy Burnet: Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Chair of the Nominating Committee, Smithsonian National Board. Trustee, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Michael Charron: Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Sean Dowse: Executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Music Coalition, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies.; John Gunyou, City manager, Minnetonka.; Benjamin Klipfel: Board member, Minnesota State Arts Board. Executive Director, Alexandria Area Arts Association, Inc. Director and arts educator.; Ellen McInnis: Director of Twin Cities government relations, Wells Fargo. Member of Bottineau Boulevard Partnership. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Pamela Perri: Executive vice president, Builders Association of Minnesota.; Margaret Rapp: Former educator, Saint Paul Academy and Summit School. Officer at-large, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Anton Treuer: Professor of Ojibwe, Bemidji State University.
Advisory Group Members and Qualifications
Eileen Banks: Past board member, Minnesota Fringe Festival; Social Worker, Hennepin County; Stephanie Busiahn: Executive Director, Fairmont Convention and Visitors Bureau; Kelly Finnerty: Deputy Director of Programs, The Bakken Museum, Minneapolis; Faith Krogstad: Community organizer, Hamline Midway Coalition, St. Paul; festival and events coordinator; Leif Larsen: Producer, music events for MPR; advertising executive; Barbara Mollberg: Dean of Academic Affairs, Rochester Community and Technical College; Paul Robinson: Company Manager, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, Minneapolis; Margaret Vosburgh: Manager, Memorial Auditorium Performing Arts Center, Worthington
Conflict of Interest Disclosed
Yes
Conflict of Interest Contact
Executive director Sue Gens (651) 215-1600
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2011, First Special Session, chapter 6, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Cultural Heritage

2013 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$38,487
Other Funds Leveraged
$138,868
Direct expenses
$177,355
Administration costs
$10,000
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Increase the number of visual artists presenting work in a festival context. We can quantify the number of artists presenting their work. In addition, we will conduct artist surveys and/or interviews to ascertain the extent to which they have previously shown their work in a festival context. 2: Increase the number of people who experience the visual and experimental public art in a festival context. Through a goal of completing 1,000 in person and online audience surveys, we will poll whether attendees are regular attendees of arts organizations and whether they have experienced the visual arts in a festival context in the recent past.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Northern Lights.mn, with 42 organizational partners, presented the work of over 300 Minnesota artists who presented or performed in 76 artist projects at Northern Spark 2013. Most of these artists had not presented work in a Minnesota festival before. This also represented an increase in the number of Minnesota artists presenting at Northern Spark compared to previous years. We assessed artist participation through monthly production and check-in meetings with the artists, and an artist-specific survey. 2: 447 surveys were completed online and in person at Northern Spark. Of that sample 37% had not attended Northern Spark previously. This alone indicates a significant increase (approx. 16,650) in the number of people experiencing visual and experimental public art in a festival context. Only 14% of the attendees identified themselves as festival goers. In addition, in response to the question: How often do you attend a museum, non-school performance or an arts festival during the year, 16% said a couple of times a year, 3% once a year, and 1% never. We believe that Northern Spark's distinctive profile in relation to other Minnesota festivals in terms of visual arts in a festival context, coupled with increased attendance, and survey responses, indicates an increase in the number of people who experience the visual and experimental public art in a festival context.

Description of Funds
Source of Additional Funds

Other, local or private

Recipient Board Members
Elizabeth Armstrong, Neal Cuthbert, Steve Dietz, Jeff Evans, Vince Leo, Michelle Klein, Gary Smaby
Project Manager
First Name
Steve
Last Name
Dietz
Organization Name
Northern Lightsmn, Inc. AKA Northern Lights.mn
Street Address
2751 Hennepin Ave S Ste 231
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Zip Code
55408-1002
Phone
(952) 994-4118
Email
stevedietz@northern.lights.mn
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