Arts Access

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$49,147
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Theater Mu, Inc. AKA Mu Performing Arts
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
January 2015
End Date
January 2016
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Hennepin
Ramsey
Hennepin
Ramsey
Project Overview
Arts Access
Project Details
Mu Performing Arts will bring 1,000 Minnesota immigrants and refugees to TWELFTH NIGHT with free tickets, transportation, childcare, workshops, and community-created storytelling videos that put Shakespeare into participants’ own words.
Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications
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. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Rebecca Davis-Lee: Touring pianist, piano and music theory teacher; Wendy Dayton: Arts and community leader and philanthropist.; Sean Dowse, Executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Music Coalition, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Treasurer, Minnesota State Arts Board.; David Glenn: Executive director of the Minnesota Project, ceramic artist; Ellen McInnis: Director of Twin Cities government relations, Wells Fargo. Member of Bottineau Boulevard Partnership. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Thomas Moss: Consultant to nonprofits and government agencies; Janice Sivertson: Gallery owner and visual artist
Advisory Group Members and Qualifications
Yvonne Cory: Storyteller and textile artist, marketing representative, Faribault County Fair, career and technical instructor, Blue Earth high school; Melissa Cuff: Director of grants and foundation relations for YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities.; Venessa Fuentes: Philanthropy writer at Project for Pride in Living, poet; Sandra Gillespie: Visual artist, online writing instructor, University of Alaska Anchorage, former program director, Alaska State Arts Council; Gabriel Green: Founder and executive director, Wolffe Cultural Center, Duluth, founder and senior pastor, Church of Restoration Twin Ports; Paul Robinson: Senior community leadership consultant for the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2013, Chapter 137, Article 4, Section 2, Subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$49,147
Other Funds Leveraged
$5,460
Direct expenses
$54,608
Administration costs
$5,500
Number of full time equivalents funded
0
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

We will increase retention of new Community Partners and strengthen longstanding relationships as we reach 1,000 underserved Asian Americans in Minnesota. Audience numbers will be tracked to reach our goal of serving 1,000 Minnesotans. Evaluations will measure Community Partner and audience satisfaction, engagement, impact, and suggestions. 2: Immigrants and refugees will experience Shakespeare that speaks to their lives via workshops, a community-created video art piece, and Mu’s show. Increasing Asian American attendance and exposure to high quality art will determine success. We will overcome financial, transportation, family, and perceived barriers so all can participate.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Mu reached 935 underserved audience members, deepened relationships with twenty-three community partners, and began relationships with two additional partners. Mu tracked partner participation rates in the Mu Links workshops, number of free tickets given away, and use of facilitation funds, as well as performing written surveys of participants and in-person qualitative interviews with group leaders. 2: Up to 100 immigrants and refugees participated in Shakespeare workshops, and many commented that their life views were changed by the experience. Written surveys of each workshop participant and written surveys and personal interviews with group leaders gave us an understanding of how the workshops and the show affected their lives. Additionally, follow up surveys with teaching artists helped us to determine how participants engaged with the workshops.

Description of Funds
Source of Additional Funds

Other, local or private

Recipient Board Members
Kaimay Yuen Terry, PJ Vitoff, Jeff Chen, Dan Le, Candice Hern, Chris Barron, Dorothy Mollien, Atlee Wong, Mike Hu, Kari Ruth, Sharon Fong, Reginaldo Reyes
Project Manager
First Name
Shannon
Last Name
Freeby
Organization Name
Theater Mu, Inc. AKA Mu Performing Arts
Street Address
275 4th St E Ste 496
City
St Paul
State
MN
Phone
(651) 789-1012
Email
shannon@muperformingarts.org
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