Art Project Grant

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2019 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$3,125
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Duluth All Souls Night
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
October 2018
End Date
January 2019
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
St. Louis
Hennepin
St. Louis
Hennepin
Project Overview

Art Project Grant

Project Details

Duluth ALL Souls Night (DASN) is an annual fall arts festival in and around the Downtown Depot and Public Library. We offer unique artistic opportunity to observe season turn honoring ancestors, grief, and creating a new future in shared community.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, Cultural Programming Coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, Cultural Programming Coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2017 Regular Session, chapter 91, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage

2019 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$3,125
Other Funds Leveraged
$3,875
Direct expenses
$7,000
Administration costs
$0
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

To form a communal container in which to safely hold and process the gamut of sorrow, gratitude and joy for subsequent sublimation into meaning-rich art and action. To highlight and reward Minnesota artists who spark year-round observations of cosmic change in fun, original, profound ways. To showcase multicultural diversity of art expression, reflecting changing demographics. To share and inspire affordable handmade and live spectacle traditions in the West Duluth neighborhood, mirroring extremes of contrasting seasons of life and encouraging soulful creativity from all. To honor memories of those who have gone before and model holistic, active imagination towards present/future beings of our planet. Physically counting increasing number/diversity in participants and attendees. Adding year ten to our collection of amazing photos. Online and face-to-face recounting of spontaneous comments. We will use Survey Monkey evaluations in 2018.follow-up with participants/observers to discuss event highs/lows, and ideas for possible improvements in following years. Active Facebook/website pages where engaged public can easy contact us with photos, stories, and offerings of their talents/suggestions. Capturing stories of travelers from distant parts of MN, the upper Midwest and beyond. Tracking related Twin Ports events that we inspire, and noting respect for cultural references/accuracy.

Measurable Outcome(s)

We successfully completed the ten-year-anniversary of Duluth All Souls Night! Photos show that 2018 attendance maintained but did not increase at this eleventh event due to snow. However, our seasoned audience was the most engaged and demonstratively appreciative of our efforts to artistically and publicly recognize personal and political grief. The quality and scope of the event has increased with arts funding towards stipends to our professional presenting artists. It was the most ethnically diverse and gender fluid group of participantspectators. We increased awareness and activism in the Twin Ports around many tough topics including cultural appropriation, plight of immigrants, violence (towards our environment, GLBTQIA persons, and Missing Murdered Indigenous Women [MMIW]). We offered a unique artistic and safe space for anyone to express and appreciate loss in supportive community. There was increased variety of global celebratory observances of the fall time of year including reclamation of forgotten European practices. Spectacle included the return of 17' tall marionette, Max Skeleton, skelton aerialist, and fire spinning cadavers. We did much prior outreach into the community educating around the event.

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
achieved proposed outcomes
Source of Additional Funds

Other,local or private

Recipient Board Members
Chris Davila, Susana Peleyo-Woodward, Jillian Forte, Julie Ahasay, Kathy Hermes, John F. Schmidt, Lyz Jaakola, Mary Plaster
Project Manager
First Name
Mary
Last Name
Plaster
Organization Name
Duluth All Souls Night
Street Address
2737 Russell Rd
City
Duluth
State
MN
Zip Code
55810
Phone
(218) 310-6289
Email
dasn@maryplaster.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
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