Artist Initiative

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2018 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$4,590
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Ruth Gila. Berger
Recipient Type
Individual
Status
Completed
Start Date
January 2018
End Date
December 2018
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Hennepin
Hennepin
Project Overview

Artist Initiative

Project Details

Berger will work with a mentor to finish her first memoir and submit it to literary contests and agents. She will give a reading and facilitate a memoir workshop for adults with mental illness.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Ardell Brede: Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002; Peggy Burnet: Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Member of the Smithsonian National Board. Former chair of the board, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Uri Camarena: Business consultant, Metropolitan Economic Development Association. Board chair, Minneapolis College of Art and Design.; Michael Charron: Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Officer at -Large, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Rebecca Davis-Lee: Touring pianist, piano and music theory teacher. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Sean Dowse, Mayor of Red Wing, elected 2016. Former executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. Secretary/Treasurer, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Thomas Moss: Consultant to nonprofits and government agencies.; Dobson West: Senior advisor, Spell Capital Partners Fund; Christina Widdess: Arts organization consultant; former managing director, Penumbra Theatre. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Ashley Benites: Novelist, writing instructor, Arts Board grantee; Victoria Blanco: Writer and teaching artist; Arts Board grantee; Karlyn Coleman: Writer; teaching artist at the Loft; Arts Board grantee; Shannon Gibney: Author and activist; teaches in English department at MCTC; Margaret Newman: Writer and teacher; Arts Board grantee; Matthew Ryan: Writer, English professor at Concordia St. Paul; Arts Board grantee; Michele Valenti: Writer, winner of Loft Mentor Series in fiction

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

2018 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$4,590
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$4,590
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Guided by a mentor, I will complete my first memoir and have a submission worthy manuscript. Grant goal will be met by an 80,000 word manuscript and query emails sent to at least five literary agents. 2: I will hold a memoir reading and workshop at the Lighthouse drop-in center in Minneapolis. Participants can share their work at the end. I will take attendance at my workshop. A short survey will be given to workshop participants, allowing for a second workshop session if that is wanted.

Measurable Outcome(s)

100,432 manuscript now undergoing final edit before agent submissions. Proposed outcome not yet met. Fantastic progress has been made! I created more new material than I expected to, therefore editing is taking longer. Agent submissions not yet made. 2: I held a workshop to celebrate my peers with mental illness, telling their own stories. I took attendance at my workshop. There were eight individuals who attended my workshop and all were provided feedback forms, five completed forms were handed back.

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
Achieved most of the proposed outcomes
Project Manager
First Name
Ruth
Last Name
Berger
Organization Name
Ruth G. Berger
State
MN
Phone
(612) 746-2612
Email
ruthgilaberger@yahoo.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