Artist Initiative

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2020 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$10,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Stephanie A. Lein Walseth
Recipient Type
Individual
Status
Completed
Start Date
January 2020
End Date
December 2020
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Anoka
Benton
Big Stone
Blue Earth
Brown
Carver
Chippewa
Clay
Crow Wing
Dakota
Douglas
Faribault
Goodhue
Hennepin
Isanti
Itasca
Lac qui Parle
Nicollet
Ramsey
Redwood
Rice
Sherburne
Stearns
Steele
St. Louis
Wadena
Washington
Watonwan
Anoka
Benton
Big Stone
Blue Earth
Brown
Carver
Chippewa
Clay
Crow Wing
Dakota
Douglas
Faribault
Goodhue
Hennepin
Isanti
Itasca
Lac qui Parle
Nicollet
Ramsey
Redwood
Rice
Sherburne
Stearns
Steele
St. Louis
Wadena
Washington
Watonwan
Project Overview

Artist Initiative

Project Details

Walseth will create The Empathy Project, a new play based on interviews of Minnesotans, exploring empathy across lines of geographic, political, and racial divides, culminating in staged readings in urban and rural Minnesota.

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.; Uri Camarena: Business consultant, Metropolitan Economic Development Association. Board chair, Minneapolis College of Art and Design. 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: Mayor of Red Wing, elected 2016. Former executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Philip McKenzie, Oboe and English horn player; adjunct oboe faculty, NDSU. Secretary/Treasurer, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Mary McReynolds-Pellinen: Executive director, Lyric Center for the Arts; coordinator, First Stage Gallery. Officer at-large, 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.

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Julie Ahasay: Director and actor, Duluth Playhouse; retired faculty member, University of Minnesota Duluth; Rachel Bernstein: Arts administrator and performer; Aaron Gabriel: Award-winning composer and theater artist; Denise Neushwander-Frink: Theater artist and administrator; Amy Seham: Professor of theater and dance, Gustavus Adolphus; Benjamin Thietje: Cofounder and coartistic director of DalekoArts in New Prague

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2019 First Special Session, chapter 2, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2020 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$10,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$2,646
Direct expenses
$12,646
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

I will accomplish a major step in my career by writing my first full-length play, based on interviews, in order to evoke empathy across differences. The outcome will be evaluated quantitatively by the completion of the script and six public staged reading performances in 2-3 venues (1 rural, 1-2 urban), and qualitatively by invited professional peer review and audience survey feedback. 2: I will develop a reciprocal engagement process that shares a community's stories at home and across geographic distance, deepening empathy. The outcome will be evaluated qualitatively through audience survey responses and in-depth post-show dialogues that invite audiences to share their own stories of empathetic connection across lines of geographic, political, and racial differences.

Measurable Outcome(s)

I accomplished a major step in my career by writing my first full-length play, based on interviews, evoking empathy across differences. The outcome was evaluated quantitatively by the completion of the script and four virtual staged reading performances, and qualitatively by invited professional peer review and audience survey feedback. 2: Lein Walseth shared stories of Minnesotans from across the state to local and national audiences, bridging geographic distances and deepening empathy. The outcome was evaluated qualitatively through audience survey responses, in-depth post-show dialogues, and a virtual happy hour panel discussion that invited audiences to share their own stories of empathetic connection across lines of difference.

Source of Additional Funds

Other,local or private

Project Manager
First Name
Stephanie
Last Name
Lein Walseth
Organization Name
Stephanie A. Lein Walseth
State
MN
Phone
(651) 230-1815
Email
stephanieleinwalseth@gmail.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