Artist Initiative

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2020 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$9,725
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Nicole A. Montana
Recipient Type
Individual
Status
Completed
Start Date
January 2020
End Date
June 2022
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Hennepin
Hennepin
Project Overview

Artist Initiative

Project Details

Montana will complete her nonfiction book about her family of women, exploring issues of immigration, identity, and memory. She will offer a writing workshop on the use of memory in nonfiction writing and a public reading.

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

Sumayyah Beck: Writer; development coordinator at Cedar Cultural Center; Rachel Castro: Writer; teaching artist at the Loft; Catherine Friend: Author, MN Book Award winner; Susan Nettell: Writer; Arts Board grantee; Elizabeth Torres: Writer; professor of English, Bethany Lutheran College; Kao Yang: Hmong-American writer and educator

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
$9,725
Other Funds Leveraged
$75
Direct expenses
$9,800
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

I will gain and offer skills to bring others to writing and public speaking that raises awareness of the issues generations of immigrants face. I will have workshop participants complete evaluations on my teaching. I will apply the Logic Model Framework to study benefits for participants of the workshop and reading. I will survey the audience on a Likert scale to measure change in awareness. 2: I will advance my writing skills by completing a book-length work of creative nonfiction, a book proposal, and query letter. I will measure my success by completing each stage of my action plan with feedback on my progress provided by my editor. A successful query letter will result in an agent responding and requesting my book proposal.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Nicole Montana delved deeper into how to write about place, language, and identity that she shared with participants in an online writing workshop. Participants gave her immediate feedback on the readings and writing they generated that focused on place, language, and identity. Participants all detailed how they will continue to write about such topics moving forward. 2: Nicole Montana completed a first draft of her manuscript that was queried to and requested by two agents. Each stage of Nicole Montana's grant project's action plan was completed resulting in an editor reviewed book-length manuscript, a query letter, and two requests from agents for the final draft.

Source of Additional Funds

Other,local or private

Project Manager
First Name
Nicole
Last Name
Montana
Organization Name
Nicole A. Montana
State
MN
Phone
(612) 978-4188
Email
namontana@mac.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