Arts Access

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$100,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
The Cedar Cultural Center, Inc. AKA The Cedar
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
January 2015
End Date
December 2015
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Anoka
Blue Earth
Carver
Dakota
Hennepin
Le Sueur
Nicollet
Ramsey
Anoka
Blue Earth
Carver
Dakota
Hennepin
Le Sueur
Nicollet
Ramsey
Project Overview
Arts Access
Project Details
The Cedar will continue its programs that engage local Somali communities with performing arts and expand these efforts with Midnimo, a project that brings Somali artists from around the world to Minnesota for week-long residencies.
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
$100,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$306,536
Direct expenses
$406,536
Administration costs
$4,183
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.25
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

We will build relationships with Somali immigrants by engaging them with dynamic, accessible, and culturally relevant performing arts programming. We will track the number of participants and partners, evaluate their experience through conversations and surveys, and use external performance measurements to assess community impact. 2: We will engage a diverse audience, many of whom don’t have opportunities to engage with the arts, including art that reflects their own traditions. We will track audience numbers in the target population and survey their previous arts engagement experience and perception of availability of similar arts engagement opportunities in the community.

Measurable Outcome(s)

We engaged new and repeat Somali audience members by programming Somali and non-Somali artists of interest in partnership with Somali organizations. Our Somali Community Liaison attends all of our events that present Somali artists or are focused on engaging Somali community members. She counts participants and has conversations with audience members before and after the show about their experience. We regularly interview and consult with partners and survey audience members. In 2015, an external evaluator and Research Fellow attended Arts Access events and interviewed partners and participants to assess our achievements. 2: We experimented with programming and marketing strategies and worked with Somali partners to identify and address barriers to participation. The main criteria for determining success in this outcome is quantitative data. In 2015, the number of Somali audience members that attended Arts Access events increased. We also experienced an increase in demand from potential partners to co-host Somali community events. This opened up our ability to serve broader segments of the Somali community. Cedar staff and partners are prompted to contribute feedback and observations that ensure that we are reaching new members of the target audience.

Description of Funds
Source of Additional Funds

Other, local or private

Recipient Board Members
Abdirizak Bihi, Sarah Bowman, Chuck Corliss, Michelle Courtright, Jill Dawe, David Edminster, Gallo Fall, Glen Helgeson, Galen Hersey, Brent Hickman, Steven Katz, Cari Nesje, Rob Nordin, Hugh Pruitt, Rob Salmon, Chuck Tatsuda, Mary Laurel True
Project Manager
First Name
Adrienne
Last Name
Dorn
Organization Name
The Cedar Cultural Center, Inc. AKA The Cedar
Street Address
416 Cedar Ave S
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Phone
(612) 338-2674x 103
Email
adorn@thecedar.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