Arts Learning

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2020 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$34,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Bemidji State University AKA Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference
Recipient Type
Public College/University
Status
Completed
Start Date
September 2019
End Date
August 2020
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Anoka
Beltrami
Blue Earth
Cass
Clay
Clearwater
Dakota
Goodhue
Hennepin
Hubbard
Itasca
Mahnomen
Meeker
Mille Lacs
Mower
Nicollet
Pine
Ramsey
Rice
Scott
St. Louis
Winona
Anoka
Beltrami
Blue Earth
Cass
Clay
Clearwater
Dakota
Goodhue
Hennepin
Hubbard
Itasca
Mahnomen
Meeker
Mille Lacs
Mower
Nicollet
Pine
Ramsey
Rice
Scott
St. Louis
Winona
Project Overview

Arts Learning

Project Details

Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference brings award winning writers of national stature to present craft talks, public readings, and weeklong intensive workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction beside Lake Bemidji benefitting writers from the local community and all over 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. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Uri Camarena: Business consultant, Metropolitan Economic Development Association. Board chair, Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Officer at-large, Minnesota State Arts Board; Michael Charron: Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. Secretary/Treasurer, 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; Mary McReynolds-Pellinen: Executive director, Lyric Center for the Arts; coordinator, First Stage Gallery; 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

Michael Carlson: Art teacher, art club advisor, and track and field coach at Foley High School; Amy Giddings: Music specialist, North Shore Community School, Duluth; Gail Johnson: Musician and teacher; Krystal Kohler: Development officer, Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation; Danette McCarthy: Self-employed strategy consultant and teaching artist; Cynthia Orwig: Retired elementary school teacher; Erica Rasmussen: Artist; professor at Metro State

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 Education

2020 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$34,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$36,461
Direct expenses
$70,461
Administration costs
$3,700
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

An underserved regional community will have access to high quality literary arts and be able to study with talented writers in an intimate setting. We measure our participants' experience and growth through in-depth evaluation forms, event surveys, demographic information, and interviews, and we solicit feedback from all participants, staff, faculty and the public. 2: We make the conference available to more Minnesotans by keeping it affordable and by awarding need/merit-based scholarships to emerging writers. We gauge our ability to fill workshops and track attitudes toward fees with surveys and interviews. We measure our success in leveraging partnerships and track attendee's artistic growth through emails, social media, and stamped action postcards.

Measurable Outcome(s)

An underserved community gained access to high quality literary arts and was able to study with talented writers in an intimate online setting. The Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference measured participants' experience and growth at it's first virtual edition through an in-depth online questionnaire, and also documented positive feedback from participants, staff, faculty, and partners. 2: We made MNWC more affordable to Minnesotans and awarded more need/merit-based scholarship funding to emerging writers in the state. The Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference successfully pivoted online and presented an affordable literary experience modeled after the in-place Northwoods Conference, based on 73 responses to an in-depth online survey and feedback from partners.

Source of Additional Funds

Other,local or private

Recipient Board Members
Dr. Jim Barta, Jericho Brown, Dr. Mark Christensen, Angie Clark, Monte Hegg, Lynn Johnson, Heid E. Erdrich, Mat Hawthorne, Sean Hill, Marsh Muirhead, Hawona Sullivan-Janzen, Dr. Anton Treuer, Lorie Yourd.
Project Manager
First Name
Mathew
Last Name
Hawthorne
Organization Name
Bemidji State University AKA Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference
Street Address
1500 Birchmont Dr NE Ste 23
City
Bemidji
State
MN
Zip Code
56601-2699
Phone
(218) 308-1180
Email
writersconference@bemidjistate.edu
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