Creative Individuals

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2025 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$10,000
Recipient
Athena O. Kildegaard
Recipient Type
Individual
Status
In Progress
Start Date
February 2025
End Date
January 2026
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Douglas
Douglas
Project Overview

Creative Individuals

Project Details

Kildegaard and three poets at different career stages, and with roots in different communities, will visit six communities of varying sizes in southwestern Minnesota, give readings, lead workshops, and engage people at farmer's markets, brew pubs, and libraries.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Carol Bruess: author, speaker, relationship social scientist, and creator; Uri Camarena: business consultant; Michael Charron: arts educator, arts and civic leader; Richard Cohen: attorney in private practice, former state legislator; Emily Galusha: arts and civic leader, former arts administrator; Anthony Gardner, healthcare consultant; Ken Martin: political strategist, campaign manager; Philip McKenzie: adjunct college faculty; Michele Sterner: higher education administrator; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Woods: executive director, arts organization

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Todd Hannert: Hannert is a visual artist and songwriter who has career long experience in television, theater, writing, and producing. He has a MFA in scene design and puppetry arts from the University of Connecticut.; Rebecca Horn: Horn currently works as a vice president and executive recruiter within the title insurance community. As a young woman, she pursued professional vocal performance and began college as an opera performance major, but ultimately graduated with a communication and English double major from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Today, she is active in the local arts community, participating in classes, workshops, and performances of all kinds. She is an avid painter, photographer, and creative, and participates in community theater.; Patricia Kent: Kent has performed as a soloist with many orchestras, including the Minnesota Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. She has soloed internationally in Panama, Italy, and the United Kingdom. She holds a degree from the University of Minnesota, where she won the coveted Schussler Prize. She is an active performer in opera. Kent is a featured artist on several recordings, including the Minnesota AIDS Quilt Songbook; All in the Family, a recording of songs of Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn with pianist Robert Koopmann; and a recording of French songs, La Vie Interieure, with Roderick Kettlewell. Kent and Kettlewell performed these French songs to critical acclaim in a recital at Carnegie Hall. She now serves on the music faculty of Augsburg University and Macalester College.; Andrea Pierre: Pierre is the station manager of KRSM Radio, a low-power FM station in south Minneapolis. She is also a creative and producer of Afro-Caribbean descent. Pierre champions underrepresented and unheard voices. She believes storytelling is a huge component of bridging the divide and is interested in connecting and empowering folks for change. She is passionate about issues such as motherhood, community based arts, Blackness, politics, and health.; Jennifer Vickerman: Vickerman is a longtime nonprofit fundraising visionary. She worked as the gift planner with the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation in December 2023. She graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College with a BA in music performance in theater. Vickerman has been a member of the VocalEssence Chorus for 26 years and currently serves on the development committee.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota, 2023 regular session, chapter 40, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3; Minnesota Session Laws, 2024 regular session, chapter 106, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2025 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$10,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$10,000
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Four poets visit six communities in southwestern Minnesota, give readings and engage people at farmer's markets, brew pubs, and libraries. We will reflect together on what we've learned from one another; we will use audience surveys to assess engagement; we will count attendees; we will interview attendees and members of collaborating arts organizations.

Project Manager
First Name
Athena
Last Name
Kildegaard
Organization Name
Athena O. Kildegaard
State
MN
Phone
(320) 349-0661x c
Email
aokildegaard@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