Creative Individuals

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2025 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$10,000
Recipient
Martha Bird
Recipient Type
Individual
Status
In Progress
Start Date
February 2025
End Date
January 2026
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Hennepin
Hennepin
Project Overview

Creative Individuals

Project Details

Bird will apprentice with a master basketmaker to learn the Nordic knutkorgar (knot basket). Its history parallels her own. She will exhibit her work and talk at the Duluth Nordic Center and teach a class at the Duluth Public Library.

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

Sharon Elmore: Elmore is a retired attorney and nonprofit professional with varied corporate and nonprofit experience. Most recently, she worked for bar associations providing continuing education, fundraising events, networking opportunities, and communications. Other work includes website development, grant compliance, quantitative and qualitative research, consumer law practice, nutrition extension (Peace Corps volunteer), and more. She has served on nonprofit boards, including an arts nonprofit providing affordable rental space for small theater companies, a private school, and a condo homeowners association. She has degrees from Earlham College (Richmond, IN) and Iowa Law School (Iowa City, IA).; Judy Gileczek: Karasch is a former arts administrator at Saint John's University, a former Minnesota Craft Council board member, and a visual artist. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from the College of Saint Benedict and completed a master's degree in business at the University of St. Thomas.; Amanda Hamilton: Hamilton works in painting and collage, exploring the contrast of human time and deep time through geology and the contemporary landscape. She has been an artist in residence at Vashon Artist Residency (Vashon Island, WA), Vermont Studio Center (Johnson, VT), and Crooked Tree Arts Center (Petoskey, MI) among others. She is a contributor to the 2020 book Wicked Art Assignments from Valiz Press and the University of Arts in Amsterdam, and a contributor to the Audubon publication Disappearing Birds of America (2025). Hamilton received a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grant in 2019.; Chad Heslup: Longshot is a rapper, producer, and actor from the Midwest. He was raised in Chicago and now resides in Minneapolis. Longshot has worked with prominent producers and proved to be a masterful songwriter. He was a 2021 McKnight Fellow. Through his art, Longshot aims to connect with people and relate to the complex human emotions we all experience.; Timothy Hornseth: Hornseth has been involved with the Winona Symphony Orchestra since 1999. As president, he oversaw the hiring of a new musical director and conductor, as well as several part-time, paid staff positions. His work history as a human resources manager and college instructor facilitated a professional milieu within the board. He presently is a freelance writer and newspaper columnist in two different publications. He also is a member of the Rochester Pops Orchestra as a violinist.; Zamira Mendoza: Mendoza is a multidisciplinary artist and community organizer. She works as a program manager in the nonprofit sector and has a background in marketing and public libraries. Mendoza serves as the chair of the Arts and Culture Commission with the City of Red Wing. She firmly believes that arts and culture programming and creative placemaking serve as a powerful conduit of transformative social change, bridging communities together through sharing creativity and cultural knowledge. Mendoza earned her BS in entrepreneurial studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). She is also a candidate for the master of arts in creative leadership at MCAD.

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)

Minnesotans will strengthen their knowledge of Nordic basket history and disability through my knutkorgar basket exhibit, talk and class in Duluth. by collecting feedback?through a specific basket?for comments at the exhibit, open conversation at the talk, and pre/post surveys at the class

Project Manager
First Name
Martha
Last Name
Bird
Organization Name
Martha Bird
State
MN
Phone
(612) 250-9662
Email
marthabirdart@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