Creative Support for Individuals-Round 2

Roberta Gray: Robyn Gray is the grants specialist at St. Francis Music Center, a community school for the arts in Little Falls. Gray also handles all programming for the Music Center. She has been a parent educator for the Little Falls Schools for the past 30 years and volunteers for other community nonprofits. Gray has a BA in theater arts and elementary education from Southwest Minnesota State University.; Adaobi Okolue: Adaobi Okolue is the executive director of Twin Cities Media Alliance, a nonprofit media arts organization equipping people and organizations with the power of media arts to shape narratives that advance equity and justice. She has been featured on Minnesota Public Radio, The Loft Literary Center, Pollen, and The Atlantic. Hailing originally from Nigeria, Okolue is a writer, visual and performance artist, and producer. She is also an alum to both the Givens Foundation Black Writers Collaborative and VONA Writing Workshop fellowships. Okolue has a bachelor's degree in strategic communication from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, School of Journalism.; Akiko Ostlund: Akiko Ostlund began dancing as a tribal fusion belly dancer and studies many dance forms such as salsa, bachata, hula, and tutting. Ostlund collaborates with puppeteers in various projects including Barebones' Halloween Extravaganza, the May Day Parade, and Puppet Cabaret, as well as projects with individual puppeteers. All of her works focus on community and reflect her voice as an immigrant woman of color. She is heavily invested in connecting with youth of color in her community. As a curator she regularly visits local high school showcases to familiarize herself with the new generation and presents young artists in the shows she curates.; Seho Park: Seho Park practices art and teaches at Winona State University. He did graduate studies at the University of Minnesota. Park has served on Arts Board panels and also was a panelist on the Minnesota Artists Exhibition program at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. His artworks were included in the "Minnesota Biennials? of the Minnesota Museum of American Art in Saint Paul, "2-D on 3-D? at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; "Art on the Plains XII? at the Plains Art Museum (Fargo, ND), and "Move? at the Rochester Art Center.; Elizabeth Torres: Elizabeth Horneber was a 2019 recipient of an Arts Board Artist Initiative grant. Her essays have appeared in journals such as AGNI, Hobart, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She has an MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and is currently an assistant professor at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato. She volunteers with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, and she has previously served as an Arts Board Artist Initiative grant panelist and as a judge for the Minnesota Book Awards.; Sten Wall: Wall is a current board member of the small multigenerational community theater, Chaska Valley Community Theater. He has worked with professional theaters across the country, specifically in Virginia and Minnesota. He received his master's in public administration from Virginia Commonwealth University where he also studied nonprofit management. He receiving his BA in theatre and history from Lenoir-Rhyne University. He currently works at HealthPartners in member services.; Claire Wick: Based in Saint Louis Park, Claire Wick is a marketing assistant at Broadway Across America in its north office. She helps promote touring Broadway shows in five different cities across the Midwest, including Minneapolis. In addition to being an avid consumer of the arts, she has been involved in community theater in the Twin Cities. Before coming to Minnesota, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a degree in arts management and vocal music.