Creative Support for Organizations-Round 1

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2021 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$13,900
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Loft, Inc. AKA The Loft Literary Center
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
November 2020
End Date
December 2021
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Anoka
Chisago
Cook
Dakota
Hennepin
Nobles
Olmsted
Pine
Ramsey
Scott
St. Louis
Washington
Anoka
Chisago
Cook
Dakota
Hennepin
Nobles
Olmsted
Pine
Ramsey
Scott
St. Louis
Washington
Project Overview

Creative Support for Organizations-Round 1

Project Details

The Loft will expand access to high quality creative writing and literature classes for Minnesotans whose economic circumstances otherwise prevent participation and individuals whose backgrounds and identities are underrepresented in publishing.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Ardell Brede: former mayor of Rochester; Peggy Burnet: entrepreneur, art collector, and community volunteer; Uri Camarena: business consultant, Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA); Michael Charron: executive director of grants and sponsored programs for Saint Mary's University of Minnesota., Saint Mary's University of Minnesota; Sean Dowse: former mayor of Red Wing; former executive director, Sheldon Theatre; Anthony Gardner, vice president, marketing and communications at CentraCare; Philip McKenzie: team lead with Boutique Air, founder and owner of Bluedoor 74, adjunct college faculty; Mary McReynolds-Pellinen: executive director, Lyric Center for the Arts; Thomas Moss: consultant to nonprofits and government agencies; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Widdess: nonprofit consultant; former managing director, Penumbra Theatre

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Rhonda Dass: Dr. Rhonda Dass studied art and art history at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, focusing on oil painting, weaving, and museum practices. She completed her education at Indiana University (Bloomington, IN), receiving an MA in folklore with a focus on museum studies, and dual PhDs in folklore and American studies. In 2008, Dass joined the faculty of Minnesota State University, Mankato, and is currently a full professor in the anthropology department. Dass is the director of the American Indigenous studies program as well as the museum studies program and is interim department chair.; Rebecca David: David holds a BA in art and a BS in business administration from Waynesburg University (Waynesburg, PA). David currently volunteers at the Art Shoppe at the Midtown Global Market, outside of her day job. From 2008 to 2015 Rebecca was a teaching artist at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and managed a variety of grant funded community programming projects. She participated in the Northern Clay Center's New Institute for Ceramic Education in 2016. Exhibitions include Hopkins Center for the Arts, Artistry, Vine Arts Center, Chicago Avenue Fire Arts, and Dakota Fine Art (Fargo, ND).; Christlo Gittens: Christlo Gittens is a commercial actor and gigging extra. He has assisted curators to put together art events in Minneapolis showcasing music, dancing, painting, and other forms of art under the group Energy Dance Collective usually operating at the Public Functionary when events are hosted. Educationally, he has taught dance to more than 100 students at the University of St. Thomas and won the "Are You Local" music award 2017 with the artist Nick Jordan.; Douglas Harbin: Doug Harbin is a composer, performer, and educator residing in Moorhead. He composes acoustic and electroacoustic systematic music and his works have been performed throughout the world. He is currently assistant professor at Concordia College and has been on faculty at several institutions including Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University, Mesa Community College, and Taylor University. He holds composition degrees from Arizona State University (DMA), Ball State University (MM) and Taylor University (BM & BA in mathematics). Harbin has served on two Artist Initiative panels and adjudicated for national and statewide composition competitions.; Peter Latner: Latner is a Minneapolis based photographer, concentrating on the cultural and geographic face of the American Midwest. His most recent photographs, made on the Great Plains, stem from long-standing interests in American history, geography, landscape, and sense of place. Previous projects include small town life, the changing look of main street. the upper Mississippi River valley, suburban landscapes, and Civil War battlefields and reenactors. His work is in numerous public and private collections, and he is the recipient of grants and fellowships from The McKnight Foundation, the Arts Board, the Minnesota Historical Society, the Jerome Foundation, and the Society of Contemporary Photography. He taught photography at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and Dakota County Technical College (Rosemount).; Mary Magyar: Magyar received a painting degree from Michigan State University. She has worked for Graphicstudio (Tampa, FL) and produced relief sculptures for Richard Anuskiewicz and Robert Stackhouse. Magyar took classes with Carlton Newton, William Bennett, and was one of three founding members of the artists cooperative, Bozart. ??In 2014, after a move to Minnesota she restarted her art career. Her work and inspiration are primarily drawn from the environment.

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

2021 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$13,900
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$13,900
Administration costs
$0
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Minnesotans will benefit from access to Loft classes and programs regardless of their economic situation, learning and finding community as writers. Gather qualitative participant feedback on their Loft experience (quality, learning, writing improvement, connection to others) and the value of scholarships to those who benefit from them; track participant demographics.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Minnesotans of different backgrounds and at all writing levels benefited from economic access to Loft classes and programs. We surveyed scholarship recipients to collect data and gathered qualitative information from them about their experience, and conducted internal assessments of the Loft's revised scholarship program.

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
achieved proposed outcomes
Recipient Board Members
Mike Meyer, Melinda Ward, Jon Austin, Anika Fajardo, Beth Schoeppler, Dara Beevas, Karlyn Coleman, Kathryn Haddad, David Kilpatrick, Raki Kopernick, Kelly Jo McDonnell, Dorothy Nins, Sarah Olson, Ruth Shields
Project Manager
First Name
Beth
Last Name
Schoeppler
Organization Name
Loft, Inc. AKA The Loft Literary Center
Street Address
1011 Washington Ave S Open Book Ste 200
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Zip Code
55415-1278
Phone
(612) 215-2575x 2580
Email
bschoeppler@loft.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