Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2022 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$25,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Violence Free Minnesota
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
May 2022
End Date
April 2023
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Dakota
Hennepin
Ramsey
Dakota
Hennepin
Ramsey
Project Overview

Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details

Violence Free Minnesota will offer storytelling, theater games, and puppetry sessions that center joy and imagination for the residents of Violence Free Minnesota shelters.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Peggy Burnet: entrepreneur, art collector, and community volunteer; Uri Camarena: director of business consulting with Metroplitan Economic Development Association (MEDA); Michael Charron: arts educator and an arts and civic leader; Richard Cohen: attorney in private practice and a former state legislator; Sean Dowse: arts advocate, arts practitioner, and civic leader; Emily Galusha, arts and civic leader, former arts administrator; 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; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Widdess: nonprofit consultant; former managing director, Penumbra Theatre

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Marit Anderson: Anderson has a BA in art history from the University of Minnesota, an MA in art history, and a certificate in museum studies from the University of Saint Thomas. She currently works full-time in funeral transport and accounting for Dunn Livery in Minneapolis. She has worked in arts and arts administration, having interned in arts programming at Franconia Sculpture Park (FSP), worked as an art instructor at Adventures in Cardboard, and interning as the collections assistant at Hennepin History Museum (HHM). She volunteered at both FSP and HHM after her internships ended.; Connie Lanphear: Lanphear is a communications and graphic design consultant for nonprofit environmental organizations in the Twin Cities area, She has volunteered with the Arts Board since 2018 as a grant program panelist. She holds a BA in journalism from the University of Minnesota and an MA in liberal studies with an arts and literature concentration from Hamline University.; Brighton McCormick: McCormick is a sculptor and installation artist living and working in south Minneapolis. Her interdisciplinary practice focuses on sculpture, gallery installation, and public art primarily utilizing metal casting, fabrication, and reinterpreted found objects. McCormick has a BFA from the University of Minnesota and an MFA from the University of Washington. From 2015-2017, she worked as the program director of Caponi Art Park. Her recent exhibitions and residencies include working with the Sloss Metal Arts Museum, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, the Henry Art Gallery, and the Burke Natural History Museum. McCormick is a regular volunteer at the Chicago Fire Arts Center and works as a sculptor/ fabricator throughout the Twin Cities.; Richard Robbins: Robbins earned an MFA from the University of Montana and has since published six books, most recently Body Turn to Rain: New & Selected Poems. He has received awards from The Loft, The McKnight Foundation, the Arts Board, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Society of America; and received residencies from the Anderson Center, Willapa Bay AiR, and Hawthorden Castle International Retreat for Writers. From 1986-2014, Robbins directed the Good Thunder Reading Series at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he taught until his retirement in 2021. He has served on panels for the Prairie Lakes Regional Art Council, the Arts Board, and the Jerome Foundation.; Ronald Salazar: Salazar was the executive director of Studio Academy, an arts charter high school in Rochester; principal of Folwell School for the Performing Arts, a preK-9th grade school in Minneapolis; and presently is the principal of an art magnet preK-5th grade at Osseo Public Schools. He has experience with budgets, planning, staffing, evaluating, and has been a reader for candidates to the Bush Foundation Leadership Fellowship. He is involved at the local, district, and state central committee level of a state wide organization.; Michelle Walka: Walka is a visual artist and the director of Beloved Art and Practice where they lead workshops based on creative process and contemplative practices. Having facilitated many large communal art projects, Walka finds joy in creative practices with community. They find these spaces beautifully acknowledge of our collective humanity and are a powerful act of narrative sharing, healing, and restoration. Walka has previously worked and volunteered in several religious organizations, outdoor camping programs, and as artist in residence with the Minnesota Institute of Contemplation and Healing. They have a MA from Luther Seminary and a BSW from University of South Florida.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2021, First Special Session, chapter 1, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2022 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$25,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$25,000
Administration costs
$1,000
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Domestic violence victims and their children will experience joy and connection through storytelling, singing, theatre, drawing and puppetry. Adults and children will be interviewed by the Teaching Artists (TA). Shelter advocates will also be interviewed regarding their residents' experience, and learning during the sessions.,

Measurable Outcome(s)

The evident joy and hope brought to our residents via the arts was undeniable. It makes me happy to play with my puppets, and I want to do it again. SOC and VFMN collected qualitative feedback from staff and participants, and it was overwhelmingly positive. One VFMN Youth Advocate shared, 'The kids have been talking about this all week, waiting for SOC to come back and tell stories.'

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
Achieved proposed outcomes.
Recipient Board Members
Kenosha Davenport, Kristin Walters, Natasha Kingbird, Nioshin Shafiee, Amirthini Keefe, Bifftuu Adam, Becci Tenbenzel, Princess Kisob, Maytong Chang
Project Manager
First Name
Guadalupe
Last Name
Lopez
Organization Name
Violence Free Minnesota
Street Address
60 Plato Blvd E Ste 130
City
St Paul
State
MN
Zip Code
55107
Phone
(651) 646-6177x 125
Email
glopez@vfmn.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