Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2023 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$30,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Ka Joog Nonprofit Organization
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
In Progress
Start Date
May 2023
End Date
April 2024
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Hennepin
Hennepin
Project Overview

Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details

Ka Joog will work with renowned Somali American artist Nimcaan Hilaac to offer songwriting and composition workshops to 150 to 200 Somali American youth in FANKA, its culturally attuned arts education program in the Twin Cities.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

Uri Camarena: business consultant; Michael Charron: arts educator and an arts and civic leader; Richard Cohen: attorney in private practice and a former state legislator; Emily Galusha: arts and civic leader, former arts administrator; Anthony Gardner: vice president, marketing and communications at CentraCare; Ken Martin, political strategist and campaign manager; Philip McKenzie: team lead with Denver Air, adjunct college faculty; Nichole Melton-Mitchell: healthcare administrator; Dobson West: retired attorney; Christina Widdess: nonprofit consultant; former arts administrator; Christina Woods: executive director, Duluth Art Institute

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

Kimble Bromley: Bromley is a professor of art at North Dakota State University serving in his twenty-fifth year. He has served on numerous university committees and has also served as chairman of the board for the Spirit Room (Fargo, ND). Bromley has won the NDSU College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Creativity Award; and Best in Show Painting Award from the 2018 North Dakota Human Rights Festival. Bromley holds a BA in both psychology and sociology from Buena Vista College, a MA from the University of Northern Iowa, and a MFA from Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, IL). He received his hypnotherapy certification from the National Guild of Hypnotists.; Heather Gordon: Gordon is a U. S. Navy veteran. She served as a Navy photojournalist for seven years while stationed on the island of Guam. Gordon was honorably discharged from the U. S. Navy and returned to her native Minnesota. Gordon graduated from the College of Visual Arts in Saint Paul, earning her bachelor of fine arts degree. To this day, Gordon continues to work as a freelance writer, photojournalist, and painter. She has earned many awards for her photography, as well as having published articles in high profile publications, such as The New York Times, Washington Post, and Navy Times. Gordon is a single mother of three, and an avid supporter of the arts in education and art therapy for veterans' mental health.; Chia Lor: Lor is an artist organizer passionate about culture preservation, anti-racism, gender equity, and youth empowerment. Lor has been invited to perform spoken word at rallies, conferences, racial equity trainings, the Minnesota State Capitol, and a variety of community events. Her poems have been published in the 2010 Paj Ntaub Voice literary journal and the 2012 and 2017 Saint Paul Almanac. She was previously a board member of Voices for Racial Justice and worked as youth organizer at Southeast Community Organization. She graduated from St. Catherine University with BA degrees in sociology and critical studies of race and ethnicity.; Ryuta Nakajima: Nakajima has a PhD from Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. He is a contemporary artist, independent curator, and product designer who has lived in the Far East, Middle East, Europe, and the United States. His paintings and drawings have been exhibited nationally and internationally. An associate professor of art at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Nakajima is also a master of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism. In recent years, his work has focused on the behavioral ecology of cephalopods, particularly in the area of their camouflage and body pattern.; Erin Petschel: Petschel currently sits on the supervisory committee of a credit union as well as completed five years working for the State of Minnesota as a consumer mediator. Petschel is a graduate of the College of Saint Benedict and has her degree in French and liberal studies.; Emma Rasmussen: Rasmussen is the community engagement and events manager at Our Streets Minneapolis. In their current role, they organize the Open Streets Minneapolis event series and engage communities with transportation advocacy issues through partnership, education, and art. They are a stage director and actor and received their BFA in theater from Creighton University (Omaha, NE) in 2015. Rasmussen has previous professional experience as operations coordinator at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, bar manager at Kado no Mise in Minneapolis, and development coordinator at Nebraska Appleseed in Lincoln, NE. They volunteer as a speech coach at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis.; Sarah Warren: Warren graduated from the Loft Literary Center's Master Track program. A former preschool teacher and Minnesota Reading Corps tutor, Warren currently connects with scholars across the country as an artist educator. She is an author of picture books; Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers was picked for the 2013 Amelia Bloomer Top Ten Book List and awarded a Jane Addams Peace Association Children's Book Award honor. Warren has served as a panelist for the Arts Board and the Kate Dopirak Craft and Community Award.; Sessily Watt: Watt is a grant writer for Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, where she is a founding member of the organization's first LGBTQIA2S+ Employee Resource Group. She has a master in fine arts degree in creative writing from New Mexico State University and writes book reviews for Strange Horizons, a weekly magazine of and about speculative fiction. She is also a sketchbook hobbyist, primarily working in pen and ink.

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 Cultural Heritage

2023 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$30,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$30,000
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Ka Joog's project will help 150-200 Somali American youth connect to Somali culture, broach challenges, and grow close to elders using Somali music. We will evaluate our outcome with these metrics. 1. 150-200 youth will participate in the project; 2. 90% will report an increase in knowledge of Somali music; and 3. At least 1500 people will attend youth's concert at Somali Week 2023.

Project Manager
First Name
Mohamed
Last Name
Farah
Organization Name
Ka Joog Nonprofit Organization
Street Address
1420 Washington Ave S
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Zip Code
55454
Phone
(612) 795-1589
Email
mfarah@kajoog.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