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
Off-Leash Area: Contemporary Performance Works AKA Off-Leash Area
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
May 2023
End Date
April 2024
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Hennepin
Ramsey
Hennepin
Ramsey
Project Overview

Creative Support for Organizations-Round 2

Project Details

Off-Leash Area will increase connection and participation with the disability community, an important and growing constituency of the organization, through its FY 2023 core community programs: Off-Kilter and the Neighborhood Garage Tour.

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

Tom Barna: Barna is a playwright who has penned more than thirty-one full length plays and twenty-nine short plays, a coauthor for a thirteen-part radio series, and the author of four children's books (Cantata Publishing) and several eBooks (Rakuten Kobo Publishing). He has been commissioned for projects as varied as episodic radio and children's musicals and recently collaborated on a new full-length musical with Melody Bay Productions/Publisher, a Minneapolis company. He is the recipient of more than twenty-seven regional nonequity and/or festival productions and/or staged readings since 2009. Barna also has directed, produced, and performed on stage.; Nicole Brending: Brending is a filmmaker and artist with an MFA from Columbia University. Her films have screened at top tier festivals and won several prizes including the Grand Jury Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival and Best Short at the Moscow International.; Rebecca David: David is the founder of JustBe Ceramics and the cofounder of the #CommunityTempo Project, where they integrate music and visual arts into the community. She actively volunteers for the Art Shoppe at the Midtown Global Market and Art to Change the World. She graduated magna cum laude from Waynesburg University (Waynesburg, PA), with dual degrees in business administration and fine arts. She was the ceramics studio manager and a rostered teaching artist for what is now known as Pittsburgh Media Arts. She has exhibited in multiple juried exhibitions and been a leader in nonprofits in southwest Pennsylvania.; Margo Gray: Gray is an experienced designer and theater maker whose work is focused on building empathy. They have twenty years of professional experience in forms from opera to new plays and now they specialize in immersive and interactive work. Gray was a Fulbright Fellow at the Moscow Art Theatre School, holds a BA from Grinnell College, and an MFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon University.; Robyn Hennen: Hennen is the executive director of the Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota, where she supports the mission of cultivating a vibrant and inclusive community of young choral musicians. Hennen was previously the connections and engagement director for Westwood Church in Saint Cloud. She graduated from St. Cloud State University with a BA in political science and an MS in counseling.; Jenna Kubly: Kubly received her PhD in drama from Tufts University. Kubly served on the Tufts Library committee, Tufts graduate student awards committee, and the graduate committee for the American Society for Theater Research. She has convened/presented on numerous theater history research groups, and published reviews, encyclopedia articles, and original research. Kubly's theater production credits include Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Box Wine Theater, and the Phipps Center.; Daniel Peltzman: Peltzman is currently the director of annual giving for the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering. In the past, Peltzman has worked as an administrator, artist, and technician at the Fitzgerald Theater, The O'Shaughnessy Auditorium, and the Brave New Workshop Comedy Theater. Peltzman is a founding member of the Twin Cities Horror Festival and a founding board member of Four Humors Theater.; Stephani Pescitelli: Pescitelli recently graduated from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities with an MDiv in theology in the arts, during which she completed an arts fellowship, an internship in arts grantmaking through Monument Lab, and a body of artwork presented in a group show. In 2020, she also codirected an installation for the Art Shanty projects event. She has a decade of nonprofit and values driven small business administrative, communications, and project management experience and currently serves on the board for Omega, a co-op house project and community garden.

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

2023 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$30,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$30,000
Administration costs
$2,235
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.00
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Off-Leash Area will successfully present the 2nd iteration of it's Off-Kilter program, and 7th iteration of its Neighborhood Garage Tour program. OLA will evaluate success by assessing the number of attendees to each program, and the level of accomplishment by the artists and staff involved, through statistical analysis, and interviews with participants.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Off-Leash Area successfully presented the 2nd iteration of its Off-Kilter program, and 7th iteration of its Neighborhood Garage Tour Program. Audience comments, interactions with homeowner/hosts, conversations with cast and crew, advisors and board, and amongst staff. Box office financial and attendance statistics. Comments from community members.

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
Achieved proposed outcomes.
Recipient Board Members
Board Members: Paul Herwig, Jennifer Ilse, Ann Williams, Chris Hoppe, Shanan Tolzin. Advisory Board MembersOff-Kilter Advisory Team): Sam Jasmine, Gabriel Rodreick, John Skaalen, Amy Salloway Jennifer Ilse, Paul Herwig
Project Manager
First Name
Jennifer
Last Name
Ilse
Organization Name
Off-Leash Area: Contemporary Performance Works AKA Off-Leash Area
Street Address
3540 34th Ave S
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Zip Code
55406
Phone
(612) 724-7372
Email
offleash@offleasharea.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